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:
236 Ratings!
157 Reviews!
9 Screenshots!
236 Games
157 Reviews
Cthaere
For: I wanna Kardia
For: I wanna Kardia
Kardia has generated quite a lot of noise recently, winning the fangame awards and having a hardcore fanbase (of which I'm definitely a part of) consisting of many prominent avoidance figures such as Razzor, who has notably stated that he would be outraged had Death Grips is Online won Avoidance of the Year over it. Still, someone who watches from the sidelines may not know what all the noise is about; It sure does look impressive on video, and it's certainly got some unique concepts, but what's the big deal?
Let me start by breaking down what core avoidance gameplay even is when it comes to rng attacks: The player looks at the screen with all the bullets and observes their position over time. Through this, they are able to form a mental model depicting the trajectory of the bullets in the near future. Operating in this model, the player then devises a route through the bullets that would avoid tight dodges as much as possible. Finally, the player's fingers execute it.
However, kardia is different, in that translating the bullets on screen to a mental model has nothing to do with their movement; It has to do with factors that are not as straightforward. It can range from relatively simple things such as "these cherries are going to invert their position relative to the center of the screen", "this circle turned red to indicate that it'll hit me, I should move out of the way" and "I should go in the opposite direction of this cherry" to more complex things such as "Take these two points in space, connect them in your mind with a line, then go in a direction perpendicular to that line", "the color of the aiming cherries indicates the safe horizontal position I can stand in" and "I need to identify the depth order on this cherry circle to decide whether to climb this platform on the left or right side". There's also heavy reliance of short term memory testing, with attacks giving you vital information to be used a few seconds down the line, allowing you the time to process what the avoidance wants from you and then pick the correct option when it reveals itself.
Through this, Kardia singlehandedly brought to light a completely new design space that fundamentally changes how avoidance as a genre is played. In that, it is an unparalleled achievement in avoidance.
However, there's also the more pressing question: Sure, it is an impressive achievement, but is it actually fun? does it play well? After all, Odoryanse, Nenemashi's previous avoidance, infamously has the Blood 2 attack which for many people has ruined the avoidance.
Fortunately, it delivers above and beyond in the gameplay department as well. The focus on new visual indicators allows it to take advantage of design space that guarantees there's always an action you can take to survive, you just have to interpret the signs correctly. In this, it becomes incredibly consistent while still remaining engaging even once you do master the attacks, as you have to keep track of the many telltales and react accordingly. There's a good variety of new ways to read attacks ensuring it doesn't get stale and the difficulty balance is handled masterfully as well, with the start getting consistent very quickly and small peaks when the music intensifies up until the crescendo of a finale and the subsequent (again, minor) release.
So while the gameplay is unquestionably genius, the avoidance does not stop there; Even though they are not the main focus of why this avoidance is so good, it would be a crime not to mention the visuals and the mapping; The visuals are not the most detailed nor the biggest avoidance showoff (these would likely go to verre), however they are consistent, clean, well executed, have their own identity and come in a flashy explosion when it counts. The mapping is harder to judge, as the avoidance is extremely hard to compare to traditional ones in this regard; However, the sounds chosen to be stressed and those chosen to remain as a unified singular attack section are (almost always) consistent and are extremely on point, and many attacks are given similarities to past ones from the same musical section as well.
So this is why I, and many others, find beauty in Kardia. Personally, I consider it to be my second favorite avoidance of all time, behind Ao Stage and in front of Melanzana (leading me to believe Verre might overtake it if I seriously go for it). This was not really meant to be a recommendation review, but rather a brief deconstruction; Still, if you've read this far, go play it. Yes, even if you're not an avoidance player usually, and yes, even if you're bad at avoidance, so long as you have patience Kardia will repay you above and beyond your wildest dreams.
Let me start by breaking down what core avoidance gameplay even is when it comes to rng attacks: The player looks at the screen with all the bullets and observes their position over time. Through this, they are able to form a mental model depicting the trajectory of the bullets in the near future. Operating in this model, the player then devises a route through the bullets that would avoid tight dodges as much as possible. Finally, the player's fingers execute it.
However, kardia is different, in that translating the bullets on screen to a mental model has nothing to do with their movement; It has to do with factors that are not as straightforward. It can range from relatively simple things such as "these cherries are going to invert their position relative to the center of the screen", "this circle turned red to indicate that it'll hit me, I should move out of the way" and "I should go in the opposite direction of this cherry" to more complex things such as "Take these two points in space, connect them in your mind with a line, then go in a direction perpendicular to that line", "the color of the aiming cherries indicates the safe horizontal position I can stand in" and "I need to identify the depth order on this cherry circle to decide whether to climb this platform on the left or right side". There's also heavy reliance of short term memory testing, with attacks giving you vital information to be used a few seconds down the line, allowing you the time to process what the avoidance wants from you and then pick the correct option when it reveals itself.
Through this, Kardia singlehandedly brought to light a completely new design space that fundamentally changes how avoidance as a genre is played. In that, it is an unparalleled achievement in avoidance.
However, there's also the more pressing question: Sure, it is an impressive achievement, but is it actually fun? does it play well? After all, Odoryanse, Nenemashi's previous avoidance, infamously has the Blood 2 attack which for many people has ruined the avoidance.
Fortunately, it delivers above and beyond in the gameplay department as well. The focus on new visual indicators allows it to take advantage of design space that guarantees there's always an action you can take to survive, you just have to interpret the signs correctly. In this, it becomes incredibly consistent while still remaining engaging even once you do master the attacks, as you have to keep track of the many telltales and react accordingly. There's a good variety of new ways to read attacks ensuring it doesn't get stale and the difficulty balance is handled masterfully as well, with the start getting consistent very quickly and small peaks when the music intensifies up until the crescendo of a finale and the subsequent (again, minor) release.
So while the gameplay is unquestionably genius, the avoidance does not stop there; Even though they are not the main focus of why this avoidance is so good, it would be a crime not to mention the visuals and the mapping; The visuals are not the most detailed nor the biggest avoidance showoff (these would likely go to verre), however they are consistent, clean, well executed, have their own identity and come in a flashy explosion when it counts. The mapping is harder to judge, as the avoidance is extremely hard to compare to traditional ones in this regard; However, the sounds chosen to be stressed and those chosen to remain as a unified singular attack section are (almost always) consistent and are extremely on point, and many attacks are given similarities to past ones from the same musical section as well.
So this is why I, and many others, find beauty in Kardia. Personally, I consider it to be my second favorite avoidance of all time, behind Ao Stage and in front of Melanzana (leading me to believe Verre might overtake it if I seriously go for it). This was not really meant to be a recommendation review, but rather a brief deconstruction; Still, if you've read this far, go play it. Yes, even if you're not an avoidance player usually, and yes, even if you're bad at avoidance, so long as you have patience Kardia will repay you above and beyond your wildest dreams.
Tagged as: Avoidance
[16] Likes
Rating: 10.0 100
Difficulty: N/A
Feb 7, 2022
Cthaere
For: I wanna be the fresh green
For: I wanna be the fresh green
This game is everything you're hoping for when you go on roulette: An unexpectedly good surprise of a seemingly overlooked game. Unfortunately, I fully believe that this should be experienced blind, and as such I'll spoiler the parts that I consider to have made this experience as great as it is: Accessible difficulty? Check. Intriguing atmospheric intro? Check. Simplistic/nostalgic stage with mindgame trap platforming? Check. Chill uhuhu-themed needle stage with an explosion of production value? Check. Charming and fun boss? Check. Amazing playable credits avoidance with throwback to the previous content? Check.
Definitely a game I'd love to see more people play. If you're still reading this, please go do so if you haven't.
[0] Likes
Definitely a game I'd love to see more people play. If you're still reading this, please go do so if you haven't.
Rating: 8.5 85
Difficulty: 50 50
Feb 2, 2022
Cthaere
For: I wanna slay the dragon of bangan
For: I wanna slay the dragon of bangan
3 short stages of gimmick needleventure, focusing on a system of collectibles (introduced 1 per stage) that allows the player to either unlock parts of the screen that were previously unavailable or provide them movement options when activated by pressing the shoot key.
The platforming is pleasant, although with mild jank since eyeballing the distance the movement ones launch you wasn't easy. The game ends with a bit of a letdown, with the anticipated climactic fight being reduced to a cutscene, especially given the hint through the dragon's name that there'd be a miku fight. I fully sympathize and understand the time constraint the game was made under though, so I cannot fault it, but I just hope that in the future the game would be updated to have a more satisfying ending.
The atmosphere is very basic but it works well, feeling like a slightly modern touchup of an old adventure game. The one thing I mildly dislike, however, is the overabundance of end of screen warps rather than room transitions. Of course, one could justify the usage of teleportation warps through magic considering the theme, however it does not quite feel that way.
Overall a chill bite-sized adventure game. Would recommend.
[1] Like
The platforming is pleasant, although with mild jank since eyeballing the distance the movement ones launch you wasn't easy. The game ends with a bit of a letdown, with the anticipated climactic fight being reduced to a cutscene, especially given the hint through the dragon's name that there'd be a miku fight. I fully sympathize and understand the time constraint the game was made under though, so I cannot fault it, but I just hope that in the future the game would be updated to have a more satisfying ending.
The atmosphere is very basic but it works well, feeling like a slightly modern touchup of an old adventure game. The one thing I mildly dislike, however, is the overabundance of end of screen warps rather than room transitions. Of course, one could justify the usage of teleportation warps through magic considering the theme, however it does not quite feel that way.
Overall a chill bite-sized adventure game. Would recommend.
Rating: 7.5 75
Difficulty: 45 45
Feb 2, 2022
Cthaere
For: I wanna be the heretic
For: I wanna be the heretic
[uncleared]
Short, relatively hard needle game, with typically 2 saves per screen. The needle style has mostly good movements at its core (with a sprinkling of uninteresting and awkward ones thrown in every once in a while) however the high level of precision means these movements become uncomfortable in practice. Due to this, parts of it have been unenjoyable, especially when some jumps feel like a luck grind. While the difficulty balance between different saves was mostly fine, difficulty balance between individual jumps within a save is often questionable, leading to a somewhat frustrating playing experience.
On the atmospheric front, it feels like there was genuine effort put in, but the end result feels half assed. The choices made for visuals are good and cohesive, however the problem is the choices that weren't made. Not only is there no additional element of production value beyond simple sprite/background swaps, but also saves, platforms, the kid/bow, and the death effect are all the default, which hurt the immersion especially on the first area. Song choices feel like they're a bit off from the visuals, trying to convey similar themes and feelings but ending up with minor but noticeable dissonance.
Overall wouldn't recommend unless you're already a high level needle player with decent tolerance for precision.
[0] Likes
Short, relatively hard needle game, with typically 2 saves per screen. The needle style has mostly good movements at its core (with a sprinkling of uninteresting and awkward ones thrown in every once in a while) however the high level of precision means these movements become uncomfortable in practice. Due to this, parts of it have been unenjoyable, especially when some jumps feel like a luck grind. While the difficulty balance between different saves was mostly fine, difficulty balance between individual jumps within a save is often questionable, leading to a somewhat frustrating playing experience.
On the atmospheric front, it feels like there was genuine effort put in, but the end result feels half assed. The choices made for visuals are good and cohesive, however the problem is the choices that weren't made. Not only is there no additional element of production value beyond simple sprite/background swaps, but also saves, platforms, the kid/bow, and the death effect are all the default, which hurt the immersion especially on the first area. Song choices feel like they're a bit off from the visuals, trying to convey similar themes and feelings but ending up with minor but noticeable dissonance.
Overall wouldn't recommend unless you're already a high level needle player with decent tolerance for precision.
Rating: 6.0 60
Difficulty: 77 77
Jan 31, 2022
Cthaere
For: I wanna be the HSP
For: I wanna be the HSP
A spectacular barrage-y avoidance held back by the first 30 seconds. Once you get past those consistently and the avoidance starts though, it becomes perhaps the 2021 avoidance I had the most fun with, featuring amazing flow and great mapping. Visually it is what you'd want from a modern Lumo avoidance: Still being mostly default megaman tiles and white background, but spicing it up in accordance with the attacks and song intensity, with a few complete visual overhauls where appropriate. Highly recommend to anyone who's cleared some 90+ fights (or 85+ if you're following Razzor's difficulty notions).
[1] Like
Rating: 9.5 95
Difficulty: 85 85
Jan 22, 2022
2 Games
| Game | Difficulty | Average Rating | # of Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|
| I wanna Musiclock | 74.7 | 9.4 | 18 |
| I wanna Xanadu | 59.4 | 8.2 | 6 |
32 Favorite Games
143 Cleared Games