22 Reviews:
Xplayerlol
Review updated. Rating finally includes secrets and extra.
One of the great older fangames. I didn't have any high hopes for this one, and these hopes didn't go up in the first stage. It's not generic, but the traps aren't anything outstanding or funny (Maybe surprising once in a while), and the moving enemies are far more annoying than you can possibly imagine. However, Stage 2 is the one used in the Stage Rush of Cultured, and you can tell that the game's quality goes up (And the difficulty probably goes down a bit). The level design gets more creative, and the visuals are more pleasant to look at. With few exceptions, it's also great gameplay-wise.
Stage 3 brings us the gimmicks. I have mixed feelings about this stage. At one hand, I love the creativity of some gimmicks, and how well are they used for the most part, and yet, one thing kills the whole stage: The invisible kid. The concept is great, and it could even be fun to use this gimmick, but the game didn't use this concept to its fullest. The result is the last save of the stage, probably the most annoying in the whole game.
Stage 4 is by far my favorite. This time, you're in a water stage, and must get through lots of passages to unlock new paths, while avoiding stuff such as eletric waves, traps and ocasionally some basic needle jumps. This is the most brutal stage of the game when it comes to chases, and the needle jumps are casually placed in an unmerciful way. Nevertheless, the level design is one of the best I've ever seen in a fangame (Nothing feels out of place, all the spikes and obstacles you'll see really feel like they belong to the stage. All of them. And that's very, very rare to see in a fangame), and the visuals are great as well. It feels like a completely different game.
The boss is great, as well. It's not as hard as most of the platforming, but it's still a bit hard, without being unfair. There's always room for you to escape (Almost always, actually), and the fight is very fun overall. Plus, the boss is cute.
The secrets, on the other hand, are a true letdown. Stage 1 and Stage 2's secrets are very uninteresting and even boring, to a certain extent. Stage 2's secret is also very confusing to reach, with a completely unnecessary placement for some triggers. Stage 3's secret is terrible. The first and the last jumps are two things that I just want to never go through again. Stage 4's secret is the only one that is somewhat interesting, it lives up to the stage's platforming to a certain extent.
However, these secrets are needed for the next part of the game: The extra stage. This stage is just wonderful. There are diagonal spikes, which allows the game to introduce a lot of interesting needle jumps. There are moving wheels, and switches that will make the lava move according to your needs. Everything is very well-designed and original, and just like Stage 4 it's something that you probably won't see in another fangame. Also, the background gets more and more red according to how deep you go in the stage, which creates a very interesting atmosphere. I actually like it at least as much as I like Stage 4. Maybe even more.
Then, the extra boss comes. Another letdown. It's a simple avoidance with standart visuals (I just got out of one of the most amazing extra stages I've ever seen to face...This?), and mostly uninteresting attacks. I just can't bring myself to like it. It's still not bad enough to ruin the game, though, it's just...Nothing outstanding, in a very outstanding game.
There are a couple issues with the game, such as the restarting musics (They are great, and the death music is nice, but knowing the game's difficulty, you won't get to enjoy much of them), Stage 1 and the secrets, but nothing serious, and I believe that Stage 1 is intended to be bad (It's still an issue, though). Also, the extra stage makes up for the secrets.
Basically, this game gets better and harder as you progress through it. So, if you believe you're skilled enough, I definitely recommend it. Otherwise, I highly advise you to stay away to polish your skills for a little longer.
[5] Likes
One of the great older fangames. I didn't have any high hopes for this one, and these hopes didn't go up in the first stage. It's not generic, but the traps aren't anything outstanding or funny (Maybe surprising once in a while), and the moving enemies are far more annoying than you can possibly imagine. However, Stage 2 is the one used in the Stage Rush of Cultured, and you can tell that the game's quality goes up (And the difficulty probably goes down a bit). The level design gets more creative, and the visuals are more pleasant to look at. With few exceptions, it's also great gameplay-wise.
Stage 3 brings us the gimmicks. I have mixed feelings about this stage. At one hand, I love the creativity of some gimmicks, and how well are they used for the most part, and yet, one thing kills the whole stage: The invisible kid. The concept is great, and it could even be fun to use this gimmick, but the game didn't use this concept to its fullest. The result is the last save of the stage, probably the most annoying in the whole game.
Stage 4 is by far my favorite. This time, you're in a water stage, and must get through lots of passages to unlock new paths, while avoiding stuff such as eletric waves, traps and ocasionally some basic needle jumps. This is the most brutal stage of the game when it comes to chases, and the needle jumps are casually placed in an unmerciful way. Nevertheless, the level design is one of the best I've ever seen in a fangame (Nothing feels out of place, all the spikes and obstacles you'll see really feel like they belong to the stage. All of them. And that's very, very rare to see in a fangame), and the visuals are great as well. It feels like a completely different game.
The boss is great, as well. It's not as hard as most of the platforming, but it's still a bit hard, without being unfair. There's always room for you to escape (Almost always, actually), and the fight is very fun overall. Plus, the boss is cute.
The secrets, on the other hand, are a true letdown. Stage 1 and Stage 2's secrets are very uninteresting and even boring, to a certain extent. Stage 2's secret is also very confusing to reach, with a completely unnecessary placement for some triggers. Stage 3's secret is terrible. The first and the last jumps are two things that I just want to never go through again. Stage 4's secret is the only one that is somewhat interesting, it lives up to the stage's platforming to a certain extent.
However, these secrets are needed for the next part of the game: The extra stage. This stage is just wonderful. There are diagonal spikes, which allows the game to introduce a lot of interesting needle jumps. There are moving wheels, and switches that will make the lava move according to your needs. Everything is very well-designed and original, and just like Stage 4 it's something that you probably won't see in another fangame. Also, the background gets more and more red according to how deep you go in the stage, which creates a very interesting atmosphere. I actually like it at least as much as I like Stage 4. Maybe even more.
Then, the extra boss comes. Another letdown. It's a simple avoidance with standart visuals (I just got out of one of the most amazing extra stages I've ever seen to face...This?), and mostly uninteresting attacks. I just can't bring myself to like it. It's still not bad enough to ruin the game, though, it's just...Nothing outstanding, in a very outstanding game.
There are a couple issues with the game, such as the restarting musics (They are great, and the death music is nice, but knowing the game's difficulty, you won't get to enjoy much of them), Stage 1 and the secrets, but nothing serious, and I believe that Stage 1 is intended to be bad (It's still an issue, though). Also, the extra stage makes up for the secrets.
Basically, this game gets better and harder as you progress through it. So, if you believe you're skilled enough, I definitely recommend it. Otherwise, I highly advise you to stay away to polish your skills for a little longer.
Rating: 9.0 90
Difficulty: 79 79
Apr 8, 2015
Wolfiexe
Locus is a fairly old adventure with a heavy emphasis on platforming and traps, complemented with some gimmicks here and there and a couple bosses. It stands the test of time as I ended up having a pretty fun time with it, minus some questionable gotcha moments and pseudo-galaxy brain secret placement.
Each stage focuses on a single gimmick, however simple it may be. Perhaps the most well-known of which is the screen wrapping stage (seen in C1) and the green state-changer stage (seen in K2). They're all fairly interesting, although I felt the traps could often take away from the enjoyment of the save design. My favourite was probably the state-changing stage, although the final stage with angled platforming was pretty interestingly designed.
There are only a couple of bosses, one normal-sorta-end-boss and then the true final boss (or rather, avoidance) if you collect all the secrets and beat the final stage. Both are pretty fun, with the boss making for some fun barrage dodges and fast thinking whereas the avoidance has a couple of learny segments, although it doesn't last too long which is appreciated.
With a secret in each stage, there are a couple that are pretty easy to spot, often having a visual clue to guide the player. A couple however (particularly one in the water stage) I ended up missing and had to look up a video for. You can revisit the stages but you can't leave until you beat it again, so unless you want to replay stages it might be worth giving ol' Fatalbrain a checkup to see where they're hidden.
A fun adventure overall. So long as you're not put off by traps and a couple of sketchy save designs, it'll scratch your classic fangame adventure itch pretty nicely.
[4] Likes
Each stage focuses on a single gimmick, however simple it may be. Perhaps the most well-known of which is the screen wrapping stage (seen in C1) and the green state-changer stage (seen in K2). They're all fairly interesting, although I felt the traps could often take away from the enjoyment of the save design. My favourite was probably the state-changing stage, although the final stage with angled platforming was pretty interestingly designed.
There are only a couple of bosses, one normal-sorta-end-boss and then the true final boss (or rather, avoidance) if you collect all the secrets and beat the final stage. Both are pretty fun, with the boss making for some fun barrage dodges and fast thinking whereas the avoidance has a couple of learny segments, although it doesn't last too long which is appreciated.
With a secret in each stage, there are a couple that are pretty easy to spot, often having a visual clue to guide the player. A couple however (particularly one in the water stage) I ended up missing and had to look up a video for. You can revisit the stages but you can't leave until you beat it again, so unless you want to replay stages it might be worth giving ol' Fatalbrain a checkup to see where they're hidden.
A fun adventure overall. So long as you're not put off by traps and a couple of sketchy save designs, it'll scratch your classic fangame adventure itch pretty nicely.
Rating: 8.6 86
Difficulty: 72 72
Apr 24, 2019
grisha92
I'm confused. I understand that the game sometimes was a little annoying (restarting music, strange physics, unfair random). BUT! It was fun.
[3] Likes
Rating: 9.0 90
Difficulty: 70 70
Mar 7, 2019
shign
Locus is a game I wish I didn't finish.
Needle game featuring 4 short stages, a boss, an extra stage you can access when collecting all the secrets and a final avoidance.
Stage 2 is fine and the boss is decent, and it's the only places I have no real complaint for because the rest of the game is heavily flawed. Stage 1 is your typical uninteresting trap section in that kind of game, not too bad but not that good, stage 3 is extremely unpleasant to play because it was built on very annoying gimmicks such as invisikid or spotlight. Add awful traps to that and you have the worst stage in the game by far. Stage 4 and extra stage have good concept but are filled with overprecise tight jumps, making them more frustrating than fun.
Each stage has a secret, and if some can be found thanks to indication ingame, some are just hidden in dumb places so you have to look at a video to find them.
The final avoidance took me 8h on a 12h playtime, it's a very uninteresting and unoriginal one with the outrageously learny k2 attack near the end. If like me you're not used to that attack, you're gonna have a very bad time learning it. That attack aside, it's honestly not that difficult, but it's just frustrating to constantly die because of some stupid patterns at the end when the rest of the avoidance is RNG dependent, because most of the attacks can be either free or stupidly hard depending of your luck.
If it wasn't for the FSR, I probably wouldn't have played it, or dropped it at the avoidance. I'm glad to have beaten it, but I clearly wouldn't replay it again.
[2] Likes
Needle game featuring 4 short stages, a boss, an extra stage you can access when collecting all the secrets and a final avoidance.
Stage 2 is fine and the boss is decent, and it's the only places I have no real complaint for because the rest of the game is heavily flawed. Stage 1 is your typical uninteresting trap section in that kind of game, not too bad but not that good, stage 3 is extremely unpleasant to play because it was built on very annoying gimmicks such as invisikid or spotlight. Add awful traps to that and you have the worst stage in the game by far. Stage 4 and extra stage have good concept but are filled with overprecise tight jumps, making them more frustrating than fun.
Each stage has a secret, and if some can be found thanks to indication ingame, some are just hidden in dumb places so you have to look at a video to find them.
The final avoidance took me 8h on a 12h playtime, it's a very uninteresting and unoriginal one with the outrageously learny k2 attack near the end. If like me you're not used to that attack, you're gonna have a very bad time learning it. That attack aside, it's honestly not that difficult, but it's just frustrating to constantly die because of some stupid patterns at the end when the rest of the avoidance is RNG dependent, because most of the attacks can be either free or stupidly hard depending of your luck.
If it wasn't for the FSR, I probably wouldn't have played it, or dropped it at the avoidance. I'm glad to have beaten it, but I clearly wouldn't replay it again.
Rating: 3.0 30
Difficulty: 73 73
Jun 22, 2020
Chrisay
This game has aged very, very poorly. Every save in this game felt tedious and awful to do, but the game actually gets worse the further in you come. It's a game filled with triggers and traps that just make the whole experience even more annoying. There's restarting music which just makes it instantly annoying, if you don't mute the game. The water felt broken which made precise movement in it a chore. Shoutouts to the first stage for having a swim up quickly section that was way harder than anything else in the stage cause of the broken water.
I liked the second stage the most, but that doesn't say too much, there were some saves in this area that I kinda liked, but it was mostly a mediocre area that you're gonna get quickly through.
Stage 3 has a lot of gimmicks and not all of them are good, some of them are kinda funny and not too bad, I liked the invisible kid gimmick. The spotlight saves really suck though and have some very weirdchamp triggers in them.
Stage 4 is focused very much on water which is the main reason it's such a horrible area, this area I could have seen being good, if it was better designed and didn't have the broken water.
There's a secret in each of the 4 stages and these are downright impossible to find with the exception of the first one. Bring a video guide with you cause the secrets are mandatory for true clear.
There's a boss after the first 4 stages and it's fine. In comparison to the stages, it's a step up in enjoyment for me.
After the boss you'll unlock stage 5 if you have all the secrets. Stage 5 is by far the hardest stage and has some very annoying saves.
The game ends with a final avoidance, it's not great, but I actually had fun with this one.
It does have the notorious Locus attack, which is very learny and nearly two minutes into the avoidance, which could bring you a lot of trouble.
Overall a very annoying game, filled with questionable design choices. I had very little fun with this one.
[1] Like
I liked the second stage the most, but that doesn't say too much, there were some saves in this area that I kinda liked, but it was mostly a mediocre area that you're gonna get quickly through.
Stage 3 has a lot of gimmicks and not all of them are good, some of them are kinda funny and not too bad, I liked the invisible kid gimmick. The spotlight saves really suck though and have some very weirdchamp triggers in them.
Stage 4 is focused very much on water which is the main reason it's such a horrible area, this area I could have seen being good, if it was better designed and didn't have the broken water.
There's a secret in each of the 4 stages and these are downright impossible to find with the exception of the first one. Bring a video guide with you cause the secrets are mandatory for true clear.
There's a boss after the first 4 stages and it's fine. In comparison to the stages, it's a step up in enjoyment for me.
After the boss you'll unlock stage 5 if you have all the secrets. Stage 5 is by far the hardest stage and has some very annoying saves.
The game ends with a final avoidance, it's not great, but I actually had fun with this one.
It does have the notorious Locus attack, which is very learny and nearly two minutes into the avoidance, which could bring you a lot of trouble.
Overall a very annoying game, filled with questionable design choices. I had very little fun with this one.
Rating: 1.5 15
Difficulty: 70 70
Sep 11, 2020