Post by Mahlyath in Smiling Terror - PSX Retro Game comments

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First off, thank you so much for allowing me to play your game! I am honored and privileged that you found me qualified to help promote your game. I am always willing to help creators. That being said I have some things to say about your game:

First off, I absolutely LOVED the graphics and visuals, I see a lot of PSX inspired games on itch.io, but only a handful such as yours really stand out from the crowed and really give the game a strong nostalgic vibe. I mentioned this while playing, I can tell this game is inspired by the Resident Evil/Biohazard games from the early days of 3d horror, but this game also reminded me a bit of Manhunt for the PS2, except I was the one being hunted here. The tension gets very strong when the killer arrives, making me feel extremely vulnerable. I'm not one to get scared easy, as I have seen a lot of horror in my life, but I still felt that unease faintly crawling up my spine when I heard the breaking of glass. And the killer is genuinely unnerving to look at. It's always a vexing feeling to realize that what hunts you isn't a monster, but someone of your own kind, with know way of knowing why.

As I do love where this game is going, I am ashamed to say that I couldn't complete the game. I only ran into a handful of issues through this but they took me out of the experience. I got frustrated with getting lost quite easily even after figuring out that I can change the camera viewpoint (which I love the fact that you added that btw). And half way through, I get to finding the flashlight, and none of the buttons to turn it on would work for some reason even with the batteries being found prior, and after the second time dying I stopped playing, as I felt I was just going to be dying more than progressing, which could be a severe skill issue on my part, as I never really played games like this, and if I have, it's been a VERY LONG time.

But don't let my words discourage you, I am aware that this is still in early access, so it's not going to be a masterpiece right off the bat. Despite my critique, I'm eager to see where this game is heading in the future, because you have something very promising that other games don't. You have a lot of passion for this and I can tell. So keep going strong!

If you wish, you can still keep me updated with news on this game, and I do plan to play this again, I just need to clear my mind as I now know what I'm doing (somewhat).

I hope I didn't come off harsh for you, as I'm not someone who just says "10/10" or "GOTY" for every game I play, because I feel like that doesn't really assist your work, and in some cases that could lead to bad scenarios because the issues the game can have aren't getting addressed. And since I see a lot of care in this I speak out of passion for your efforts and I want to see you at your best.

PoisonIce Studios28 days ago (2 edits)

First of all, thank you so much for your feedback – it’s truly appreciated! Every comment helps us improve the game, and I’m really glad you took the time to play it.

That said, we’re currently working on the next update, which will add more visual details to the map to help players avoid getting disoriented so easily. We also have several other features in the works, such as a checkpoint system, so players won’t have to start over from the beginning after dying.

As you probably noticed, Smiling Terror is heavily inspired by classic PS1 titles. We didn’t just aim for the visual style, but also tried to bring back the challenge of those games. Just think of Mickey’s Wild Adventure for PS1 – a “kids’ game” with brutal difficulty, where losing all your lives meant starting all over again. I want to keep some of that spirit alive, without making the game too easy.

(For example, I didn’t even want to include a third-person view at first – I developed it later on to help players who aren’t used to fixed-camera movement.)

As for the flashlight: after collecting the batteries and the flashlight, you need to combine them in the inventory to make it work. Press Tab to access the inventory :)

Keep playing and I promise you’ll eventually make progress! Stay tuned on my itch.io page – I’ll always post devlogs whenever a new update is released. And when you feel like giving it another try, we’ll be happy to have you back!

I invite you to see the gameplay of “Gaming with Zems” according to one of the best gameplay Gameplay video

Thanks again – your feedback is truly valuable. See you soon!

Mahlyath28 days ago

OH! well like I said I have a skill issue lmao!

I'm glad you took my critique well, and I anticipate your future updates!