Shrek sounds like Demoman
5 stars

this game makes me sick

Amazing game so far, it's incredibly clear that there are gallons of soul and effort being put into it. The art is stylized in a fun and cutesy way, ALL of the music goes absolutely HARD, and it's honestly just a blast to play.

There are a few issues with the gameplay, though. They aren't game-ending or anything, but they are something that should be mentioned. Notably, the week progression makes almost no sense.

The tutorial is obviously fine, and the first Dad level is a good way to ease players unfamiliar with the genre (Such as I) into the general loop. The second battle is pretty fine, although the short intense parts at the beginning and end are a little... abrasive. It's probably meant to be somewhat funny (In that only the second level has such a ramp in difficulty) and to foreshadow the later difficulty, but it might not be a good idea for only the second level, immediately after the super simplified first one. Other than that, good level. Then Dadbattle comes and is tough as nails for a new player. I do realize that this isn't really supposed to be an easy game, and exposing the player to loss early on is an alright method of spelling this out. But, considering the lengths you went to to help new players begin the game in the first few levels, throwing a really tough level at the tail end of the first week just seems odd. Not the worst first set of levels, but some tweaking as the game is closer to completion would improve the initial experience.

Week 2 is a major issue, as I'm sure you guys are aware considering you already nerfed it. Even with the nerf, though, it should NOT be the second week. I go through Week 4 on hard without having to restart a level once, but I struggle to get through South on easy. There was no attempt made to teach the player the concepts and patterns that are common in it, and it is a massive leap from even Dadbattle in Week 1. There is no reason this should be ahead of Pico.

Further, there are elements of the game present in other levels that oddly don't show up in these. In difficult levels like MILF, there are periods of time where the player can take a break and regain control over their health (?) using the long notes and more simple patterns. This means that, even when overly difficult areas arise, you aren't immediately doomed to lose. Nothing of the sort, at least in South. It is an onslaught of key patterns that my eyes can't even comprehend, followed by a short rest while the Spookeez play there part, and then an immediate trip straight back to hell without any real option for redemption. Difficulty is not a flaw in a game's design, but unfairness is not fun. Week 4 is hard, Week 2 is painful. As a much, much later week? This could work. But even setting it as Week 4 with the game's current roster wouldn't be enough, IMO.

Week 3 is fun as hell! Why isn't this the second week? It makes much more sense as a progression to Week 1. The spacing of the keys and speed of the levels is slightly faster than that of Week 1, and there are no overly difficult/impossible parts that a new player is likely to immediately fail at. I honestly don't have any complaints about these levels, they are fun as hell, but they shouldn't be as far down on the list as they are.

Week 4, too, is really fun. It has a much better balance than other overly tough, and it has the best songs, no doubt. I'd love more levels like these: Tough, with multiple tries necessary (On hard, at least), but still fun to go through. Unfortunately I'm not a game designer, so I can't say what specifically about these levels make them so enjoyable, but whatever you did when you made it, try and do again.

Moving past the weeks, I want to point out the slightly flawed controls. Playing some levels are just hard because of the way we have to play. Using the arrow keys/WASD instead of a row of 4 keys make it so your middle finger is constantly tripping over itself getting to the right key. I constantly found myself hitting up when the key was down or vice versa just because, when the game is moving fast, my brain doesn't have time to assure that I've landed on the correct arrow. It just makes some sections way more annoying than they ought to be. I have not played enough rhythm games to suggest a better option, but more customizability in the controls is definitely a must.

This review is super long and critical, but don't neglect the fact that I still believe it's a 7/10 game, even in its current state. It cannot be overstated how excellently the art and music direction are. They are some of the best I can honestly say I've seen in any game, especially when it comes to Newgrounds. I'm glad that it's starting to pick up in popularity (Seeing Vinny stream it and Siivagunner upload rips of it was super neat), and I hope it continues to grow further.

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