Ignara
Certified Autistic Bean
Overall the maps this time around had a high level of quality which made most of them a blast, but There's always some that leave something to be desired in some way or another. So here's my ranking, and then feedback i came up with while playing through, mostly in coop.
1.-FREEZER FOLLEY ZONE-
2.-HELL COASTER ZONE-
3.-FESTUNG ODER SO-
4.-ENCHANTED ENCLAVE-
5.-SUNKSEA X ZONE-
6.-MAGMA LABORATORY ZONE-
7.-YEARNING YACHTYARD ZONE-
8.-TARNISH WARD-
9.-BITTER BRINK-
10.-FOLIAGE FURANCE ZONE ACT 2-
11.-CHAOS COVE ZONE-
12.-EGG MACHINE ZONE-
13.-ZAXEL'S THUNDER YARD ZONE ACT 2-
14.-SPIRAL HILL PIZZA-
And now, feedback in the order of my ranking, for ease of searching.
And now, feedback in the order of my ranking, for ease of searching.
-FREEZER FOLLEY ZONE-
A fun short blast That has Comfortable amounts of enemies, gimmicks, guidance and platforming, The aesthetic is extremely pleasant and easy on the eyes. Being just the right balance of Open, but not Too open that you get lost easy.
-HELL COASTER ZONE-
Short, Chaotic, and perfectly apt for a place called 'Hell Coaster' The challenge is comfortably hard without being obnoxious to play... On a high end system at least. Lower end systems do lag a lot due to the number of objects (Most notably, the fire spewing.) Guidance through the level is simple, clear and easy to follow, without just using Arrows to point you.
Not a level for the inexperienced to enjoy easily, but if you're looking for a challenging level that isn't something like Kaizo, you've met a good match here.
-FESTUNG ODER SO-
A fantastic little stage, the objective is made clear right from the start That you need to push buttons, before putting you under the time limit to find a handful to open the way forward. A shame that you can't play the level in multiplayer but it is a fun quick stage to test your ability to platform under pressure, even if it is all relatively simple.
-ENCHANTED ENCLAVE-
Short, simple and a pleasant romp with a comfortable blend of platforming, and unique enemies a big tower climb makes for a memorable finale. Easy on the intensity, makes for a change of pace from some of the levels in the OLDC being more challenge focused.
-SUNKSEA X ZONE-
Large, and expansive, but still retaining a good sense of guidance through the level is a difficult feat that Sunksea X manages to do well, It flows nicely with relatively low directional confusion. A minor complaint is the yellow spring on one of the paths after the first checkpoint, it doesn't *quite* send you far enough unless you hold forward off of it. But other then that there's a comfortable balance of openness, enemy placement, and platforming challenge, by no means the hardest stage in the world but not something to just walk through without thinking. The aesthetic is really nice too.
-MAGMA LABORATORY ZONE-
Solid platforming level with sparse enemies and large jumps, relatively easy to navigate but each jump requires a bit of precision. The amount of lava tends to lag lower end systems extremely bad, but overall it's a quick and simple enough to understand level.
-YEARNING YACHTYARD ZONE-
A short and relatively simple level, Easy enough to find your way around, aside from the last section with the slope that leads to nothing, drawing attention away from the way forward. Overall a good experience to play through.
-TARNISH WARD-
A treasure hunting level definitely breaks the pace of standard linear design, and I'm all for it, The level is open, but not TOO open that it's easy to get lost, The aesthetic is a bit confusing, why is everyone depressed? Regardless, a fun pace breaker that lets you just run around and explore to clear the stage.
-BITTER BRINK-
A little tight feeling in some sections, the platforming is solid, but the short Sled section Doesn't control very well, turning feels much stiffer then it should be, but overall it's a short, and fun level for a quick romp.
-FOLIAGE FURANCE ZONE ACT 2-
A MASSIVE Massive level, Almost too massive, Lower end PCs beware, It's almost unplayable on Lower end hardware, Even on higher end hardware it lags a ton near the end. The level design itself is enjoyable, not too hard to find your way forward, and the rocket barrels are fun. But the performance issues make it hard to give a good proper review.
-CHAOS COVE ZONE-
A treasure hunting stage that's a bit, TOO open at times, it can be really difficult to track the emeralds down due to how many hidden layers there are to the big central mountain area, The geometry of the place itself feels very old school, which isn't a bad thing, but it is a vibe i get from the stage.
-EGG MACHINE ZONE-
Interesting in concept, a series of small challenges to find the button, a lot of the challenges are interesting but they feel a bit lacking in guidance at times. The final challenge section isn't good for multiplayer, due to the reset button being right in front of the checkpoint, (several resets were had unnecessarily, Due to 'button good' mindset from the rest of the level) Aesthetically it's a bit dark but enjoyable for heavy challenge seekers.
-ZAXEL'S THUNDER YARD ZONE ACT 2-
There's a lot going on here, Too much for a lot of systems to handle, There's an overabundance of electric hazards and enemies, A lot of the areas do look kind of Samey, Were it not for bright red arrows i would be going in circles a lot. But bright red arrows do stand out and make it feel artificial, Having even blue arrows would help it blend in more, without feeling like you need to have your hand held to navigate. The ending confuses me as well, it leads up that there's a fight, but then it just takes you back to the hub.
-SPIRAL HILL PIZZA-
I could not for the life of me figure out what the level wanted me to do, And wound up running in circles until time ran out, even with the guidance of 'The first address is right intron of you' I couldn't figure out what i was meant to do.