Delicious FruitCthaere's Profile
Send a PMJoined on: May 25, 2020
Bio:
I play fangames or stuff.
I try rating game compared to what they are trying to achieve rather than compared to fangames as a whole, and with knowledge of what you're getting into; If I rate a corridor needle game, I assume the person reading the review wants to play corridor needle, as if they don't they shouldn't bother playing it anyway. With that said, I tend to be very generous on needle ratings while being very skimpy on avoidances (although you likely won't see it as if I'd give it less than a 7 I just won't clear it instead).
with extremely rare exceptions, 9/10+ is reserved to games that have left deep emotional impact, while 10/10 is reserved for games I love unconditionally.
If I reviewed it and the review doesn't say otherwise, it's safe to assume I cleared it. I try adding my clears to df but I never really cared to keep track, so some might be missing.
don't expect diff ratings to be very accurate.
I've submitted:
229 Ratings!
151 Reviews!
9 Screenshots!
229 Games
151 Reviews
Cthaere
For: The Maker Medley
For: The Maker Medley
The Maker Medley is an IWM-themed medley game consisting largely of maker maps, but also drawing heavily upon fangame pop culture to create a hybrid game that gives a great entry level to fangames.
As a medley, the game is relatively short: Only two stages with their own boss (and sometimes a mid-boss), followed by a handful of guest stages, a medley of all the content from the first two stages, and a final boss. To summarize my experience with those, The first two stages are pretty fun, but not really outstanding. The first boss feels a lot more like an avoidance than a boss, which I appreciate and approve of, however it's understandably not got that much to draw upon; Making flashy avoidance attacks in maker at a fitting difficulty level is a nigh impossible task. Second boss was actively unfun for me; Both it and the final boss suffer from extremely awkward design around shooting, with limited shooting windows coupled with short iframes that still incentivize mashing and a health pool that feels too big even if realistically it's not. As a result, the first attack was highly annoying to play through. In the final phase, the timing of the warning signs feels like complete guesswork, and failing it sends you back to the 40 second avoidance beforehand, which is also a source of frustration. The guest stages are extremely good, although they all feel like there's a lot of trial-and-error to them, which can be a bit tedious for the longer ones. The medley stage was mediocre, and really didn't feel like it was handled the best way possible; It just felt like replaying everything, except a lot more watered down, and was pretty disappointing. Final boss is great, and visually and theming wise it popped off big time, although I would appreciate it if it indicated phase transitions better.
As far as the overall theming is concerned, the game is heavily themed around both IWM and fangame pop culture. Music and assets are mostly taken from IWM, although it's clear that in a lot of cases they've been transformed or enhanced to be able to do things that cannot be accomplished in IWM. As a result, the game feels like you're playing a collection of random maker maps for the first two stages, which cheapens the experience for me a bit. From boss 2 onwards, though, the production value goes up significantly, and more unique elements begin to appear. The game also features numerous cutscenes which form a short, humorous story, although how funny it ends up being to you is going to be extremely subjective. All in all, I suspect people coming from IWM would end up liking this a lot, while those who find the IWM music and assets to be soulless and overused are going to be much less appreciative.
All in all, a pretty fun game, a great beginner game, and a stellar introduction to fangames for IWM players, but not an experience I would consider essential.
[2] Likes
As a medley, the game is relatively short: Only two stages with their own boss (and sometimes a mid-boss), followed by a handful of guest stages, a medley of all the content from the first two stages, and a final boss. To summarize my experience with those, The first two stages are pretty fun, but not really outstanding. The first boss feels a lot more like an avoidance than a boss, which I appreciate and approve of, however it's understandably not got that much to draw upon; Making flashy avoidance attacks in maker at a fitting difficulty level is a nigh impossible task. Second boss was actively unfun for me; Both it and the final boss suffer from extremely awkward design around shooting, with limited shooting windows coupled with short iframes that still incentivize mashing and a health pool that feels too big even if realistically it's not. As a result, the first attack was highly annoying to play through. In the final phase, the timing of the warning signs feels like complete guesswork, and failing it sends you back to the 40 second avoidance beforehand, which is also a source of frustration. The guest stages are extremely good, although they all feel like there's a lot of trial-and-error to them, which can be a bit tedious for the longer ones. The medley stage was mediocre, and really didn't feel like it was handled the best way possible; It just felt like replaying everything, except a lot more watered down, and was pretty disappointing. Final boss is great, and visually and theming wise it popped off big time, although I would appreciate it if it indicated phase transitions better.
As far as the overall theming is concerned, the game is heavily themed around both IWM and fangame pop culture. Music and assets are mostly taken from IWM, although it's clear that in a lot of cases they've been transformed or enhanced to be able to do things that cannot be accomplished in IWM. As a result, the game feels like you're playing a collection of random maker maps for the first two stages, which cheapens the experience for me a bit. From boss 2 onwards, though, the production value goes up significantly, and more unique elements begin to appear. The game also features numerous cutscenes which form a short, humorous story, although how funny it ends up being to you is going to be extremely subjective. All in all, I suspect people coming from IWM would end up liking this a lot, while those who find the IWM music and assets to be soulless and overused are going to be much less appreciative.
All in all, a pretty fun game, a great beginner game, and a stellar introduction to fangames for IWM players, but not an experience I would consider essential.
Rating: 7.7 77
Difficulty: N/A
Feb 27, 2023
Cthaere
For: I wanna Odoryanse
For: I wanna Odoryanse
The avoidance is relatively well-known, and I don't have much to add that hasn't been said. Very fun, relatively consistent however sometimes it decides to not play nice. To note, I've gotten worse situations from at least 5 other attacks than I did from blood 2, so I don't consider it that bad, but I know others have a different experience with this. Such is RNG.
[1] Like
Rating: 8.8 88
Difficulty: N/A
Feb 26, 2023
Cthaere
For: Dadu Needle
For: Dadu Needle
TL;DR: I played this because I've heard this was pretty bad and thought it looked decently fun, with the reputation being exaggerated and the game itself mediocre at worst. I was wrong.
Dadu needle is a 50f jtool needle game. Visuals and needle style (and presumably maker) changes every 5 floors. None of the visuals are particularly appealing or ugly, and I had the game muted so I wouldn't know if the music changes too.
As far as the progression goes, the first 20 floors are completely inoffensive if unmemorable and mostly serve to ease you in. The rest is a mixed bag, both in regards to style, jtool gimmicks used (with most stages being pure needle), and quality, with 2 particular stages later on that stand out unfavorably. In the first, the design constraints movement in a way that can be best described to as "minimalist modern FTFA-like", forcing the player to make long horizontal jumps without hitting spikes that restrict their height. The other gave me the worst hand pain I've ever experienced while playing needle through the worst vine usage I've ever played, requiring precise positioning on vines to clear extremely cramped sections, with the jumps themselves being either fulljumps, low jumps off of vines, or just holding the jump button for 20 seconds trying to frantically hop from vine to vine using the precise spot where it works.
As far as the general needle design, the game has a tendency of randomly throwing jumps at you that are far more precise than you'd expect. There are only 3-4 stages mostly exempt from this after the first 10 floors, including the two mentioned above where all the jumps are equally obnoxiously precise (although at least the first of those has some short save screens). It is painfully obvious that this game was insufficiently tested (with only 1 tester credited in the readme).
All in all, I feel as though the current reviews understate how bad this game gets at its worst, to the point I came into it with low expectations and morbid curiosity yet still managed to be left disappointed and frustrated. While I will note that I have not played needle in quite a while prior to it and was a bit rusty, I do not think it was a significant factor in my experience. Would absolutely recommend to avoid playing this.
[0] Likes
Dadu needle is a 50f jtool needle game. Visuals and needle style (and presumably maker) changes every 5 floors. None of the visuals are particularly appealing or ugly, and I had the game muted so I wouldn't know if the music changes too.
As far as the progression goes, the first 20 floors are completely inoffensive if unmemorable and mostly serve to ease you in. The rest is a mixed bag, both in regards to style, jtool gimmicks used (with most stages being pure needle), and quality, with 2 particular stages later on that stand out unfavorably. In the first, the design constraints movement in a way that can be best described to as "minimalist modern FTFA-like", forcing the player to make long horizontal jumps without hitting spikes that restrict their height. The other gave me the worst hand pain I've ever experienced while playing needle through the worst vine usage I've ever played, requiring precise positioning on vines to clear extremely cramped sections, with the jumps themselves being either fulljumps, low jumps off of vines, or just holding the jump button for 20 seconds trying to frantically hop from vine to vine using the precise spot where it works.
As far as the general needle design, the game has a tendency of randomly throwing jumps at you that are far more precise than you'd expect. There are only 3-4 stages mostly exempt from this after the first 10 floors, including the two mentioned above where all the jumps are equally obnoxiously precise (although at least the first of those has some short save screens). It is painfully obvious that this game was insufficiently tested (with only 1 tester credited in the readme).
All in all, I feel as though the current reviews understate how bad this game gets at its worst, to the point I came into it with low expectations and morbid curiosity yet still managed to be left disappointed and frustrated. While I will note that I have not played needle in quite a while prior to it and was a bit rusty, I do not think it was a significant factor in my experience. Would absolutely recommend to avoid playing this.
Rating: 3.5 35
Difficulty: 80 80
Jan 23, 2023
Cthaere
For: I wanna realize
For: I wanna realize
Good short light-gimmick needle on the easier side. Simple gimmicks that we've already seen without really treading new ground, but it's solid, fun, and accessible. There are several funny moments already mentioned by other reviewers, but they don't detract from the overall experience in my opinion.
After first clear, you get to try your hand at beating each stage deathless; 1 is relatively easy, 2 are challenging but reasonable, while the last one is probably going to be a Moment. Nonetheless, they're fun to attempt so long as you do not intend on seriously grinding them down.
Song choices are good, and alongside simple-yet-effective visuals invoke a strong (although not fully immersive) atmosphere.
I know I've said little about this game compared to my usual inflated reviews, but it really is what it is: A well designed, short & fun accessible version of an amalgamation of new wave gimmick needle. Would definitely recommend.
[4] Likes
After first clear, you get to try your hand at beating each stage deathless; 1 is relatively easy, 2 are challenging but reasonable, while the last one is probably going to be a Moment. Nonetheless, they're fun to attempt so long as you do not intend on seriously grinding them down.
Song choices are good, and alongside simple-yet-effective visuals invoke a strong (although not fully immersive) atmosphere.
I know I've said little about this game compared to my usual inflated reviews, but it really is what it is: A well designed, short & fun accessible version of an amalgamation of new wave gimmick needle. Would definitely recommend.
Rating: 8.8 88
Difficulty: 60 60
Jan 4, 2023
Cthaere
For: I HATE Double Turn Team!
For: I HATE Double Turn Team!
Haven't cleared so no ratings, and no usual really long review.
In any case, check this out. It's very good modern needle that's relatively light on the gimmicks. There's definitely a ton of work put into this, and the result speaks for itself. Visuals are simple but effective for the most part, and the soundtrack is the best I've seen in a fangame (although ymmv if your taste doesn't match mine). Has some really great humor and easter eggs too. Quit because it has some really long saves that I don't feel like grinding, although I might come back to it in the future. I'd be inclined to believe it gets easily over 80 diff later down the line, so do be warned though.
[3] Likes
In any case, check this out. It's very good modern needle that's relatively light on the gimmicks. There's definitely a ton of work put into this, and the result speaks for itself. Visuals are simple but effective for the most part, and the soundtrack is the best I've seen in a fangame (although ymmv if your taste doesn't match mine). Has some really great humor and easter eggs too. Quit because it has some really long saves that I don't feel like grinding, although I might come back to it in the future. I'd be inclined to believe it gets easily over 80 diff later down the line, so do be warned though.
Rating: N/A
Difficulty: N/A
Oct 14, 2022
2 Games
| Game | Difficulty | Average Rating | # of Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|
| I wanna Musiclock | 74.8 | 9.4 | 17 |
| I wanna Xanadu | 59.6 | 8.2 | 6 |
32 Favorite Games
143 Cleared Games