Delicious Fruit
Download Game Screenshots
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by NightShark115
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by NightShark115
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by ElCochran90
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by NightShark115
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by Xplayerlol
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by Xplayerlol
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by Xplayerlol
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by Xplayerlol
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by ElCochran90
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by NightShark115
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by Xplayerlol
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by Anonymous
39 Reviews:
Jopagu
Scapegoat is a really interesting adventure game by legendary maker Dagger. This game really thrives on variety, as it's made up of a large number of 2 screen long micro-stages, each with their own gimmicks or new uses of previous gimmicks.
There's a lot to like here, with some really unique gimmicks, and some classic ones used well. There is a bit to dislike, namely a bit of overly precise needle, but it's drowned out by the creative gimmick platforming.
Overall, the game is really rough. It feels like it lacks a lot of the polish you expect in more modern games. However, this is not necessarily to its detriment. I would say the roughness actually adds to the feel of the game, making it feel very unique and special.
Overall, definitely a recommendation for adventure fans, particularly those looking for a unique and varied experience, and who believe that a bit of roughness can add to an experience.
[1] Like
There's a lot to like here, with some really unique gimmicks, and some classic ones used well. There is a bit to dislike, namely a bit of overly precise needle, but it's drowned out by the creative gimmick platforming.
Overall, the game is really rough. It feels like it lacks a lot of the polish you expect in more modern games. However, this is not necessarily to its detriment. I would say the roughness actually adds to the feel of the game, making it feel very unique and special.
Overall, definitely a recommendation for adventure fans, particularly those looking for a unique and varied experience, and who believe that a bit of roughness can add to an experience.
Rating: 8.4 84
Difficulty: 60 60
Mar 8, 2024
NightShark115
Don't let the lackluster production value scare you away, there is a very real gem to be found here.
I Wanna Be The Scapegoat is an adventure game made by dagger, a maker famous for his influence on basically every genre of fangames—with the stuff he's come up with, it's easy to see why.
In terms of structure, the game is broken up into a bunch of smaller levels, each with their own theme and gimmick.
The way I like to think of this is that while other adventure fangames are more like the New Super Mario Bros. series in terms of cohesion, this game is more like Super Mario 3D Land, feeling more disjointed and varied. You never know what you could run into next, and that's part of the fun about this game—it constantly throws new ideas your way.
As for the actual platforming itself, this is where a lot of the game's strengths (and faults) lie.
First, the positives. This game always manages to come up with unique ways to use the gimmicks in the stages, as well as many of segments just being fun in general. One of my favorites is the Phanto mask stage where you're required to platform around a stage while the masks keep chasing after you. Not all the gimmicks were the best, such as the wind or especially the barrel cannons, but even then, he still found ways to make it fun to play.
However, while some segments are really interesting in theory, actually pulling off a handful of them is another story. Some examples include the cemetery stage where you can't move as fast as usually but are expected to make tight maneuvers (it's much worse with the souls gimmick, trust me), or the conveyor belts stage used in Kamilia 2 which gives you far too little leniency to jump at the correct time. Luckily, these annoying stages are pretty few and far between, but I simply can't gloss over them.
So how about bosses? Well, this game has a total of 6 bosses, each being unique from each other in some way or another.
-First is Whispy Woods, who shoots shots at you which you have to aim back at him. A pretty easy boss all things considered, the attacks aren't that hard to dodge, and I got it on my first try.
-Bowser is up next, still an easy boss, but not as much. The attacks are slightly more difficult here, but overall nothing special.
-However, King Zing is where problems start arriving. You're expected to use the vines to reach him, but the walls and floor are almost completely covered in honey, so your movement is limited if you're not in the air. The real problem, though, is that halfway through, he decides to start chasing after you, while shooting bullets at the same time, which can be a nightmare to react to if you lead him into a bad spot.
-As a refresher, Hatsune Miku is a lot better of an experience. This boss is a 100% pattern avoidance with no RNG, set to 164's "unused impulse". The issue of terrible difficulty balancing that plagues most of dagger's other avoidances also seems to be absent here, as the ending is a lot easier to learn here than, say, Glorious Fragment.
-あ̵̡̛̙͎͉͙͐͆̉́͊̐͌̔͆́́̏̂̌̈́̎̑̈́̀̍͋́̓̑͒̃͋̐̅̂͋̚̕̕͘͝͝͝͠あ̴̢̨̧̨̛̤̘̺͖͙̼̫̥̫̬̩̲̦̮̲̖͕̱̦͓̜̱̲͈͚̦̟͖̊̏̈̃͐̒͆͌́̓̾̈̂̇͌̈͂̊͒̀̏͂̀̕̕̚̚͝͝ͅあ̴̛̛͚̫̟̺͈̭͔̙̪̮͕̠͎̼̗̇̊́́̋̓͌̒̅͗̾́̇̉̍́̀͐̉́̽͋͋̓̓͂̋͐̔̔͗̾̑̕͘͜͝͠͝͝͝͠͝ͅあ̷̨̨̢̗̖̟̱̳̬̥͈̠̰̼̼̭̦͔̲͕̮̯̖̰̝̻̾͆͆͌̑̈́͊̈́̓̃̈́̅̀̅͋ͅあ̵̨̢̛̞̮̣̯͎̳͇̭̤̣̰̺̭̹̥̣͈̺̘̹̹̱͈͎̟͙̌̑̽͂̀̈́̈́͒͒̉͑̾̃̄̏̉̉͗̈́̀̉̏̉̋̌̋̌͊͂̒̍́̐̉͗̇̕͘͘͜͜͝͝͠͝ͅͅͅあ̸̨͖̥̮̤̤͈͓̦̻̮͎̪͇͕̼̮̜̘̙͉̼͎̘̮͉̮̣̳͕̬͍̠̘͓̪̟̻̥̲̝͇͎͎̤̣̗̣͊͛̊͒̌̀̀̄͋̃̚͝あ̴̢̛̤̰̦̝̪͍̩̣̤̟̾̊̌̉̈́̇̀̒̈́͊́̓̋̀̈́̑̿̈́̄̿̅̇́͗̀͋͊̾̚̚̕̚͠͝͝ͅあ̶̢̡̛̛̫̮͉̻̖̥̬̥̘͇̭͈̼̱͕̗̣̪̖̱͎̈̃̊͗̓̂̊̿̑̏͛̄̅̎̌̾͒̈́̃̈́͌̎͊̂̈́̒̾͘͘͝あ̷̨̛̛̰͓̖͕̻̟̼̲̬͎͇͙̊̎̑̏̆̌̌͗́̐̈̇͋̕͝͠あ̴̡̨̢̨̨̛̛̙͇̺̘̖͔̰̭̼̟̮̫̳̺̘̺̙̳͈̬̮̲̣̖̣̹̟̦̭͚͈̬͙̲̲̰̮͖͖̳̖͎̺͛̓͒̋̒̂̽́̈́̀͒̄̏̅͗̊̒̏͋͊͐̍͑͐̀͌̐̀̀̈́̇̀̆̉̍̔̈́̽̚͘͘̕̚͜͝ͅあ̸̗̺̥̦̟̜̜͎̤̤̬͊́͒̾̂̉̒̈́̀̈́̿̑̐̈́̈́̎͒̂͊̊͋̌̆̐̈́̑͛͛̍̍̋̆̑̚̚͘̚͠͝あ̵̧̢̨̯̜̗̝̑͑̑̾͒͋̌́͒̓͊̉̑̆͗̔̚̚ͅあ̸̡̖̹̰̮͈̙̙̟̹̩̦͖͔̫͕̜͚̣͔̻͇̰̥̲͈̖̮̣̠͚̹̩̹̠̟̗͖͙̏̓́̇͜ͅあ̵̧̧̛͕̩̜̫͕̬͍̣͙̲͕̙̺̺͙͎̮̬̞̱̭̺̥̮̻̦̌͋̈̑̓̎̉̀̅̿̐̋̕͜͠あ̸̡̣̆̿̋̂̈́͊́͛̌́̀͒̽̚̚̚͝あ̵̢̡̛͕͔͙̤̙̼̥̫͓͇̲͓̟̣͓̪̮̝̼̬͎͚͓͔͕̼̥̺͍̫͈̗̯͈̯̤͕̝͚̠̬̽̋́̓͑̄͐̀͒̂̓̈́̕ͅあ̶̢̡̣̝͖̯̼̭̻̹̠̗̮͎̹͙̘̥̤̤̦̥̤̬̪͕̺̦̗̱̞͓̄̐͛̏̑̌͗̽͐̄̓͠͠ͅͅあ̸̨̩͍̭̦̗̦̘̮̭͙͕͇̤̬̙̮̝̦̥̅̐͊̏̃̆͆͊͘͘あ̵̨̨̧̨̼̬̞̱͉̦͍̺̪̬͉͚̭̻͓͔̦̲̯̗̟͇̜̰͇͇̮̱̦̝̩͍̠͎̪̺̟͑̓̊̑͘͜͜͝あ̸̨̡̨͍̱̟̭̟̰͈͍̥̰͈̣̭͇̤̦͔̰̪̭̩̼͕̙̦̭̣̳̲͎͚͎̌͊̔̉͑̂̈́̌̾̿̓̃͜͜͠あ̸̡̛̫̩̯̣̦͎̱̬̫̦͇͚̳̲̣̥̲̭͙̫̠̥̮͉̯̬̬͕͙̗̘͔̪̱̑̾͒͋̈͛͋̈́̓́͑͒̈́́͆͆̄̀̿͗́͆̐̐̂̀́͗̉͗͑̂͐̅͒̐́͊̓͑̚͘̕͜͝͝͠͝ͅあ̸̡͉̞̼̰̭̖̪͉̜̝̺͉̮͙̬̖̮͖͈̪͚͓̞̹̦͇̱͖̝͈͔͓͋͆͊̈́̇̓̅̌̿̿̕̕͜͜͝あ̸̨̡̡̧̢̛̻̳̞͉̹͚̜̳͈͚̪̦̱͉͍̮̲̰̙̩͕͓͈͎͐̋̊̃̓̏͂̒̋̈́̍̾̀̊̒̌̿̐̓̉̉̏̏͆̈́̋̈͌̓̈́́̕̕͜͜͠͝͝あ̶̧̨̨̢̨̢̦̯̼͎̩͙̗͇͇̹̘̣̦̥͈͕̬̖͔̙̪͍̩͚̥̣̣͓͓̲̰͂̽͂͘͜ͅあ̶̧̢̛̛̲͎̖̰̯̬̪̠̗̟͉̼̻̼̺͈͎̺̳̝̮͚̺̞̘̮̘͙̻̠̯̝̱̝̝̓̋̍͛͛̆̉̿̅̾͗̍̒̉͌́̏̊̃̃͑̓̈́̈́́̾̓͌͛̑̀̃͊͐́͆̅́̋̈́̉͑̚̕͜͜͝あ̴̟̗̠̼̭̪͎̺̳͔̱͙̰͉̖͕͙̩͋͜あ̵̧̢̡̡̢̘͔̱̟̥̰̹̥̙͉̜̣͖͍̜̯̤͎̳̟͎͍̜͇̮͓̬̮͍̙͇̑̒̈́̒̊̅̉͝あ̴̧̧̧̛̳̫̞͓̞̘̳̼̳̜͍͍̟̺̭͍̺̘̣̞̖̫͍̳̤̗̮͕͍̹̣͓͈̙͎̳͉͗̌͊͆͛̆͒̀̏͂͌͊̈́̽́̀̓̏̾̈́́̈́̾͒͛́͑̏̕͘͝
-Finally, the last boss of the game is Koishi Komeiji. As is the case with most Touhou bosses in fangames, you get infinite jump here, which I didn't find myself using all that much. Her attacks are directly inspired by those featured in Subterranean Animism, which translate over surprisingly well into fangame physics. The only problems I had were Rorschach in Danmaku which can just wall you if you shoot her at the wrong time, and the final attack which can just insta-gib you with the plants.
Overall, this game definitely deserves all the hype it's gotten over the past 10 years (time really does fly, huh...), but it's not without its flaws. Still a great experience though, definitely check it out if you're a fan of classic adventure fangames.
[1] Like
I Wanna Be The Scapegoat is an adventure game made by dagger, a maker famous for his influence on basically every genre of fangames—with the stuff he's come up with, it's easy to see why.
In terms of structure, the game is broken up into a bunch of smaller levels, each with their own theme and gimmick.
The way I like to think of this is that while other adventure fangames are more like the New Super Mario Bros. series in terms of cohesion, this game is more like Super Mario 3D Land, feeling more disjointed and varied. You never know what you could run into next, and that's part of the fun about this game—it constantly throws new ideas your way.
As for the actual platforming itself, this is where a lot of the game's strengths (and faults) lie.
First, the positives. This game always manages to come up with unique ways to use the gimmicks in the stages, as well as many of segments just being fun in general. One of my favorites is the Phanto mask stage where you're required to platform around a stage while the masks keep chasing after you. Not all the gimmicks were the best, such as the wind or especially the barrel cannons, but even then, he still found ways to make it fun to play.
However, while some segments are really interesting in theory, actually pulling off a handful of them is another story. Some examples include the cemetery stage where you can't move as fast as usually but are expected to make tight maneuvers (it's much worse with the souls gimmick, trust me), or the conveyor belts stage used in Kamilia 2 which gives you far too little leniency to jump at the correct time. Luckily, these annoying stages are pretty few and far between, but I simply can't gloss over them.
So how about bosses? Well, this game has a total of 6 bosses, each being unique from each other in some way or another.
-First is Whispy Woods, who shoots shots at you which you have to aim back at him. A pretty easy boss all things considered, the attacks aren't that hard to dodge, and I got it on my first try.
-Bowser is up next, still an easy boss, but not as much. The attacks are slightly more difficult here, but overall nothing special.
-However, King Zing is where problems start arriving. You're expected to use the vines to reach him, but the walls and floor are almost completely covered in honey, so your movement is limited if you're not in the air. The real problem, though, is that halfway through, he decides to start chasing after you, while shooting bullets at the same time, which can be a nightmare to react to if you lead him into a bad spot.
-As a refresher, Hatsune Miku is a lot better of an experience. This boss is a 100% pattern avoidance with no RNG, set to 164's "unused impulse". The issue of terrible difficulty balancing that plagues most of dagger's other avoidances also seems to be absent here, as the ending is a lot easier to learn here than, say, Glorious Fragment.
-あ̵̡̛̙͎͉͙͐͆̉́͊̐͌̔͆́́̏̂̌̈́̎̑̈́̀̍͋́̓̑͒̃͋̐̅̂͋̚̕̕͘͝͝͝͠あ̴̢̨̧̨̛̤̘̺͖͙̼̫̥̫̬̩̲̦̮̲̖͕̱̦͓̜̱̲͈͚̦̟͖̊̏̈̃͐̒͆͌́̓̾̈̂̇͌̈͂̊͒̀̏͂̀̕̕̚̚͝͝ͅあ̴̛̛͚̫̟̺͈̭͔̙̪̮͕̠͎̼̗̇̊́́̋̓͌̒̅͗̾́̇̉̍́̀͐̉́̽͋͋̓̓͂̋͐̔̔͗̾̑̕͘͜͝͠͝͝͝͠͝ͅあ̷̨̨̢̗̖̟̱̳̬̥͈̠̰̼̼̭̦͔̲͕̮̯̖̰̝̻̾͆͆͌̑̈́͊̈́̓̃̈́̅̀̅͋ͅあ̵̨̢̛̞̮̣̯͎̳͇̭̤̣̰̺̭̹̥̣͈̺̘̹̹̱͈͎̟͙̌̑̽͂̀̈́̈́͒͒̉͑̾̃̄̏̉̉͗̈́̀̉̏̉̋̌̋̌͊͂̒̍́̐̉͗̇̕͘͘͜͜͝͝͠͝ͅͅͅあ̸̨͖̥̮̤̤͈͓̦̻̮͎̪͇͕̼̮̜̘̙͉̼͎̘̮͉̮̣̳͕̬͍̠̘͓̪̟̻̥̲̝͇͎͎̤̣̗̣͊͛̊͒̌̀̀̄͋̃̚͝あ̴̢̛̤̰̦̝̪͍̩̣̤̟̾̊̌̉̈́̇̀̒̈́͊́̓̋̀̈́̑̿̈́̄̿̅̇́͗̀͋͊̾̚̚̕̚͠͝͝ͅあ̶̢̡̛̛̫̮͉̻̖̥̬̥̘͇̭͈̼̱͕̗̣̪̖̱͎̈̃̊͗̓̂̊̿̑̏͛̄̅̎̌̾͒̈́̃̈́͌̎͊̂̈́̒̾͘͘͝あ̷̨̛̛̰͓̖͕̻̟̼̲̬͎͇͙̊̎̑̏̆̌̌͗́̐̈̇͋̕͝͠あ̴̡̨̢̨̨̛̛̙͇̺̘̖͔̰̭̼̟̮̫̳̺̘̺̙̳͈̬̮̲̣̖̣̹̟̦̭͚͈̬͙̲̲̰̮͖͖̳̖͎̺͛̓͒̋̒̂̽́̈́̀͒̄̏̅͗̊̒̏͋͊͐̍͑͐̀͌̐̀̀̈́̇̀̆̉̍̔̈́̽̚͘͘̕̚͜͝ͅあ̸̗̺̥̦̟̜̜͎̤̤̬͊́͒̾̂̉̒̈́̀̈́̿̑̐̈́̈́̎͒̂͊̊͋̌̆̐̈́̑͛͛̍̍̋̆̑̚̚͘̚͠͝あ̵̧̢̨̯̜̗̝̑͑̑̾͒͋̌́͒̓͊̉̑̆͗̔̚̚ͅあ̸̡̖̹̰̮͈̙̙̟̹̩̦͖͔̫͕̜͚̣͔̻͇̰̥̲͈̖̮̣̠͚̹̩̹̠̟̗͖͙̏̓́̇͜ͅあ̵̧̧̛͕̩̜̫͕̬͍̣͙̲͕̙̺̺͙͎̮̬̞̱̭̺̥̮̻̦̌͋̈̑̓̎̉̀̅̿̐̋̕͜͠あ̸̡̣̆̿̋̂̈́͊́͛̌́̀͒̽̚̚̚͝あ̵̢̡̛͕͔͙̤̙̼̥̫͓͇̲͓̟̣͓̪̮̝̼̬͎͚͓͔͕̼̥̺͍̫͈̗̯͈̯̤͕̝͚̠̬̽̋́̓͑̄͐̀͒̂̓̈́̕ͅあ̶̢̡̣̝͖̯̼̭̻̹̠̗̮͎̹͙̘̥̤̤̦̥̤̬̪͕̺̦̗̱̞͓̄̐͛̏̑̌͗̽͐̄̓͠͠ͅͅあ̸̨̩͍̭̦̗̦̘̮̭͙͕͇̤̬̙̮̝̦̥̅̐͊̏̃̆͆͊͘͘あ̵̨̨̧̨̼̬̞̱͉̦͍̺̪̬͉͚̭̻͓͔̦̲̯̗̟͇̜̰͇͇̮̱̦̝̩͍̠͎̪̺̟͑̓̊̑͘͜͜͝あ̸̨̡̨͍̱̟̭̟̰͈͍̥̰͈̣̭͇̤̦͔̰̪̭̩̼͕̙̦̭̣̳̲͎͚͎̌͊̔̉͑̂̈́̌̾̿̓̃͜͜͠あ̸̡̛̫̩̯̣̦͎̱̬̫̦͇͚̳̲̣̥̲̭͙̫̠̥̮͉̯̬̬͕͙̗̘͔̪̱̑̾͒͋̈͛͋̈́̓́͑͒̈́́͆͆̄̀̿͗́͆̐̐̂̀́͗̉͗͑̂͐̅͒̐́͊̓͑̚͘̕͜͝͝͠͝ͅあ̸̡͉̞̼̰̭̖̪͉̜̝̺͉̮͙̬̖̮͖͈̪͚͓̞̹̦͇̱͖̝͈͔͓͋͆͊̈́̇̓̅̌̿̿̕̕͜͜͝あ̸̨̡̡̧̢̛̻̳̞͉̹͚̜̳͈͚̪̦̱͉͍̮̲̰̙̩͕͓͈͎͐̋̊̃̓̏͂̒̋̈́̍̾̀̊̒̌̿̐̓̉̉̏̏͆̈́̋̈͌̓̈́́̕̕͜͜͠͝͝あ̶̧̨̨̢̨̢̦̯̼͎̩͙̗͇͇̹̘̣̦̥͈͕̬̖͔̙̪͍̩͚̥̣̣͓͓̲̰͂̽͂͘͜ͅあ̶̧̢̛̛̲͎̖̰̯̬̪̠̗̟͉̼̻̼̺͈͎̺̳̝̮͚̺̞̘̮̘͙̻̠̯̝̱̝̝̓̋̍͛͛̆̉̿̅̾͗̍̒̉͌́̏̊̃̃͑̓̈́̈́́̾̓͌͛̑̀̃͊͐́͆̅́̋̈́̉͑̚̕͜͜͝あ̴̟̗̠̼̭̪͎̺̳͔̱͙̰͉̖͕͙̩͋͜あ̵̧̢̡̡̢̘͔̱̟̥̰̹̥̙͉̜̣͖͍̜̯̤͎̳̟͎͍̜͇̮͓̬̮͍̙͇̑̒̈́̒̊̅̉͝あ̴̧̧̧̛̳̫̞͓̞̘̳̼̳̜͍͍̟̺̭͍̺̘̣̞̖̫͍̳̤̗̮͕͍̹̣͓͈̙͎̳͉͗̌͊͆͛̆͒̀̏͂͌͊̈́̽́̀̓̏̾̈́́̈́̾͒͛́͑̏̕͘͝
-Finally, the last boss of the game is Koishi Komeiji. As is the case with most Touhou bosses in fangames, you get infinite jump here, which I didn't find myself using all that much. Her attacks are directly inspired by those featured in Subterranean Animism, which translate over surprisingly well into fangame physics. The only problems I had were Rorschach in Danmaku which can just wall you if you shoot her at the wrong time, and the final attack which can just insta-gib you with the plants.
Overall, this game definitely deserves all the hype it's gotten over the past 10 years (time really does fly, huh...), but it's not without its flaws. Still a great experience though, definitely check it out if you're a fan of classic adventure fangames.
Rating: 6.0 60
Difficulty: 55 55
Jul 27, 2023
PlutoTheThing
Absolutely love this fangame, it's an old school adventure but it holds up super well, having very high quality in all it's stages and lots of unique mechanics. The bosses are great, and feel awesome to play, especially the final boss, a super fun touhou themed fight against one of my favorite characters! I really liked the platforming, there were just so many gimmicks that were fun to play around with, and some really great traps, especially as the game goes on. Definitely one of the best old adventures!
[1] Like
Rating: 9.0 90
Difficulty: 54 54
Jul 17, 2023
ElCochran90
I should begin by stating I am a fan of 8Possible; it's a wonderful plethora of sensations and a creative representation of the subconscious under comma. It's not meant to be realistic (geez, it's a fangame), but the surreal atmosphere is one that I haven't found yet in any other fangame as of yet.
And then this dagger effort comes, very talented considering its age, following a dream-world structure and creating and adventure out of it. I love people experimenting with the medium, and if this is not it, then I don't know what it is.
The structure of the game is what makes it better than what it could have. A linear hub transports you to many worlds with a core atmosphere and several stages consisting of only two screens. This creates a steady sense of progression and being constantly rewarded for each conquered challenge.
The variety is beyond impressing, even if some levels are repeated in visual design or gimmick-wise in other worlds that do not fit in. Also, some gimmicks are questionable, such as the wind stages trolling you from time to time, and for the love of God, that honey gimmick was abominable trash. I don't know if it's my game version or the engine, but it DOESN'T work like vines. It tries to, but it obeys your command whenever the f*** it feels like it. Sometimes it will jump high, sometimes it will just fall off. Considering that more than one stage has this godawful gimmick and that an entire boss (not the first one, not the easiest in difficulty) depends entirely on this gimmick being pulled off correctly with a consistency that the game is not willing to give and relying on luck instead, it really kills the playability. The boss even dares to add honey to the whole ground, which is just even worse.
From there, given the great variety, we have many things to explore, and few gimmicks are annoying (one highly resembles the one implemented in Skyclad, but I don't know which fangame got released first tho). And in case they are, you know your challenge consists of two screens of consistency. The song choices are spot-on, even if they will be repeated in future occasions, and the bosses are very fun. The final avoidance is memorable and has creative, unpredictable attacks.
It's an experience I thank for having, because it is fulfilling, worth speedrunning (except for the honey trash) and doesn't exploit the gimmicks' difficulty, always remaining in a reasonable difficulty curve. Miku's avoidance is one of the highest spots of the game, and I appreciate the consistent love towards Donkey Kong Country 2.
Recommended indeed.
[1] Like
And then this dagger effort comes, very talented considering its age, following a dream-world structure and creating and adventure out of it. I love people experimenting with the medium, and if this is not it, then I don't know what it is.
The structure of the game is what makes it better than what it could have. A linear hub transports you to many worlds with a core atmosphere and several stages consisting of only two screens. This creates a steady sense of progression and being constantly rewarded for each conquered challenge.
The variety is beyond impressing, even if some levels are repeated in visual design or gimmick-wise in other worlds that do not fit in. Also, some gimmicks are questionable, such as the wind stages trolling you from time to time, and for the love of God, that honey gimmick was abominable trash. I don't know if it's my game version or the engine, but it DOESN'T work like vines. It tries to, but it obeys your command whenever the f*** it feels like it. Sometimes it will jump high, sometimes it will just fall off. Considering that more than one stage has this godawful gimmick and that an entire boss (not the first one, not the easiest in difficulty) depends entirely on this gimmick being pulled off correctly with a consistency that the game is not willing to give and relying on luck instead, it really kills the playability. The boss even dares to add honey to the whole ground, which is just even worse.
From there, given the great variety, we have many things to explore, and few gimmicks are annoying (one highly resembles the one implemented in Skyclad, but I don't know which fangame got released first tho). And in case they are, you know your challenge consists of two screens of consistency. The song choices are spot-on, even if they will be repeated in future occasions, and the bosses are very fun. The final avoidance is memorable and has creative, unpredictable attacks.
It's an experience I thank for having, because it is fulfilling, worth speedrunning (except for the honey trash) and doesn't exploit the gimmicks' difficulty, always remaining in a reasonable difficulty curve. Miku's avoidance is one of the highest spots of the game, and I appreciate the consistent love towards Donkey Kong Country 2.
Recommended indeed.
Rating: 6.6 66
Difficulty: 65 65
Sep 20, 2021