Daily Flash: Use Boxmen

 Simple graphics and silly faces everywhere. Once again, a game with silly humor in everything from the between stage text to the walls of the levels, Use Boxmen has you using, abusing, and sacrificing your clones to finish each level. A platformer with cloning, how does this one stand up with other puzzlers out there?

Presentation:
I'm a sucker for cute aesthetics. All the faces of the boxmen and even the faces drawn on the foreground are simple, yet adorable. There's nothing like watching your boxmen run into a spike wall or down a pit with huge, innocent smiles on their faces. The hand drawn look is simple, and never really draws too much attention to itself.
3.5/5

Gameplay:
The puzzles are simple, with only one or two levels that required a bit of out-of-the-box thinking to solve. Pun intended. Using your Boxmen in different ways is fun, and intuitive. If I see a cliff I can't quite jump, have a Boxman do it. Have to leave someone standing on a button? No worries, he'll spend the rest of his life holding down that button. The levels are fun, but could be harder.
3.5/5

Overall:
While there are other games that have you creating copies of yourself, Use Boxmen is one of the few that give you the freedom of letting your copies do things that you can't do. While it's not as complex as controlling several characters at once, it's gameplay is similar to lemmings in leaving your limited supply of characters standing around to reach a goal. Plenty of fun to be had, but the 13 levels end quickly.
3.5/5

Play Use Boxmen Here!

Daily Flash: Darkness 2

If you've ever thought, "There are just too many colors in the world." then Darkness 2 is perfect for you. A simple concept, everything in the world is dark and you have a limited supply with which you can paint that world. A world of light/dark has been done before, but can Darkness 2 shine a new light on the concept?

Presentation:
While the graphics aren't much to look at, it's loads of fun to paint the walls. It's a simple pleasure, drawing on the idea of making a mess with no consequences. Everyone will agree that finger painting and drawing on things you shouldn't is fun. Some levels mix up the color palate which is a refreshing change of pace, but this doesn't happen often enough and the rest of the game does get stale quickly.
3/5

Gameplay:
Most of the game feels either too simple, or arbitrarily hard. While you have a limited number of paint balls to paint the environment, you never get close to using up your regular paint so it might as well be unlimited. Many of the levels are simple, and rely on you not being able to see the walls. The levels that force you to go off screen are annoying since you get so close to the sides, but at least not being able to see everything brings some sort of new gameplay.
2.5/5

Overall:
Refreshing at first, and there are a few moments that make you appreciate the mechanics, but the level design is lacking. There just aren't enough moments that actually make you feel clever because you solved the level. Most levels could be solved by throwing paint balls everywhere until it just becomes a normal platformer. Try it for the novelty, but don't expect anything too clever.
2.6/5

Play Darkness 2 Here!

Daily Flash: The Company of Myself

Following K.O.L.M. in the artsy platformer trend, lets look at another platformer with a unique playstyle, The Company of Myself. It's no looker, but it gives us a brand new mechanic, you can repeat a level, and your previous attempts become shadows that you can use as platforms for future attempts.

Story:
There are few games that make you really think out there, but the ones that do can leave you with a profound sense of discovery. The game starts out as a regular platformer with a unique twist, but as you go further into the game you learn about the twists and depth to the meaning of the character's unique powers. I can't say anything about the story, but you definitely should play all the way through, and read everything there is to read.
4.5/5

Presentation:
The game doesn't look too amazing. There are never any moments that will get close to pushing the boundaries of a web based flash game, but do we really need that? You can clearly tell who you are and where you need to go. The aesthetic isn't even unique or memorable, but it's functional, and plays to the style of the gameplay.
3/5

Gameplay:
Tight controls combined with good platforming. The cloning gameplay makes for some unique puzzles, with gates that either you or your shadows can't pass through. The levels never get too difficult, but I guess you'll have to settle for unique gameplay.
4/5

Overall:
It's another come for the gameplay, stay for the story. If you like a good platformer, you'll love The Company of Myself. Even if you only want to just see the puzzles, it's definitely an experience you'll want to try out.
4/5

Play The Company of Myself Here!

Daily Flash: K.O.L.M.

Ahh, a good old platformer, K.O.L.M. isn't focused around quick paced action or beautiful aesthetics, but is a simple puzzler with a great story attached to it. You start out seeing nothing but a blur, and as you read the messages on the bottom you learn the controls slowly. As you explore, you repair your broken body, while your mother berates you at your every action, and belittles your attempts at escape.

Story:

Everything is a mystery. Your mother talks to you in the bottom left and is an amazingly nice touch to set the atmosphere. Throughout the game, there's something unsettling about the situation you're in. You slowly learn bits and bits of what has happened as you repair your body, but you never learn the full story. The more you play, the more you want to find out. The ending is quite surprising.

4/5

Presentation:
The entire game is set in single tone levels with pretty much everything that moves out to kill you. You eventually gain a gun that basically lets you belch a pixel that leaks rainbow sparkles everywhere. Some of the levels are zoomed out so far that it's hard to tell exactly what's going on, and it'd be nice to be able to zoom in on the minimap, but these are just nitpicks and in no way take away from the gameplay.
3.5/5

Gameplay:
The game is a standard platformer with good controls, and fun upgrades. It's great to be able to unlock little parts of your body at a time, and the power-ups feel great. It can be easy to lose yourself in the world, which could have been remedied with an easy way to zoom into the minimap. It's fun to kill enemies, and make your way through, and the game lasts just long enough to keep the levels fun, and leaving you waiting for more.
3.5/5

Overall:
K.O.L.M. is an amazing story. I wish more games could combine fun gameplay, with an engaging story that just makes you want to see the ending. It's a short game, maybe around 15 minutes of play, but I enjoyed the entire ride. I can't say too much about it, I don't want to spoil the surprises with what the upgrades are and what you can do.
4/5

Play K.O.L.M. Here!