Delicious Fruit
Download Game Screenshots
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by Earphone
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by Dog
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by GaspacoZanis
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by Earphone
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by Dog
30 Reviews:
Chrisay
Why is it a Miku sprite when the song is sung by Gumi??????????????????????????????????
[21] Likes
Rating: N/A
Difficulty: N/A
Dec 19, 2021
Cthaere
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
Razzor_iw
kardiac arrest
edit: played it for long enough to be sure of my rating
edit 2: i cleared and it is definitely my favorite avoidance
edit: played it for long enough to be sure of my rating
edit 2: i cleared and it is definitely my favorite avoidance
Tagged as: Avoidance
[11] Likes
Rating: 10.0 100
Difficulty: 94 94
Dec 18, 2021
BloggerOP
This game destroyed my mental health. Later attacks were too frustrating to be there. Any of them cannot be learned easily and gave me a lot of stress. I hated every attack in the final chorus and final test (names are from GaspacoZanis's deadsplit). I'm just feeling that this game didn't need to be this hard. Creator should have given more priority to making more enjoyable game, not harder game. I do enjoyed some first parts, but then stupid attacks happened. I also think this game's RNG is unbalanced. I'm sorry for rating this game 3.5 and calling it a trash, but, it gave me the worst experience I've ever had with any video games. Even after beating this game, I sincerely hate this game, and will never play it ever again.
[8] Likes
Rating: 3.5 35
Difficulty: 95 95
Jun 16, 2022