Within a Deep Forest (PC, 2006)
Graphics-6.5 Sound-8.5 Control-7/6.5* Challenge-7.5 Story-6
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-8 Fun-6.5 Originality-7
Overall Score-6.5
*Glass ball
+
Ball avatar and physics (combined with very forgiving mid-air controls+you can hold a button to stop bouncing, can accelerate in mid-air like in Sonic or Meat Boy; similar to but more advanced than in Cauldron 2)
MV/Platform Adventure-style gameplay (hub area and levels w/ single entry points, transformations that let you reach new areas and progress in previously visited ones (pink ball - bounces higher and moves faster but has less responsive movement, green ball/speed ball - moves faster and reach further than the pink ball but more sensitive to wind, black/iron ball - heavy+less bouncy and breaks weak walls+no effect from wind, glass ball - bounces higher and moves faster than the pink ball+can pass through lasers but shatters if it hits solid ground or walls at high speeds including longer falls, ascent ball - button mash flight, etc.; 9 in total, gain them via NPCs over the course of the game), platforming puzzles)
Tutorial area expands with each ball form/material gained (tutorials are optional)
Hover via air streams (push back and then forward for a momentum boost)
Decent intro (voiced narration and artwork stills)
Some creative level design (Utopioca - looping and layered+color coded rooms where the outlines of each layer's topography is placed on top of the others (and then in one room your ball's color determines which layer you can stand on though it has some problems - see below), intersecting laser traps room)
One mine cart segment (charge jumps rather than bouncing here, very short though)
One major sequence break possible (getting to the iron ball before the pink ball by jumping to the left off the mountain, early shadowlands via a glitch)
Time travel/climate change theme (go to a different version of the hub area where it's winter and you can cross water)
Difficulty options (normal and hard)
3 secret mini-games (accessible via the Secret Levels.exe application after they have been unlocked by entering the corresponding 4-digit codes in the final level of the main game - or with a cheat)
+/-
Mostly linear (you can enter some of the sub areas/levels before you're supposed to but in all cases but two (one without sequence breaking) you'll just run into an ability gate/temporary dead end, two paths through the "that hover thing" level, some optional areas that lead to hints but you don't know it beforehand, can get the yoga ball before the glass ball)
Frequent checkpoints (can jump over them, quicksave only so progress is lost if you quit the game before reaching a proper save point/menu room) but somewhat infrequent save points
One hit deaths
Suicide command (triggered switches stay triggered so it's used for some puzzles, go back to the last checkpoint or while in a level to the last save room/menu room in the hub area that you used)
Odd jumping controls (press and hold to "power up" your bouncing rather than a standard jump button, takes quite a bit of getting used to and feels kinda slow when starting to move or moving in tight spaces)
Can switch between forms at checkpoints
Kinda weird save/load and fast travel systems (no "resume game" option in the menu - instead you pick the area name of the area you were in and it continues from where you saved in that area which is kinda vague, you can't teleport between save points/menu rooms but can teleport back to the tutorial area via a menu room and then back to the last menu room you entered (but then not move to the right from the tutorial area to go to the beginning of the hub area, leads to some backtracking - see below)
Many neutral creatures but you can't interact with them (only with stationary NPCs)
Flip screen instead of scrolling - with the zoomed out view it's good for single screen puzzles/an overview of individual screens but bad for various platforming segments (for example in the tutorial area there's a part where you jump from the top of one screen into the air then move to the left and then fall back down into a fourth screen to land on a small platform near the top of it - since you can't see the goal platform until right after entering its screen it becomes a trial & error affair)
Can't attack enemies
Kinda slow falling speed
Some escort segments (first one is pretty good as a puzzle but would've been more fun if you didn't die from touching it)
The hint for the cold ball's use is pretty vague though there's not many places to go at that point
Some switch puzzles (similar to Land of Illusion or SMW)
Glass ball form makes you feel vulnerable but the game takes it a bit too far
Non-interactive dialogue
-
Some non-persistent obstacles (breakable walls/floors)
Some control/interface issues (no control config and no built-in controller support - use joytokey, weird main menu that makes you use hotkeys instead of arrow keys and enter/esc for example and have to use number keys to switch between forms (means you can't fully map the game to a controller), can't press esc or another button to go to a pause or main menu during gameplay (means you can't quickly reload a save from anywhere), no message/quest log - pretty big info dump from the first NPC you meet if you go right in the beginning, F1 is for full screen toggle rather than a help menu (usually alt+enter), if you bounce to a higher platform when at max bounce power then you lose power relative to how short you fell before landing on that platform - this breaks the flow during vertical platforming segments as you have to keep powering up between each bounce)
Some trial & error (color-based utopioca puzzle - the iron ball is dark grey while its platforms are near white making it seem like you need a new ball plus all balls can stand on the red layer which makes the puzzle more confusing, the circular gadget in the shinock reigns/tower level that takes you back to the beginning of it - actually used for if you screw up the escort puzzle here which could've been conveyed better, later on near the beginning point of the hub area there's another gadget that functions differently which is weird - have to use the yoga ball to activate it and there's no hint of that besides the subtle color change on the checkpoint and the drawing of the NPC that gave you the yoga ball - these together are OK hints but the NPC's dialogue makes it seem like you're supposed to go upwards with the yoga ball "using patience" so it ends up confusing, various platforming segments due to the flip screen aspect and level design, some platforms look like you can move in front of the wall when you can't - horizontal grass tiles moving into it makes it look like the platform is placed in front of the wall, the first NPC says you can usually warp back "to the forest" (meaning the hub area) with Esc but this doesn't work within the hub itself (you use it to exit sub areas/challenge levels instead) - if you explore and activate a checkpoint in a difficult sub area you might have some trouble getting back and have to reload instead, the hedgehog NPC that gives you the pink ball kills you if touched - there's a checkpoint very close though, sometimes you can do a fast jump into a room and miss the next checkpoint while getting yourself killed on a hazard becaue of how they're placed, only get one chance to notice a creature leaving a code in shadowlands, long death pit in the cheese level that looks like any other pit from before)
Some backtracking (out of the tutorial area, back to Utopioca through Ljus if you didn't get the puzzle the first time (iron ball), back to the beginning of the first area - can't simply go to the tutorial area and then move right again since you'll just enter the menu and then go back to where you last saved, have to do one of the paths in the that hover thing level twice, some one-way paths in the hub area, can't teleport back to visited sub areas/levels)
No maps (and some identical level entrances don't have signs)
Some annoying temporary dead ends (if you make it as far as you can with the pink ball in the tutorial area as the platforming is kinda tricky as well as vertical there - then the green ball doesn't let you reach anywhere new so you waste your time yet again, a couple of levels can be reached early on but then not played if you don't have the right form, again if you enter Ljus and Utopioca too soon as you can't reach the next platform after the first room in the latter)
Some cheap enemy placements (when going left in "that hover thing" level for example)
Some tedious parts (using the glass ball - if you could take like a couple of hits without cracking completely if not at full speed it would've been fine, "strange place" is a short area but takes a while to get to and the only point in going there is to get a couple of vague hints for other areas, reappearing platforms room in shadowlands, tutorial area ends up being a pretty annoying vertial platforming challenge after you get the later ball that lets you finish it - this is just for a code to unlock a mini-game though)
Basic visuals compared to the music and ambient sfx
Underdeveloped characters and the first NPC acts like a tutorial
The cheese level doesn't introduce any new gimmicks
Notes:
-Mini-game info: https://nifflas.fandom.com/wiki/Within_a_Deep_Forest
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-8 Fun-6.5 Originality-7
Overall Score-6.5
*Glass ball
+
Ball avatar and physics (combined with very forgiving mid-air controls+you can hold a button to stop bouncing, can accelerate in mid-air like in Sonic or Meat Boy; similar to but more advanced than in Cauldron 2)
MV/Platform Adventure-style gameplay (hub area and levels w/ single entry points, transformations that let you reach new areas and progress in previously visited ones (pink ball - bounces higher and moves faster but has less responsive movement, green ball/speed ball - moves faster and reach further than the pink ball but more sensitive to wind, black/iron ball - heavy+less bouncy and breaks weak walls+no effect from wind, glass ball - bounces higher and moves faster than the pink ball+can pass through lasers but shatters if it hits solid ground or walls at high speeds including longer falls, ascent ball - button mash flight, etc.; 9 in total, gain them via NPCs over the course of the game), platforming puzzles)
Tutorial area expands with each ball form/material gained (tutorials are optional)
Hover via air streams (push back and then forward for a momentum boost)
Decent intro (voiced narration and artwork stills)
Some creative level design (Utopioca - looping and layered+color coded rooms where the outlines of each layer's topography is placed on top of the others (and then in one room your ball's color determines which layer you can stand on though it has some problems - see below), intersecting laser traps room)
One mine cart segment (charge jumps rather than bouncing here, very short though)
One major sequence break possible (getting to the iron ball before the pink ball by jumping to the left off the mountain, early shadowlands via a glitch)
Time travel/climate change theme (go to a different version of the hub area where it's winter and you can cross water)
Difficulty options (normal and hard)
3 secret mini-games (accessible via the Secret Levels.exe application after they have been unlocked by entering the corresponding 4-digit codes in the final level of the main game - or with a cheat)
+/-
Mostly linear (you can enter some of the sub areas/levels before you're supposed to but in all cases but two (one without sequence breaking) you'll just run into an ability gate/temporary dead end, two paths through the "that hover thing" level, some optional areas that lead to hints but you don't know it beforehand, can get the yoga ball before the glass ball)
Frequent checkpoints (can jump over them, quicksave only so progress is lost if you quit the game before reaching a proper save point/menu room) but somewhat infrequent save points
One hit deaths
Suicide command (triggered switches stay triggered so it's used for some puzzles, go back to the last checkpoint or while in a level to the last save room/menu room in the hub area that you used)
Odd jumping controls (press and hold to "power up" your bouncing rather than a standard jump button, takes quite a bit of getting used to and feels kinda slow when starting to move or moving in tight spaces)
Can switch between forms at checkpoints
Kinda weird save/load and fast travel systems (no "resume game" option in the menu - instead you pick the area name of the area you were in and it continues from where you saved in that area which is kinda vague, you can't teleport between save points/menu rooms but can teleport back to the tutorial area via a menu room and then back to the last menu room you entered (but then not move to the right from the tutorial area to go to the beginning of the hub area, leads to some backtracking - see below)
Many neutral creatures but you can't interact with them (only with stationary NPCs)
Flip screen instead of scrolling - with the zoomed out view it's good for single screen puzzles/an overview of individual screens but bad for various platforming segments (for example in the tutorial area there's a part where you jump from the top of one screen into the air then move to the left and then fall back down into a fourth screen to land on a small platform near the top of it - since you can't see the goal platform until right after entering its screen it becomes a trial & error affair)
Can't attack enemies
Kinda slow falling speed
Some escort segments (first one is pretty good as a puzzle but would've been more fun if you didn't die from touching it)
The hint for the cold ball's use is pretty vague though there's not many places to go at that point
Some switch puzzles (similar to Land of Illusion or SMW)
Glass ball form makes you feel vulnerable but the game takes it a bit too far
Non-interactive dialogue
-
Some non-persistent obstacles (breakable walls/floors)
Some control/interface issues (no control config and no built-in controller support - use joytokey, weird main menu that makes you use hotkeys instead of arrow keys and enter/esc for example and have to use number keys to switch between forms (means you can't fully map the game to a controller), can't press esc or another button to go to a pause or main menu during gameplay (means you can't quickly reload a save from anywhere), no message/quest log - pretty big info dump from the first NPC you meet if you go right in the beginning, F1 is for full screen toggle rather than a help menu (usually alt+enter), if you bounce to a higher platform when at max bounce power then you lose power relative to how short you fell before landing on that platform - this breaks the flow during vertical platforming segments as you have to keep powering up between each bounce)
Some trial & error (color-based utopioca puzzle - the iron ball is dark grey while its platforms are near white making it seem like you need a new ball plus all balls can stand on the red layer which makes the puzzle more confusing, the circular gadget in the shinock reigns/tower level that takes you back to the beginning of it - actually used for if you screw up the escort puzzle here which could've been conveyed better, later on near the beginning point of the hub area there's another gadget that functions differently which is weird - have to use the yoga ball to activate it and there's no hint of that besides the subtle color change on the checkpoint and the drawing of the NPC that gave you the yoga ball - these together are OK hints but the NPC's dialogue makes it seem like you're supposed to go upwards with the yoga ball "using patience" so it ends up confusing, various platforming segments due to the flip screen aspect and level design, some platforms look like you can move in front of the wall when you can't - horizontal grass tiles moving into it makes it look like the platform is placed in front of the wall, the first NPC says you can usually warp back "to the forest" (meaning the hub area) with Esc but this doesn't work within the hub itself (you use it to exit sub areas/challenge levels instead) - if you explore and activate a checkpoint in a difficult sub area you might have some trouble getting back and have to reload instead, the hedgehog NPC that gives you the pink ball kills you if touched - there's a checkpoint very close though, sometimes you can do a fast jump into a room and miss the next checkpoint while getting yourself killed on a hazard becaue of how they're placed, only get one chance to notice a creature leaving a code in shadowlands, long death pit in the cheese level that looks like any other pit from before)
Some backtracking (out of the tutorial area, back to Utopioca through Ljus if you didn't get the puzzle the first time (iron ball), back to the beginning of the first area - can't simply go to the tutorial area and then move right again since you'll just enter the menu and then go back to where you last saved, have to do one of the paths in the that hover thing level twice, some one-way paths in the hub area, can't teleport back to visited sub areas/levels)
No maps (and some identical level entrances don't have signs)
Some annoying temporary dead ends (if you make it as far as you can with the pink ball in the tutorial area as the platforming is kinda tricky as well as vertical there - then the green ball doesn't let you reach anywhere new so you waste your time yet again, a couple of levels can be reached early on but then not played if you don't have the right form, again if you enter Ljus and Utopioca too soon as you can't reach the next platform after the first room in the latter)
Some cheap enemy placements (when going left in "that hover thing" level for example)
Some tedious parts (using the glass ball - if you could take like a couple of hits without cracking completely if not at full speed it would've been fine, "strange place" is a short area but takes a while to get to and the only point in going there is to get a couple of vague hints for other areas, reappearing platforms room in shadowlands, tutorial area ends up being a pretty annoying vertial platforming challenge after you get the later ball that lets you finish it - this is just for a code to unlock a mini-game though)
Basic visuals compared to the music and ambient sfx
Underdeveloped characters and the first NPC acts like a tutorial
The cheese level doesn't introduce any new gimmicks
Notes:
-Mini-game info: https://nifflas.fandom.com/wiki/Within_a_Deep_Forest