Krimson

[b]Score: 7/10[/b] [list] [*][b]Art:[/b] The visuals fit the tone of the game well, though they lack variety. The choice to include a rainbow-colored stage is certainly interesting, but it comes across as odd and somewhat out of place compared to the rest of the design. [*][b]Music:[/b] Excellent across the board. The industrial metal soundtrack is energetic and perfectly suited to the gameplay. While most tracks are instrumental, the few vocal tracks stand out as highlights. [*][b]Story:[/b] There’s no real narrative to follow. [*][b]Gameplay:[/b] Overall, the gameplay is solid, with a good variety of level designs and boss encounters. A few sections feel poorly designed and can be frustrating, but these are the exception rather than the rule. [*][b]Accessibility:[/b] Virtually nonexistent. There are no visible options for adjusting difficulty, gameplay settings, or color accessibility. [*][b]Other:[/b] Every time the player dies, a loud noise and flashing screen effect plays. Given how often deaths occur, this quickly becomes extremely irritating. [/list]

very fun little platformer, absolutely in love with the visuals, which somehow are readable despite all the flashing (I'm serious the flashing is CRAZY, do not play if you're at all prone to epilepsy or even just dislike flashy visual, this is a rough sell unless you're already drawn to the aesthetic) Even if you do not give the game a shot, please please please P L E A S E look up the soundtrack for this game on bandcamp by CryingPsycho, the soundtrack is soooooo good and unique, very gritty distorted metal, specifically the vocal tracks were absolute highlights for me. Things I LOVE: -It's tight but simple platforming, precision platformer for sure, moving with the rhythm often had me in a flow state. -T H E M U S I C !!! i'm seriously in love with Self-Destruct in particular, absolute banger! -The visuals are trippy as hell and i love it, it fits the vibe so well -It's really challenging as a platformer, but barely punishing. There's a few kinda autoscroll sections that felt a bit frustrating but ultimately the difficulty was super enjoyable in my opinion Things that bothered me a bit: -when the flow state works it works well, when it doesn't it can feel really awful and frustrating, one section in particular gave me the same kind of confusion you'd get from patting your head while rubbing your belly at the same time, it feels like you're dragging behind the rhythm in a manner that just did not work for me and had me farming like 200 deaths or whatnot -I felt like the hitboxes during some of the bossfights were a bit off, though that may have been due to the trippy visuals Overall i really enjoyed my time with this game, worth the price for sure if you like precision platformers.

At the time of writing this review, I still have not finished playing the game. But I will give an honest and positive review. This is my first precision platformer I have ever played and it's quite difficult. But I absolutely love the challenge it gives! Sure it seems that at some points I can't see where the little meatball is, but the aesthetics given are phenomenal! Circle 3 is definitely the trippiest of the circles with it feeling like acid and/or magic mushrooms on steroids. While playing through what I have finished so far, my mind kept wanting to think of the Path of Pain from Hollow Knight (HK) and my reflexes sort of kicked in with avoiding the obstacles. The points where you can continuously jump midair gave me the impression of the "pogo" strategy that's commonly used in HK. The soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal with it's different musical styles throughout the Circles of Hell. Since I'm more of a metalhead, Circles 2 and 4 (from what I've played of 4 so far) are my favorites. The boss music is also on point! An absolute assault on my eyes and ears, but in a fun and engaging way! 15/10 would continue to play and hone my skills!

GOTY 2024 My only complaint is that it's too short

Master Chief Certified Banger

The best way I can describe this game is "an experience". It will occasionally be frustrating, player-hostile, and tedious. But when everything comes together, it is very fun. It is essentially a platformer where the level elements react to the song's rhythm. The music, the graphics, and the level design all combine to create a really artistic and fun game experience. I picked this up in 2024 and didn't get around to finishing it til now. I do wish it was a little bit longer, it's only about 2 hours or so, but for the price, I think it is worth it because there are a lot of cool setpieces, some really cool art, music, and gameplay in here. There isn't really anything else like it besides the game "140", and the similarities to 140 end pretty quickly as the developer builds on the experience. (Also I will just throw in here that the game runs very well despite it being on Unity, and having a ton of crazy graphical and screen effects. I only had an occasional hitch in the last couple levels and nothing else that I can recall.) These are the only criticisms I can offer, and seeing it hasn't been updated in years, these will probably fall on deaf ears. That's okay though, it's fun as it is: -When you die, all the level elements stay the same place they were when you die. There is simply a death screen, you are teleported to the respawn spot, and the camera follows you. There are 2 problems with this. The camera jerks towards you really fast, and because the level elements don't reset to a position for you to quickly retry, you often have to wait multiple seconds for an opening. -Some level gimmicks were frustrating and annoying, but they often didn't last very long, and I think the annoyance is intentional because the developer likes to screw with the player. I find this fine personally. -Some achievements are bugged, I got the achievement for "completing Circle 4 without dying", but all I did was the FIRST LEVEL of Circle 4 without dying. -I REALLY like the grungy graphics and art style, but I think it will be a big turn off for some if not most players. I never felt like it hindered my ability to parse the game, but a lot of people are sensitive to these types of graphic styles. Overall an awesome game despite some flaws and nitpicks, I am glad I played it, and I hope the developer will make a sequel or continue making games.

https://youtu.be/GV5Kys-fCSE Aggressive against the player in it's style and theming the platforming challenges are tough be fair with a lot of variety.

The first 60 seconds are epic, amazing, and brain-melting. Love the environment, sound, music, controls. After 10 minutes I've never been more frustrated, annoyed, illogical maps, difficult to see threats. It was like $3 so whatever, take my money. Google: "unforgiving difficulty, confusing and abrasive visuals, a lack of story, and a frustrating gameplay loop. Some players find the game's mechanics, such as unpredictable hitboxes and camera obscuring traps, make it particularly frustrating and anxiety-inducing."