Leave a Review Wildwood
Cute good looking game but lacks and depth or variety
Before I start, I understand this is your first game, kudos, that’s an amazing achievement and should not be taken away! You have the foundation of a promising game, it just needs a lot more content. On the plus side, it’s simple enough that anyone can play it, it’s pretty to look at and you have a good premise. On the other hand, there’s no depth, customization and after you play one wave, you quickly realize there’s nothing else to do. There’s no point or endgame to the game and no reason to keep going out wave after wave. Ecto accumulates too slowly and the only thing you can buy are potions which are one-off. The ecto spawning point next to the pot should be based on how well you did the previous game, or how long you’ve been away, instead it’s just one ecto each time. Might as well not be there. There’s only one location and it’s a small map. You could introduce a free-roaming stage or world map with a progression of levels or visit other graveyards, and help them out against a pandemic of ghosts. Introduce a little story and mythology.
Immediate suggestion: this game needs an in-game leveling up system like every Roguelike game ever made. You should gain exp when you defeat enemies and when you level up, you can power up your character or lantern. Speed boost, Def, HP, Atk power. Lantern can increase in strength, duration, width of its arc, length of its arc. Flame light, ice light, knockback, arc lightning with bouncing between enemies, slowing enemies. Explosions. The possibilities are endless and seems like such an elementary aspect to a game like this, frankly I’m surprised it wasn’t part of the initial design. Ditch the potion system and one-off brews and create this system ASAP.
Also, you can introduce currency or repurpose the ecto drops. Instead of potions, you should be able to buy armor, accessories and other gear to improve your character. Permanent stats, things like that. You can spend it on improvements to the hut or the grounds, traps, defenses, you can hire other characters/monsters/frogs to help you as mercenaries.The enemies get tougher in the waves, but the hero doesn’t so every game is super finite and there’s no point in ever playing more than a few times before getting quickly bored.
Basically, go play Solomon’s Boneyard/Keep and get inspired. Like I said, you have something solid here, and should be praised for a first-time effort, but if you want to sustain it, it needs a whole lot more. I’m sorry for being so critical, I’m truly trying to help! Good luck!Show lessBobbawaffle
Developer Response
Hi bobbawaffle! Thank you for the kind words and all your suggestions. You make some very good points and I'd like to respond in as much detail as I can in this format. Btw, I think you win the award for most in-depth review!! First, you are absolutely right about the lack of any kind of progression system and expanded content! To give some more context, this is not only my first game but also my first foray into learning how to program (I unofficially consider Wildwood to be in “Early Access” and am so glad people are leaving their feedback and helping shape the future of the game). The current feature set is pretty much a reflection of my programming abilities. Second, I have LOTS planned for Wildwood :) but development is slow as it’s a hobby. My goal is to complete one major update per year (usually right before Halloween) with a couple mini updates throughout the year as I learn how to do new things. Next year's update is already in the works, with a focus on wave systems and player progression - very similar to what you've outlined. Last year I rebuilt the entire game from scratch to have a decent foundation to start building new features on top of. I decided to implement the Potion system first because it was a good way to learn how to build systems, and the design was kept simple to make sure I could get it shipped. Now that I have that experience, I feel confident moving on to creating bigger and better systems for the game! As with past updates, these new features will be added incrementally and will grow in complexity over time. You’ve also mentioned some really great ideas that I hadn’t considered yet - especially about hiring minions to help! That’s an awesome idea! Ecto will also have more purposes, but I don’t want to reveal too much yet. The game’s design is living document right now and I want to make sure I don’t over-promise if I have to make changes. Finally, I am so thankful that you took the time to play my game and give your thoughts on it. I hope one day I can earn a 5 star rating from you! And I’d like to invite you and anyone who’s reading this to feel free to drop me a line on my website’s contact form if you have additional thoughts you’d like to share. Thanks again! —AlanEh
Just a high score game, and gets old quick. Lost pretty quick the first few rounds. Then made it to 5k score and change pretty quick. Current high score is 80k. Could easily achieve with practice. Except there isn’t a pull to master the game. Potions are one-time use.
You’re better off playing Solomon’s Graveyard - a 10 year old game. Significantly more depth, and controls aren’t as wooden.Show lessBucketofPwnage
Developer Response
Thank you for your feedback! I appreciate the time you spent playing Wildwood and your review of my game. The next major update will include a defined wave & progression system, and add more depth to the gameplay (~2023). In the meantime, I'm implementing a new input system which should drastically improve the controls. 5k is a great score btw and the person who got 80k blew my mind!! Thanks again for your review —AlanI ain’t afraid of no ghosts
A fun little game. You are a frog and go out into the graveyard to use your flashlight to make the ghosts disappear. The flashlight has stamina which goes down when you use it. Starts off easy yet gets more challenging.
It’s great though I wish there was the following: a pause button (though when you click on Game Center it’s similar to pause), being able to change the sound settings, playing the game in vertical mode, and that there were more areas to unlock/ explore.Show lesssarasarasarAAA
Developer Response
Thank you for the kind review sarAAA! I appreciate your feedback. A pause button is a great idea, and should be easy to integrate. Sounds settings will take a little longer. It's funny that you mentioned being able to play vertically - that used to be in the game a couple years ago, but I removed it! I will consider adding it back in. Regarding more areas to unlock: there is a roadmap for the game's development on my website. Version 5 and Version 6 of the game are currently marked as "SECRET"... but maybe you're on to something... :) Thank you for playing! It means so much to meGreat!!
Such a great game!!Kiwi122682
Simple and Fun
A great fun little game when you need a break from everything else!Freezey.
Raine
“I’m taking the long way home,
where everything’s overgrown.”Kvalenti906
Awesome!
Fun little game with a great design and neat graphics. Highly addictive. I keep coming back to try and top my high score.dbruce123
Love it!
Beautifully-simple design. Addictive gameplay!Bruce0724
Love it
So much fun!!!Lalav.100
Digging it
Simple controls and fun to play! Keep coming back for a better score.Chief dbadf
