mookRumorton's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Parabellum Rain]

Art and music is awesome across the board, the Jhonen Vasquez and general emo vibe is very fun. I would love to see how the full-fledged game would look and sound.

Gameplay is okay. The umbrella mechanics are interesting and should be utilized more. I like how the rain makes you think on your feet, but without any other attack options you're totally helpless without it. More move options would be nice.

To me, the story+dialogue feels jarring, though it's understandable with this being both a demo and a translation. Politcal themes in media can be great when done right, but unfortunately the delivery and length of the game betray it; It would be nice if there was some gradual character and setting development, instead of just some blatantly fascist/communist dictator suddenly appearing and going on an insane tirade in their first appearance. The use of profanity and real-world political terminology broke my immersion and came off as edgy. Messaging overall is coherent though.

Overall a fun time and good demonstration of art and game-design, would love to see how it would look as a longer-form game.

DaShahRach00 responds:

First of all, thank you for the review and comments. The final version (if it is funded) will allow for many more attacks and movements with the umbrella. I wanted to build a gameplay where the player is dependent on the environment, so it's true that without rain you can't do anything.

Now, regarding the storyline, I'm aware that everything is moving a bit quickly and lacks development. I would have liked to have a scene on Day 1 where Mr. Marc appears in front of the city and makes a speech, for them to appear on TV, or for the revolution to be prepared in the sewers (an area we could have accessed), but due to lack of time and because it was too ambitious, we couldn't do it. These ideas will remain for the final version. I still did my best to introduce Mr. Marc in the Day 1 dialogues, and Raïs in the telephone dialogues. This is a very politically explicit game, and I understand that some people don't like that; it's by far the most explicit work I'll ever make. But I wanted to talk a little bit about current events and I felt there was a lack of games that did that. I'll try to be more subtle in the writing of the final version, although I think some political terms should be named because it's in the soul of the game, even if it makes it more edgy and controversial. Thanks for your feedback.
I'm glad you had a good time despite the flaws in the writting and the game :)