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From Manuel Fallman, the wizard that brought us the excellent but not quite recent Bubbles, comes a wild platformer that's going to turn your world upside-down.
In Mindscape, you start off being greeted by a giant pink bunny that welcomes you to the "Candy Meadows", further explaining that you are in fact in a delusional state of mind (full of candies no less), and must get out before you're stuck there. That's straightforward enough (I guess?) so you're dropped into the first level and off you go.
It's mostly a typical 'jump and run' platformer with an important twist: gravity changes. A little bit at first, especially on the first level, but by level three you're walking around free-floating boxes and trying to keep your orientation as the screen flips and rotates to keep your head always pointed "up". There are occasional signs to give you a tiny clue as to what general direction you should be headed. You can collect items for points throughout the level (sometimes it's candy, sometimes pills; it changes with each level), and there are numerous trophies hidden throughout the game as well.
There have been platform games that have used a world-turning, stomach-churning mechanic before, the most mainstream example being Yoshi Topsy-Turvy for GBA. MindScape takes that idea and goes all crazy bananas with it, spinning the world around in different directions until you literally have no idea where you're going anymore. It's a blast.
Analysis: I wasn't too sure what to make of this game at first, because it starts off like a very typical platformer: you're running, you're jumping, you're collecting things for useless points, there's fighting monkeys, and it's all like "so what?"
Okay, fighting monkeys are never all like "so what?"
The point being that about 3/4 of the way through the first level I almost stopped playing, but there was a point when I walked up a wall, over onto the "ceiling", and then fell off the ceiling and back onto the "ground" with the screen swinging violently with each orientation change. That was when I truly understood what the game was about. The rest was pure, nauseating, disoriented fun.
This game is a brilliantly conceived and executed platformer of the highest level. It's a testament to the level design that I somehow never got lost, even though at a few points I was literally free-falling through tunnels with the screen turning and tilting at each intersection.
Don't get too close to the baddies though: they seem to cheat through a bit of generous collision detection, but they're easy enough to avoid. Enjoy Mindscape!
Mindscape is a side-scrolling platformer with a... twist, in that the entire level rotates as you play. There are three "worlds" with four levels each, which steadily progress from the creepily joyous Candy Meadows to the joyously creepy Center of Your Mind. The graphics are perfect for this sort of game, and the creator, Manual Fallmann, has found an excellent assortment of slightly deranged music on Newgrounds' audio section. There are also some very nice little cut scenes between worlds. It looks like there's quite a bit of replay value to this game, since the title screen has a link to a "trophy room" with six different trophies, none of which I found while playing through the game. Highly recommended.
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Comments (may contain spoilers)
This game might give you headaches....so you might wanna give it a short rest every ten minutes ago.
You can find a lot of hidden goodies and stuff if you're not afraid to do a bit of trekking, plus you should keep an eye out for surfaces covered with what appears to be the ground, like grass. Jumping towards those (or even down what appear to be holes sometimes) might lead to treasure hoards of candy or pills. Remember kids, when you're insane, pills are your friend!....well, maybe not. But who cares, you're insane!
As for those trophies, all of them are off the beaten path, and you may find more than one in a single level. They usually occur near the exit of the level, or at the end of the fork in the road that you might not have taken, or maybe even tucked away in a hidden area off the beaten path. These small prizes are really, really shiny, and have their own names.
Also, each level has a given amount of items you can pick up, and it will tell you when you have gotten all of them.
Some levels might have more things than the level thinks it does, but that's not really that much of a big deal.
Enjoy the stay in YOUR BRAIN.
Posted by: weirdguy
|
May 14, 2007 7:27 PM
Gah! Stuck at the
Posted by: eli | May 14, 2007 7:46 PM
Good lord that was a creepy game. The atmosphere, graphics, music, enemies, etc., are all perfectly designed to creep the hell out of you. Nevertheless, I managed to finish the game in the first sitting. With 4 out of the 6 trophies no less. :)
weirdguy: The problem with jumping down random holes is that sometimes they really *are* holes. :P I did that a couple times while playing, and you lose an entire life that way, not just some health. Which is a problem given that it seems you can't ever earn lives back. By the last world, I just was trying to find the door and nothing else. :)
eli. This should help you:
Posted by: Simone Manganelli | May 14, 2007 8:10 PM
Here's what I know so far:
Posted by: Ovadya | May 14, 2007 8:12 PM
eli:
Posted by: Rich Lafferty | May 14, 2007 8:51 PM
What a fun game I got stuck for a bit with the black slugs but really enjoyed it. jay im going on 55 come june and your jig web page is the place I come every day to have fun. you have to have the best games to play on the net. I thank you from heart for putting such effort in jig. and I want to say that everyone that comes here makes it a place with a fantastic vibe.. my respect to one and all~*~ be safe and thanks again. amagic2u
Posted by: amagic2u | May 14, 2007 9:34 PM
woah.
head trip.
Posted by: Eman Ruoy | May 14, 2007 10:26 PM
Reminds me of FancyPants Adventures---obviously 'cause of the gameplay, but also from the visceral sounds of impact when the villians "smack" you.
Bunnies!!!
Posted by: dmc | May 14, 2007 10:41 PM
Awesome!
Posted by: nod
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May 15, 2007 12:15 AM
Awesome game, nice music, colours, backgrounds, storyline, gameplay... its the works!
Posted by: mongle | May 15, 2007 1:11 AM
Great game. The third area (with the drugs) is especially disorienting. There was a point there when I was falling and flipping around for a good half minute before I finally managed to get to my feet.
I also enjoyed how, in the introduction, it switches between crazy music and no music as the point of view changes.
Now I have to get all the trophies and medals! (I only got one of each the first time through.)
Posted by: fishy | May 15, 2007 2:04 AM
I love how you can take this game seriously if you want to, or just play it. Like, it's your mind, is it real or are you just messing with yourself? :P
Of course you are.
I've always loved Mindistortion. My only complaint here is my headache from the vertigo. O_o
Posted by: Vole | May 15, 2007 3:16 AM
How do you
Posted by: Jalathas
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May 15, 2007 9:29 AM
Never mind. I figured it out. I thought he was hitting me with it when I got too close.
Posted by: Jalathas
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May 15, 2007 9:35 AM
Game of the year.
PHENOMENAL art, AWESOME mechanics and controls, EXCELLENT atmosphere, and just enough of a plot to make me curious for the end.
And to top it off, the difficulty level, for me at least, was JUST right. Enough that I ran out of lives and had to continue, but not so hard that I had to re-experience his beautiful levels again and again. For me, that really preserved the WHOA factor of walking down a tunnel and suddenly being somewhere COMPLETELY different. (floating color cubes, anyone?)
I had spent a couple hours browsing his site this weekend, but didn't play THIS game because the description led me to confuse it with the recently reviewed Game game game. (Which I didn't really want to play again.)
Definitely the front-runner in my mind for best of 2007! (But it's early yet.)
Posted by: Jamus | May 15, 2007 11:18 AM
This has gained my seal of approval. (believe me, thats hard to get) I agree that it reminds you of Fancy Pants, very nice game play. But, i don't think they've got the twirling and flipping in Fancy Pants. This game is very addictive, i was playing it for my whole second peroid in school! But, I beat it first try. Highly recommended!
Posted by: Chron | May 15, 2007 11:38 AM
I loved this game!
I thought it was a great length. Long enough I didn't feel cheated, but short enough I could finish it in one sitting. Which, I was compelled to do just so I could see what the next world would be. I agree with Jamus that the level of difficulty was right on. By the last scene I was on my last life with some health gone.
Speaking of the last scene, I thought the ending was perfect for such a strange and exciting game. It makes me wonder what will happen to the guy next. (Which is not common for a quick flash game.)
All in all a wonderful game. Thanks for the review. And thanks for this site.
Posted by: sarahnade | May 15, 2007 1:10 PM
Awesome! The entire game is beautiful, strange, and just the right difficulty. The only thing I wouls add is some gravity shifts and less presicion jumps during the chase scene, which I cannot get past at all.
Posted by: lopsidation | May 15, 2007 4:00 PM
Is there a trophy for getting every single candy/gear/whatever?
Posted by: Jasmine | May 15, 2007 8:21 PM
This was AMAZING! Thanks Jay!! Seriously, the way this made you come to realizations, like the drug trip scene, when after you had "taken" (collected) so many pills, and all of a sudden, you're in this crazy colorful trippy world. This was just incredible. Any other games like this should be posted to the point of spam....seriously....amazing....
Posted by: Videz | May 16, 2007 12:31 AM
Hey, I didn't say to jump down random holes. I'll say right now that if you see any holes that look DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT from other holes, like grass leading down them, or that they appear to lead inside somewhere instead of sending you to your doom, there's a good chance that they have something for you in there.
Speaking of falling to your doom, you may want to be careful during the metal levels, as sometimes gravity won't catch you if you stray too far from the "floor" parts. If there's nothing to land on, you shouldn't make that jump.
Posted by: weirdguy
|
May 16, 2007 5:21 AM
Awesome. I love how it lets you get a bit Matrixy with your movements (this is especially worth trying on the Robots levels).
I'd love to see a fighting game based on this gameplay.
Posted by: Peter Hosey | May 16, 2007 6:18 AM
Only one thing I can say: WeIrD
Posted by: Scott Shipley | May 16, 2007 5:38 PM
aww...it is very sad...
Posted by: LC | May 27, 2007 5:17 AM
ohoho..what a game!
Posted by: Pirates | May 27, 2007 1:09 PM
Wow. That was... odd. Really, really odd. Fun, but odd. (Note to self: Stop saying "Odd".)
Posted by: ProfessorZ89 | May 28, 2007 1:29 AM
AARRGG...I keep going round in circles!!
Great game...really different! WARNING do not play when suffering from a hangover, this game is likely to make you chuck!
Posted by: Naomi | June 14, 2007 9:41 AM
I had SO much fun playing this game.
I liked how as you progressed, the levels began to make more sense, and how his evilness was all...evill.
Posted by: Dia | June 20, 2007 2:12 PM
Wow! What fun ^.^ The levels that actually look like the
Heyyy.. I lose at this whole trophy thing... On the first part of the creepy part, you know, the asylum-ish part that begins with the couch and the light, can anyone give me clues to where the trophy is? I'm lost Dx
Posted by: Lionsong | June 27, 2007 1:09 AM
This was just awesome. I'm bookmarking it so I can show it to people.
I didn't find any of the trophies, though. Whoops.
(I especially like how forgiving it is when you die. Heh.)
Posted by: Octal | July 3, 2007 3:20 AM
FYI:
The game file appears to be gone from the site... which itself seems a bit... blank.
Bummer.
Posted by: Ezrabbit | July 28, 2007 6:39 AM
where do you find secrets 5 and 6
Posted by: mike | August 6, 2007 3:40 PM
The game is gone, the website is rated "red" by Site Advisor, I recommend you remove the links.
[Edit: Manuel's MINDdistortion website will be back, he is just experiencing some issues with the domain since the original owner recently passed away. The site will return soon, and I'll update the entry here when it does. -Jay]
Posted by: Me | August 20, 2007 5:39 PM
man, that was awesome.
but the end was really creepy!
i really liked the effects with the gravity, although i was kind nauseous by the end
=]
Posted by: Brian | September 22, 2007 5:01 PM
The link appears to be broken... *cries* I WANNA PLAY IT!
[Edit: I just checked and all links appear to be functioning properly. -Jay]
Posted by: Maddie | October 14, 2007 7:37 PM
Oh. Well then my computer must not be working right... how tragic.
Posted by: Maddie | October 14, 2007 11:56 PM
I need help with the secret items from the insanity level. Scary couches and scary doors. *Shudders*
Posted by: The ninja of blue | October 22, 2007 4:45 PM
Now I just need the other one.
I found the meaning of life now.
So now what?
Posted by: The ninja of blue | October 22, 2007 4:57 PM
TWO Words:
Posted by: ME | December 24, 2007 9:51 PM
uh (counts on fingers) 1...2....3 ....
thats 3 words, me.(hmmm...technically 6?)
(well someone had to say it);)
Posted by: SahBeh
|
January 10, 2008 11:27 PM
Wow.
That game was suprisingly good.
I had to try to beat it two times.Didn't time the jumps well. Actually...
Posted by: The Shredder | March 6, 2008 7:24 PM
Does anybody know, where to get the music from?
Posted by: vegangoth | April 14, 2008 4:00 PM
Wow...I've never been scared while playing a game before...but this one had me tingling all over in the final level and every time the level changed slightly in looks, or an enemy appeared it made me feel on edge and jumpy...
It really does suck you in...quite an experience :3
Posted by: Eloquence | May 10, 2008 12:29 AM
vegangoth- go to Newgrounds and type in MindScape, on that page it'll show a list of the songs and their websites...
Secerts I've got: The Meaning of Life, the Bunny Mask, the See/Hear/Speak No Evil Monkeys, Ol Game Console, and the Clock Work Orange... Wheres the last one (I figure it on the third level)?
Posted by: Just someone | May 10, 2008 2:27 PM