Reviews

• Maxine Pain

  Nov 20, 2022

  Too unforgiving and frustrating. The puzzles and each move need to be timed just right and it doesn't save after every room so after you manage to pass one you can end end dying in the next one and you'll get stuck on the same set of rooms again and again. It needs too much patience and specific skills to be enjoyable otherwise. It's not suitable for a larger audience other than the ones who have the necessary set of skills nor does it have difficulty levels to dial it back for the ones who can't manage it. It's almost as if the developer made sure for each room to be playable separately but didn't check the game all togheter or they're too skilled and don't give a crap about who isn't. Either that or they're straight up sadistic. also it got one patch but the developer never addressed the issues such as the inability to take screenshots and the random crash. also it's not done badly but not 100% polished, sometimes Jon will move or get stuck in awkward ways, a minor detail but still something that doesn't help with the difficulty of the puzzles. Don't buy this game, go watch a Let's Play.
• Negaboss3015

  Mar 23, 2023

  The game was pretty good overall, as was the story itself
• gamedeal user

  Jun 20, 2021

  Good game. Passed in one go... on YouTube, thanks to ABG;)
• gamedeal user

  Jun 21, 2021

  Very unforgiving but fun game. You have to wonder, what did Jon do to deserve such punishment?
• gamedeal user

  Jun 23, 2021

  (There is a soft-lock early in the game that was preventing me from progressing. It happens after getting the key to the first tower) My first impression was good, but this game turned sour for me after getting completely stuck at certain barrel section. Dying was frustrating and felt too punishing: frustrating because all too often I died not understanding what I did wrong, and too punishing because after you die 6 times you get a "game over" setting you way back. Moving around felt uncomfortable. The field of view is so small that when obstacles comes flying towards the player it would already be too late. To sum up my frustration with the game: I often felt confused and not in control. I will revisit this game after some patch-work has been done and then I will reconsider my recommendation. But at the moment I cant recommend this game
• gamedeal user

  Jun 23, 2021

  I really want to love this game. The setting, 2D pixel art, etc.. are all fantastic - unfortunately the actual game becomes unbearably tedious and unpleasant to play. I don't mind a good challenge but the gameplay in Lasagna Boy just feels unpolished and unfair. Why does this game have 'Game Over' when it has checkpoints? It's almost like the dev just wants to waste your time and tick you off. Often feels like that's the whole point of this game, so if that sounds like your thing, go ahead and pick it up.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 23, 2021

  This game's about a 4/10. I enjoyed playing it, but I don't plan on playing it again or trying to get the Easter eggs. Story: A rather generic "save girl from cult sacrifice + demons" plot. Gorefield wasn't as prevalent in this game as I expected, besides the protagonist being a lasagna boy named Jon, the Chapter 1 chase scene, the Mr. Chesterfield boss fight, and the "I'm Sorry Jon" joke at the end of Chapter 6 . The references didn't have to overpower the overall plot, and I get the need to avoid copyright issues, but I feel like a few more elements would have added some character to the game. Maybe rename the girl Eliza (Liz), or have that one cultist's name be Lima (Lyman) instead of Grima. Gameplay: The platforming is typical, but fun, and the standard controls behave consistently (besides the fact that B manages both sprinting and lighting/firing, and I can allow that considering the limits of the GameBoy). The level design is solid, too; I felt like the game put me through a variety of different situations. However, there are a lot of rough edges throughout. -Certain basic tasks take too long. Turning the portcullis wheels takes about 10-15 seconds of sustained button mashing in the early chapters, and the piston heads on the gears usually need to be shot about 10 times before breaking. -Similarly, some sections are too long. The parapet jumping section in Chapter 3 was one such section, as besides the blackout/lightning there wasn't much in the way of challenge. Wait for lightning to strike, jump, repeat x 20. It made thematic sense for the three rising lava sections at the end of Chapter 6 to be this way, considering you're heroically carrying an injured Gilda out of the bowels of the Earth and away from the castle, but I still think the third was a bit much, essentially since it was mostly switchbacks. -The fake perspective makes the stealth sections a bit weird, as the "perspectived" sections of the pillars don't actually hide Jon, only the flat parts. The stealth is very touchy as well, to the point that if even a single pixel of Jon is outside the pillar you're visible. -The rolling barrels are spaced randomly. Since getting hit twice in a row kills Jon, your ability to survive a mistake becomes random as well. This isn't necessarily a problem on its own, but some sections don't let you see the barrels well in advance, such as when they drop from the ceiling or descend a ramp the camera isn't facing yet. You have to pick a time that *looks* safe and hope you don't get blindsided. -The minecart sections are janky. On level surfaces, the cart accelerates slowly, so it can get stuck in shallow valleys. (The section automatically resets when the cart comes to a complete stop, which is the only mechanic preventing this from being a softlock.) Jumps are difficult and heavily rotation-dependent. Sometimes you'll make it, sometimes you'll fall just short, sometimes you'll land but flip over because a wheel snagged the edge of the track, and sometimes you'll find yourself *underneath* the track, hanging only by the wheels that got wedged on top of it. The worst examples of this mechanic, the first three sections of Chapter 7, resemble Line Rider courses in their obtuse track placement, sporting near-vertical jumps and walls that require you to rotate vertically so you don't crash on them. Your lives get reset at the start of each of those sections, and boy is that feature necessary. Be ready to hear a lot of Wilhelm screams. -Bosses are okay. A bit too much head-banging for my taste, though. In terms of story, Mr. Chesterfield felt like it should have been the final boss, and the rising lava section should have been the last platforming section, with Chapter 7 as a bonus level for a golden ending. Mechanically, Molech was still a better final boss, though going back and forth between those hands got pretty obnoxious. Visuals: The best part of the game, hands-down. The portraits, character & enemy designs, animations, cutscenes, etc. are very strong. I especially liked the parallax lighting system, and the spiral staircase animation. The level backgrounds and elements are the weakest link here. They don't look bad, but they're generic. Also, the fake perspective of the stairs gets jarring when there are two sets facing opposite directions. Music: Bare-bones. The tracks are all about 20-30 seconds long. They match the mood of the game, but besides that they're nothing special. The audio quality is a bit clipped, but that might just be how GameBoy sounds. Nitpick: -"sacrifice" is misspelled in the pre-Mr. Chesterfield boss cutscene
• gamedeal user

  Jun 27, 2021

  very pro gaem
• gamedeal user

  Jul 1, 2021

  Lots of fun! Reminds me a bit of the original Prince of Persia (cranking gates that close after a while, 3d-ish sideview perspective) along with Donkey Kong Country (barrels + minecart) and more! I really like the stealth mixed with fighting and platforming. It's also really interesting how it's one hit death and yet that system works well, unless you get frustrated a bit easily. After you lose your lives it's game over, and you go back to the last save point after a game over, but that is exactly how it was on original gameboy games which is what Lasagna Boy is clearly going for. It's never too far back to the last save, at least in my opinion. Every platforming section has a strategy to it. For example, you can stand near walls when there are oncoming barrels from above so they will miss you. There are lots of fun ideas in the game and scary surprises! It's great.
• gamedeal user

  Jul 3, 2021

  Much of my issues have already been covered in other reviews, but for the sake of feedback, here we goooooo First, I really wanted to enjoy this game, and it certainly has its moments. The art direction is gorgeous, monster designs are fun, music is pretty effective despite being minimal loops. But the gameplay aspects could use some tweaking. -The camera: not often an issue, but jumping between fixed and follow perspectives in the middle of a platforming section is really jarring and makes certain jumps a bit frustrating. -Platforms: some didn't seem to be approachable from the underside, so even being off by a pixel or two resulted in a death-dealing rebound. underside approaching is pretty typical for 2d platformers, so maybe consider implementing that across the board. -Stealth: as mentioned in at least one other review, the detection is much less forgiving here, and not in a good way. -Piston-heads: there's absolutely no reason for them to take this many hits, it just feels like unnecessary padding. the crumbling platform piston section would've been really cool if it took a bit less time. -Cranks: see above. -Audio: the Wilhelm scream, really? a minor complaint, and more a personal pet-peeve, but it's just annoying now. gunshots are mixed waaaaayyyyy too LOUD, my dudes. please dial em back a bit -Game Over: an utterly pointless thing to put in a non-coin-op game. I realize it's likely in homage to games of the era, where lives/game overs were a holdover from the arcade era, but it's annoying, ditch it. -Lives/Boss Fights: one-hit KO for everything isn't good. either replace the lives with health, which send you to the last checkpoint _ONLY_ when depleted, or have each stage of a multi-stage boss be its own checkpoint. -Telegraphing: Gorefi-I mean, Chesterfield, telegraphs quite well. GG, buds. but maybe keep both hands on-screen at all times, telegraphing only matters when it's visible or audible to the player. If I missed an audio cue for the grab attack (idk if there is one), it'd be due to having to turn the volume down to make the gunshots bearable. -Level design: only minor nitpicks, but certain areas are tediously long, barrels should have a recognisable pattern, and goals/obstacles were sometimes unclear or came up with no warning. -I'm not going to go into the minecarts, it's been covered in far greater in other comments. but yeah, janky and in need of tweaking. cool concept tho! Now that I've complained, and in the interest of constructive criticism and the "compliment sandwich", let's talk about some good stuff. -Art: as mentioned before, it's gorgeous. solid job folks. love the LORJ HEAD aesthetic, pure GB-era. -Gorefield: above mentioned issues regarding lives & one-hit kills aside, honestly a nicely thought out boss fight. nice telegraphing, some interesting attacks, and decent pacing. -Story: a bit typical, but it serves the purpose and sets up some of the humour nicely. -Puzzle design: mostly pretty dec, not much else to say really. some took a few tries to figure out, but others were well set up, and I enjoyed the nod to the OG Lasagna Boy with the random button combo sections, those had some nice tension. -Controls: mostly pretty smooth! minecart aside, that is Overall, this game all too often stumbles over the fine line between 'difficult' and 'unfair', so I can't truly recommend it from a gameplay perspective, but the aesthetics and concept are absolutely solid. the foundations are there, as is the creativity. so I absolutely want people to support this team and help them grow. if I'm seem harsh, I just feel there is room for improvement, and it's just a few things to keep in mind either for patches or future projects. Love it conceptually and I look forward to seeing what y'all do next, because bumping the design aspects up to the level of the creativity and art direction would result in a truly memorable experience.