Just wanted to congratulate you on releasing Hack 6, I've already played it and while it's not my favourite one it's still crazy to me how big this "series" is. 9 Entries, all of them are more-or-less solid.
If there is going to be a Hack 7 in the future, consider this to be more of a wishlist of things I picked from and what gripes I've had with all of them.
- This style of hack can really benefit with the
modern "retry" patch. I know it's not a requirement for a game to be more fun, but I can see many people getting bothered by having to wait for the death sequence to finish and go back to the overworld just to try the level again. I can understand the notion of making death less meaningful if retry is applied, because being annoyed by dying should incentivize people
not to die, but in many cases sometimes the gimmicks requires screwing up at least once to understand it. Just a recommendation, not a necessity.
- I am very much glad that the "final level with brand new gimmicks" trend ended with this entry. What you've done instead is a much better alternative, by having a final level that retests your skills with gimmicks from the previous entries. I've always been annoyed with the old versions since...what's the point of establishing your gimmicks when you're just going to throw them away for the finale? But I get why you did it, as an author it does get boring using the same established gimmicks, and sometimes you just want to break free from your restrictions. Thing is, you're going to play with new gimmicks in the next sequel anyway. With Hack 6, this feels way cooler because your reward is new tests that involve the previous 7 entries, and if you've played the previous entries, it's fun trying to figure out which gimmicks came from which hack.
- I actually miss the world building aspect of Hack 3. It's clear that elements from SMW2+3 have been further developed, and there's a ton of backstory and expedition that left this particular entry with a lot of mystery. The hacks before and after it treat the Essence Star lore like a joke, even though Hack 5 is actually the funniest entry in the series in my eyes (more or less because of
but also we revisited Hack 3). Hack 7 should tie some loose ends, maybe give us what Hack 4 essentially wanted to pull off...but I also understand if you'd rather forget about it. It is hard retaining lore, and I'm sure a certain other community have already expressed their displeasure about it. Still, thought I'd bring it up.
- Can we please get secret exits again? That was probably the best part of Hack 2 in my eyes. I know that the "combination lock" from Hack 0 and this entry kind of serve the same purpose, but I feel with secret exits you can make longer branching paths that further expand on the levels' potentials. I like this better than the collectathon aspect of Hacks 3-5 since those do not deviate the path much as there is still only one way to actually "end" those levels.
- If we're going to continue the "second generation" of sequels (a "Hack 1 3"/"Hack 1 2 3"/"Hack 1 2 2 2" of sorts?), I'd honestly ditch the "Oh by the way" final level requirements. In the original "Hack" you knew what the secondary condition was for the final level from the beginning, the only thing that sucked was having to beat it twice if you got the secondary requirement already. I know it's a pretty good troll to leave that detail out until the end, but it's a real
huge slap in the face to have to realize that there's this thing you should've done beforehand. It felt like a step back compared to the original in my eyes, but I get the personal author satisfaction when seeing people like Juzcook hit it back to back.
- That being said, there is one way I can see the "Oh by the way" trope
actually working. What if the next one reveals the fact there's a secret path, and by revealing it's location (or maybe a hint like the hints from Super Mario Odyssey?) you now know where to hunt for a secret exit.
- In general though, Hack 1 2 (and it's sequel) are solid entries. Having a much more classic series with a 2010s feel mixed with all the modern tech,
mixed aesthetics from Super Mario Maker also
mixed with the reintroduction of lives is a really neat idea. There's a cool nostalgia with the special world map, plus lives (as I've said in my review of the original Hack) adds an optional self-imposed challenge of making sure not to get a game over. The Super Mario Maker aesthetic also gives it the "sequel" aspect of it. These are also much harder than the original Hack, giving them the "Lost Levels" sequel vibe. It's good stuff.
- Hack 7 should go back to Hack 2's world...maybe even expand it further and also go back to Hack 5's world, then have the true final level combine all the essentials from 7's, 2's, and 5's together into an amazing marathon of combined challenges.
I know I'm kind of blunt with my statements, but I do care about this series, especially now that I've played "All the Hack Hacks". If Hack 6 is the finale of the saga, then I can say I've had fun going through them back to back....just, maybe don't rush these so hard! You made like 4 entries in 2020 alone! But yes, thank you for your dedication, keep up the good work for any future endeavors.
Want progress on 100 Rooms of Enemies: The Nightmare Edition? Go
here to see.
(rip my other userbars momentarily)