RETSNOM Reviews

Interesting puzzle mechanic, that is absolutely mindbending. Unfortunately, its not very compelling at all. Because of the steep difficulty of the main puzzle mechanic, each solution is a real chore.

*(GRAIN OF SALT -- EARLY REVIEW)* This is a very interesting game that I'd imagine those who enjoyed Braid might fancy. I wanted to get another early impression out because it seems like not many people are buying at this point and are perhaps waiting for some reviews to show first. So, Voila! PROS: - Mind-Bendingly Challenging! No really, your head will hurt -- dull aches all around. - Presentation is neat and simple. - The Story of a father looking for his daighter is enough to get you hooked and to motivate you ahead. - Really interesting Puzzle mechanics with seemingly multiple ways to solve them. What I mean is, there is a lot of room for the random element and I would venture it would be sometimes impossible to design these puzzles for one solution only. It is a really cool system. - Pixel-Art is minimalistic and GREAT as ALWAYS. - Music is good and melancholy. CONS: - As of right now, I can't really fult it for anything other than being SUPREMELY FRUSTRATING. But that can either be a PRO or a CON depending on who you are. The game definitively needs to be approached by one having the right/relaxed mood and mindset. There is a bit of a Combat Mechanic and I am interested to see where that will go, - if anywhere - but insofar it serves as a nice break-up between puzzle solving. Who doesn't like Machine-Gunning some Zombies? The enemies can also be killed inside of walls that you move and the effect is rather satisfying. Overall I would say jump in if the video looks even remotely interesting to you. Just make sure you are relaxed first! BEST OF ALL: When you get stuck and cannot progress, there is literally a key to press where your guy bends down and bashes his own skull into the ground again and again until there is nothing left but pulp, chunks and pooling blood, LOL!

Dull, clunky, the music is annoying rehashed piano, the input sometimes does not register at all (makes the jump-and-mirror tasks very tedious), the graphics are horrible - a mishmash of grey tilesets more suitable for a pre-alpha prototype rather than a finished project, the plot is pretty predictable, the music disappears sometimes, the camera is zoomed in way too close. But first and foremost - it's very VERY [b]VERY[/b] boring.

this is the most confusing game ive ever played

I was rewriting this damn review about 20 times and still can't decide, shall I recommend this game or not. Main idea of this game looks pretty interesting. You change levels in real time, solve puzzles, proud of yourself being smarty pants. On paper. But a bunch of Level-design is far from perfect. You can not rebind buttons. Gloomy colours make eyes bleeding (Yes, you can make a great game with single colours - look at brilliant VVVVVV. But this game's greyness is just ugly), what makes all this swapping absolutly unintuitive and easy to lost any idea wtf you just tryed to achieve. How shalI I say it, that game just has a lack of individual style. And one of the most annoyng thing - if you push the mirroring button and change your mind, you can't cancel it, have to wait until that shitty looking bricks will snap into their place and push damn button again and again. Considering that all game is based on this mechanics, it's annoying as hell. I read all of this positive reviews and now feel some disappointment. It's like sort of prototype, not the final product. This game is not bad, no way, it may be frustrating a lot, but still fun. So much potential and mirroring levels is really, really cool, awesome and original idea, i like it. I just can't recommend it in this condition (and it's a pity for me). Good news: developer still works on it and works actively. So get me right, I don't regret buying it. Indie games need our support, so if you're fan of 2D-platformers (just like me) and experimental games with original ideas, then please, please give this game a chance. Would like to see his next work. UPD.: after tough thoughs i finally changed my mind and show my thumbs up. The game is far from perfect, but I'm ready to forgive this in condition of future patches.

[h1] Retsnom attempts to be a puzzle platformer with a thought provoking story but it misses the mark on either account. [/h1] Outside of jumping you work with a few mechanisms like flips and rotations. there is a gaudy grid that lines what transformation you are about to perform. While you are playing primary school geometry you are working against monsters, gravity, and little annoyances that add up quickly. Often times the solution of puzzles are quite clear, but acting on it is a pain. Your black transformations have to be perfect and traversing platforms feels spotty at best . It doesn't help that the uninspired art style comes with no variety in scenery. The story really wants to be deep and complex, but it comes across as wonky and shallow. there is minimal character development so tragic and dramatic moments lack emotional weight. Sadly most of the weight lies in the brief exchanges and the remainder is saved for what might be called a plot twist by few. The writing is bit unclear. it’s not confusing like Gravity’s Rainbow, it’s more like an muddled by what looks like translation issues More frustrating than challenging and more clunky than complex, RETSNOM's is not worth the play time.

In world 1 I thought it might be fun, while I was mainly randomly flipping stuff. In world 2 I now stopped playing, since I totally do not like the new mechanics, which are being involved. Maybe it's just too hard for me, I am not sure. To me it makes no fun dying one thousand times till you accidentially flip the world in the right way so that you somehiw can at least enter the door.

Note: it's a small review after a few minutes in the game ♥ Music - hauntigly if you like cello and piano ♥ + Very artistic, smooth, polished + It's really a nice little game. You must reflect by mirroring the block near you to find your way throug the level + If you press a button, you can tap your head on the ground until death + You can crush genetically unstable human under wall + It seem there is a fire key, going now to find my first weapon ☻ + Indie/Trading cards

When it comes to puzzle platformers, the controls and mechanics can feel awkward at first. That's fine, but after a while, one normally gets the hang of how things work. With RETSNOM, this transition doesn't occur. Throughout almost the entire playthrough, I felt like I was wrestling with the puzzle mechanics. The concepts felt inconsistent and the solutions seemed obtuse. Whether this is the result of making the diffculty curve too steep or just poor puzzle design, I can't say for certain. As an extra note for the developers, adding a dedicated reset button was a good idea, but under no circumstances should it be used as an excuse for not scrutinizing your own puzzles and providing them with the proper playtesting. Avoid this one.

Excellent concept, superb visuals and music. The controls are fine. So what's the problem? The problem is that the level design is just too sketchy. There are too many variables to make it fun. After only a few levels I'm just blindly clicking around, trying to flip sections at random in the hope of somehow stumbling into a solution. I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but this feels like an interesting concept implemented without puzzle-polish. If you can solve these puzzles using logic alone, I congratulate you -- and envy you. But it's not for me, and I would caution others against investing time or money into it.