Delicious FruitLatest Reviews
om1
For: I Wanna see the rainbow
For: I Wanna see the rainbow
easy avoidance with good atmosphere
[0] Likes
Rating: 7.7 77
Difficulty: 38 38
Nov 26, 2023
PlutoTheThing
For: I wanna be the Volatile Presence: Stagnant Edition
For: I wanna be the Volatile Presence: Stagnant Edition
This review is based on getting the True Ending
The thing that sticks out upon finishing this game is just how impressive it is, it's so varied and very much takes a quality over quantity approach. The stages are mostly just 1 save long endeavors, with their own visuals and atmosphere and gimmicks to make them fresh. The game isn't afraid to throw insane curveballs at you or just challenges that can often feel unreasonable, whether it be because a really hard to adapt to mechanic or just a really long save. This design process of throwing the player immediately into deep water is maybe frustrating to some, but I feel like it really allows each save to shine, they all feel pivotal to the game and memorable.
This game is also just really good at staying fresh and interesting, basically every moment of my playthrough I was excited to see what was next because even with the content which reuses gimmicks from earlier in the game, it's always doing something new. I was genuinely shocked with just how much there was to this game considering how varied it all is, and I love basically every save. If I had to list a low point it would probably be hunting for secrets, but even then it's fine, just not what I was interested in and a few secrets were kinda annoying to look for. Beyond that I think this game is pretty amazing and a shining beacon of just how interesting and engaging fangame platforming can be at it's best.
[2] Likes
The thing that sticks out upon finishing this game is just how impressive it is, it's so varied and very much takes a quality over quantity approach. The stages are mostly just 1 save long endeavors, with their own visuals and atmosphere and gimmicks to make them fresh. The game isn't afraid to throw insane curveballs at you or just challenges that can often feel unreasonable, whether it be because a really hard to adapt to mechanic or just a really long save. This design process of throwing the player immediately into deep water is maybe frustrating to some, but I feel like it really allows each save to shine, they all feel pivotal to the game and memorable.
This game is also just really good at staying fresh and interesting, basically every moment of my playthrough I was excited to see what was next because even with the content which reuses gimmicks from earlier in the game, it's always doing something new. I was genuinely shocked with just how much there was to this game considering how varied it all is, and I love basically every save. If I had to list a low point it would probably be hunting for secrets, but even then it's fine, just not what I was interested in and a few secrets were kinda annoying to look for. Beyond that I think this game is pretty amazing and a shining beacon of just how interesting and engaging fangame platforming can be at it's best.
Rating: 10.0 100
Difficulty: 83 83
Nov 26, 2023
Renko97
For: Happy Birthday King
For: Happy Birthday King
The best game by Guille.
[0] Likes
Rating: 6.4 64
Difficulty: 46 46
Nov 26, 2023
Renko97
For: I don't wanna Worry
For: I don't wanna Worry
Good visuals and bad music.
[1] Like
Rating: 4.6 46
Difficulty: 46 46
Nov 25, 2023
Nearigami
For: Crimson Needle 2
For: Crimson Needle 2
When Kale published his CN3 commentary series, which I haven't finished because I have ADHD, he commented that his goal with CN3 wasn't to make a fun game. This sounds kind of backwards at first. Why would you not want to make a fun game? Isn't that what games are supposed to be? Well while fun is certainly an important factor, if that's all you aspire your game to be, you will probably end up creating a flatter and less memorable experience. If you've played CN3, there are some segments which will probably not ellicit pure joy from you. Something may be uncomfortable, extremely difficult, or leave you without information that would make your journey easier. These moments baked into the gameplay of CN3 add color to your experience. When you reach the end of floor 100, you remember so much of the journey it took to get there that it becomes an experience you will never be able to forget.
Back in 2020, Kale reviewed Save My Boy, and that was the first time that I saw this philosophy presented. Kale remarked that the game was super fun, but he believed that it was at times approaching forgettable simply because it was inoffensive. The screens blended together and they almost all require the same sort of skillset. The game was fun but in a predictable way. I didn't get it at first. I thought Save My Boy was a straightforward masterclass in gimmick needle design, and honestly I still believe that to be the case today. I get it though, the game doesn't have the amount of variety it could have had because Arzztt made the most comfortable and fun game he could. There's no sort of friction in the game at all. Instead of being a 4-course meal, it's a delicious, double deckered cake that you can chow on for hours.
Playing CN2 is fascinating because it feels like a version of Kale before he learned that lesson. CN2 is a game that was designed to be fun in a straightforward way and as a result, the floors kind of blend together. While the game gets harder, it doesn't ever really ask anything different from the player. The visuals and spike placements change, but the core design and style between them always feel similar. I'm never tested in new ways when playing CN2. The later floors are simply asking if I can beat the needle style from the earlier ones but with a higher difficulty. That's not a *bad* thing, but I noticed it for sure.
The boss oddly feels like it belongs though? I can't quite articulate why but I feel the final boss makes perfect sense for a game like CN2. Some people don't like the boss but I enjoyed it. It feels less like a boss and more like an extended needle save. No I will not elaborate, because I don't fully understand what I'm cooking myself.
CN2 is fun and that's it.
[1] Like
Back in 2020, Kale reviewed Save My Boy, and that was the first time that I saw this philosophy presented. Kale remarked that the game was super fun, but he believed that it was at times approaching forgettable simply because it was inoffensive. The screens blended together and they almost all require the same sort of skillset. The game was fun but in a predictable way. I didn't get it at first. I thought Save My Boy was a straightforward masterclass in gimmick needle design, and honestly I still believe that to be the case today. I get it though, the game doesn't have the amount of variety it could have had because Arzztt made the most comfortable and fun game he could. There's no sort of friction in the game at all. Instead of being a 4-course meal, it's a delicious, double deckered cake that you can chow on for hours.
Playing CN2 is fascinating because it feels like a version of Kale before he learned that lesson. CN2 is a game that was designed to be fun in a straightforward way and as a result, the floors kind of blend together. While the game gets harder, it doesn't ever really ask anything different from the player. The visuals and spike placements change, but the core design and style between them always feel similar. I'm never tested in new ways when playing CN2. The later floors are simply asking if I can beat the needle style from the earlier ones but with a higher difficulty. That's not a *bad* thing, but I noticed it for sure.
The boss oddly feels like it belongs though? I can't quite articulate why but I feel the final boss makes perfect sense for a game like CN2. Some people don't like the boss but I enjoyed it. It feels less like a boss and more like an extended needle save. No I will not elaborate, because I don't fully understand what I'm cooking myself.
CN2 is fun and that's it.
Rating: 8.0 80
Difficulty: 82 82
Nov 25, 2023
GabrielBr5545
For: I wanna be the Chess Master
[0] Likes
For: I wanna be the Chess Master
[0] Likes
Rating: 9.0 90
Difficulty: N/A
Nov 25, 2023
Nearigami
For: I wanna get Rekt
For: I wanna get Rekt
I first tried playing Rekt back in 2016 when I was brand new to fangames. I didn't get past the second boss because my natural skill at these games are super low and every stride I have made with playing is by virtue of the amount of hours I've played them as opposed to any innate abilities. I did watch a playthrough of the game though and I was enamored with everything. Rekt to me symbolized what the Western fangame community was like more than anything. It represented the community's unhinged humor, their close bonds, and it showed me who was seen as a culturally important person.
When I started playing fangames, I was desperately looking for a way to fit in and become someone people talked about positively. There was just one problem. I was 16 and both socially and emotionally stunted. I found people who I could talk with and enjoy the company of, but others in the community definitely found me annoying. I remember being invited into certain discord servers years later and then name-searching myself only to find that people were talking about how a was a *lot* to deal with. I would never get to be someone who would be respected enough to be referenced in a theoretical Rekt 2. I lashed out at people and was extremely immature because I thought I would never get what I wanted. Because obviously the solution to getting respect is to be an asshole towards people you want respect from. I did this less as time went on but I still definitely lashed out on occasion. Reaping what I sow and all that. Over time my role in fangames became just another guy who played them and had opinions.
Playing Rekt in 2023 is so interesting now because both the community and me are so fundamentally different that it's a time capsule of sorts. Most people referenced in the save messages and stage 4 either don't play fangames anymore or have a fundamentally different relationship with them. The sort of twitch/forum culture is still a part of fangames, but its presence is greatly diminished in the modern era. The window for me to get the respect and friendships of these people that I saw and admired was long gone. I think playing Rekt though, I made peace with that. I found lifelong friends through fangames, changed my philosophy, and grew into an adult through them. I learned at least a little bit about how to appreciate what I have and what's around me. Obviously I still have a lot of learning to do. I will inevitably make people upset, or be a dick again, or make a big deal out of something extremely unimportant, but I will try to be better.
What does this have to do with Rekt? Not much honestly, but to me, Rekt is a time capsule of a bygone era of fangames. An era before people really figured out what they were doing; where everything was in many ways simpler. You can't make a game like Rekt again. I don't mean that you can't make a boss medley or a game celebrating fangame culture again. I mean you cannot make something that has the same atmosphere, because the times are just so different.
Rekt is a pretty cool boss medley, with most of them being pretty fun and some being kinda bad, but there is no other game like it, and that's what I love about it.
[5] Likes
When I started playing fangames, I was desperately looking for a way to fit in and become someone people talked about positively. There was just one problem. I was 16 and both socially and emotionally stunted. I found people who I could talk with and enjoy the company of, but others in the community definitely found me annoying. I remember being invited into certain discord servers years later and then name-searching myself only to find that people were talking about how a was a *lot* to deal with. I would never get to be someone who would be respected enough to be referenced in a theoretical Rekt 2. I lashed out at people and was extremely immature because I thought I would never get what I wanted. Because obviously the solution to getting respect is to be an asshole towards people you want respect from. I did this less as time went on but I still definitely lashed out on occasion. Reaping what I sow and all that. Over time my role in fangames became just another guy who played them and had opinions.
Playing Rekt in 2023 is so interesting now because both the community and me are so fundamentally different that it's a time capsule of sorts. Most people referenced in the save messages and stage 4 either don't play fangames anymore or have a fundamentally different relationship with them. The sort of twitch/forum culture is still a part of fangames, but its presence is greatly diminished in the modern era. The window for me to get the respect and friendships of these people that I saw and admired was long gone. I think playing Rekt though, I made peace with that. I found lifelong friends through fangames, changed my philosophy, and grew into an adult through them. I learned at least a little bit about how to appreciate what I have and what's around me. Obviously I still have a lot of learning to do. I will inevitably make people upset, or be a dick again, or make a big deal out of something extremely unimportant, but I will try to be better.
What does this have to do with Rekt? Not much honestly, but to me, Rekt is a time capsule of a bygone era of fangames. An era before people really figured out what they were doing; where everything was in many ways simpler. You can't make a game like Rekt again. I don't mean that you can't make a boss medley or a game celebrating fangame culture again. I mean you cannot make something that has the same atmosphere, because the times are just so different.
Rekt is a pretty cool boss medley, with most of them being pretty fun and some being kinda bad, but there is no other game like it, and that's what I love about it.
Rating: 9.0 90
Difficulty: 60 60
Nov 25, 2023