Lizard
- March 4, 2018
- rainwarrior
Get on Steam"Lizard" is a single-player, open-world NES game where you play as a lizard with six different special abilities, navigating through treacherous environments and encountering strange creatures. The game features tricky platforming gameplay, a coin currency, and is rated for its mature themes. It is available for download as a ROM or application and comes with a Steam key. Physical NES cartridges are also available for purchase. A free demo version is available.
Reviews
- Lizard features stunning graphics and a captivating atmosphere, reminiscent of classic NES platformers.
- The game offers a vast world to explore with numerous secrets, providing a sense of adventure and discovery.
- The soundtrack is highly praised, enhancing the overall experience and immersing players in the game.
- The controls are often described as floaty and unresponsive, making platforming challenging and frustrating.
- Checkpoints are infrequent, leading to tedious backtracking after dying, which can disrupt the flow of gameplay.
- The gameplay mechanics, including the lizard-switching feature, feel uninspired and lack depth, resulting in a less engaging experience.
- gameplay9 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay is criticized for being lackluster and uninspired, with awkward controls that hinder the platforming experience. The mechanics, including a lizard switching feature, fail to engage players, and the overall design lacks depth and visual appeal, leading to a lack of motivation to explore the game further. Overall, it feels derivative and fails to offer a compelling experience compared to classic titles.
“While that fundamentally may be what all NES games were, the good ones at least disguised this well with enjoyable gameplay elements and pleasing visuals.”
“This is a fine game element, but when it's the main hook of your entire game mechanics, then you're not in for an exceptionally fun time.”
“Every gameplay aspect that it hints at has not only been done before but done in far superior ways by the multitude of great classics that served as its inspiration.”
“To purposely design a control mechanic like this seems to be pandering to the small group of people who felt that overcoming a game's bad control physics was just as much a part of the challenge as the rest of the game and that this was a legitimate feature.”
“Aside from that, the actual gameplay is lackluster.”
“The controls aren't terrible but they do remain awkward and inhibit a decent platforming experience, the world is visually unappealing and small (albeit very open), the gameplay is uninspired and about as bare-bones as you can get, the lizard switching mechanic isn't intriguing or compelling, enemy placement feels too random for good level design, and perhaps worst of all there is simply no drive to continue after you've seen most, if not all, of the world which doesn't take long for the average player.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are praised for their stunning world and level design, effectively capturing the charm of the 8-bit aesthetic while providing a variety of content. However, some users find the visual presentation inconsistent, describing it as a chaotic mix of locales and sprites that detracts from the overall experience. Despite this, the game is recommended for those who appreciate retro-style graphics and engaging gameplay.
“The game itself offers quite good graphics and a variety of content for the game on this platform.”
“Stunning world and level design, great graphics and atmosphere.”
“In terms of graphics, the world layout of Lizard is such a hodgepodge mess of randomized locales and sprites that it comes off as a digital 8-bit dadaist nightmare.”
“While that fundamentally may be what all NES games were, the good ones at least disguised this well with enjoyable gameplay elements and pleasing visuals.”
“And if you're already tired of the 8-bit aesthetic, I'd say you should still try this - go out of the retro trend with a bang with a legitimate NES game that's well made and remembers why the games of long ago keep captivating players.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised, with many highlighting the exceptional chiptune soundtrack by Brad Smith that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers describe it as a masterpiece that beautifully complements the gameplay, making it a standout feature of the game.
“The soundtrack is a masterpiece of chiptune that beautifully accompanies the game, turning the experience into a dream.”
“Awesome soundtrack!”
“The music is actually quite good.”
- story3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game intentionally lacks a complex story, echoing the simplistic narratives of classic NES titles, where the focus is on the protagonist stopping an antagonist. This absence of a detailed plot is viewed positively by some players, as it aligns with the nostalgic feel of retro gaming.
“Virtually every NES game of this type consisted of one simple, non-complex plot point: 'You are the protagonist, stop the antagonist from doing antagonistic things.' As a matter of personal taste, I really think this is one of the strong points of the game.”
“There is no story to be found here, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.”
“Virtually every NES game of this type consisted of one simple, non-complex plot point: 'you are the protagonist, stop the antagonist from doing antagonistic things.' So as a matter of personal taste, I really think this is one of the strong points of the game.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its stunning world and level design, complemented by impressive graphics that enhance the overall experience.
“Stunning world and level design, great graphics and atmosphere.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express frustration with the emotional impact of losing progress in the game, highlighting a lack of checkpoint reliability that detracts from their overall experience. This sentiment suggests that the emotional investment in the game is undermined by the inability to retain achievements between checkpoints.
