Review of 'The Crates' by yokcos700

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Videogames and crates go together like peanut butter and jelly.  We've broken them open for supplies, thrown them at foes, stacked them to get to high areas, hidden behind them... but to my knowledge, there hasn't even been a game where you PLAY as a crate.  Until now.  'The Crates,' by yokcos700, certainly has a novel concept, but the game itself can be fairly hit-and-miss.  It's good,  but a general lack of polish combined with a frustrating difficulty curve keep it from being great.

The Crates is a platformer.  And for the most part, it's a pretty solid platformer, and it's quite obvious that yokcos700 put a lot of effort into it.  This is no tutorial re-skin or casual 2 day project.  Levels are creative and new elements and ideas appear in almost every one, and there are 2 well-thought-out arcade modes with highscore listings on top of the appropriately long "story mode."  Unfortunately, the core gameplay doesn't always end up being fun, mostly due to some minor-but-frustrating glitches and a biting difficulty curve.  For instance, the game doesn't utilize the "move to contact" feature of GM, meaning that your character will often momentarily stop a few inches above the ground before falling again.  It doesn't seem like much of a complaint, but it will often cause you to miss jumps, which makes the already taxing later levels even more difficult.  A more helpful glitch occurs on the level selection screen.  Although in theory each level appears one at a time as you progress, it's possible to get to any level in the game by clicking the empty space where its button should be.  This is an unacceptable oversite.   

The graphics in The Crates aren't terrible, but like the gameplay they have some noticeable rough spots.  For instance, there are some color issues (one level in particular features platforms that are the exact same color and pattern as the background.  A most definite no-no), "NPC crates" appear out of thin air with nary an effect or animation, and most of the sprites are pretty plain and lack a certain amount of cohesion.  Still, the game is easy enough to look at.  And your little crate character is absolutely adorable.

I really wish I knew who did the music for The Crates, because it's actually pretty darn good.  There's a lot of it, for one thing, and it's all over-the-top and fun, perfectly fitting the game's lighthearted tone.  And although the composer sometimes makes some odd musical choices (such as maintaining an interval of a major third in the melodic line even when it clashes with the harmony), the score is relatively memorable and even catchy, and these choices usually come off as quirks rather than faults.  Unfortunately, there are almost no sound effects to speak of, and what sounds there are were either ripped from other games or taken from the GM stock folder.

But here's the thing... somehow, despite all odds, The Crates just WORKS.  It's level design is consistently good, its premise is unique, its music is absolutely lovable in its cheesiness, the ridiculously contrived story has a gleeful eye for comedy, and...it's really just quite charming.  Sure, it may not be consistently fun, but it has a weird sort of draw, and despite having tons of professional games to play, I still didn't at all mind taking 10 or 15 minutes a night to experience yokcos700's quirky little platformer.  I could see this garnering some fans.  And I would probably play a sequel if one is made.  So, try The Crates out.  It may not be the best game on this site, and it can sometimes be more trouble than its worth, but its worth a look.  I give it a 4/5.