Had a free afternoon for once, so I'm taking another run at this one. The first map is epic and challenging and ultimately quite good I think... but it's an odd choice for a map to start an episode. To much savescumming required, too much trial and error. Was it placed in the leadoff spot just because of the base theme?

Anyway, got that under my belt now, so... onward. I really do enjoy an episode arrangement where the maps just roll into each other without the intervening startmap. 

w1m4 is some extremely cool shit yo. 

All righty, finished! Great experience overall; let me repeat that I love a good episode-chaining of maps, and having custom music really puts some of the moments/locations over the top.

I did notice that the maps didn't seem to give much of a nod to them being actually connected places, either in explicitly connecting exits/entrances or just more generally in having a progression of the aesthetic getting gradually weirder in the manner of the original id progression. Not a big deal but it's a touch that would really make an episode hang together as a whole thing.

FWIW I played version 1.13 on skill 2.

start map - Sets the atmosphere just right. Ancient door set in a wilderness hillside, check.

w1m1 - Interesting map, puzzle-y both in its platforming and some of its combat setups. There's a "one right way" to do some things and first you have to figure out what that is, then you have to nail the execution. Getting through one or both of those phases often required trial-and-error and savescumming. In the end this was satisfying to get through, but this is an odd choice for a leadoff map in an episode. Gameplay is a little too much off the beaten path (will turn some players away) and it's a bit too long and too punishing for an intro map. Considered standalone though it's good stuff IMO -- nice variant on base-map aesthetics, tricky surprises -- it won't be to everyone's taste but that's ok.

w1m2 - A much chunkier low-detail elder-world look; nice, but it took some getting used to after the previous map. Fine introduction of the exploding mine things -- a fitting use of zombies! The place felt a little same-y for a while, although it came together near the end once I had opened up most of the routes and run back and forth. Thumbs up for some swimming, good deployment of the Copper multiple-keys feature, and several good moments of seeing a spot I need to get to & working out how. Very inter-self-connected in a good way.

w1m3 - Homages to some id maps done very well here... entering into a familiar place and then a mix of either meeting your expectations about it, or confounding then. Love that. I believe that the keys-and-locks setup had fewer keys than you would need to unlock everything, which admittedly is another id callback (e4m4 silver key and secret exit) but I think was a little frustrating; these days I'd prefer having some sort of signpost that maybe I might want to save a key instead of using it when I find a lock. A good runic-maze-puzzlebox map though. Some fun secrets too, and a solid instance of the finally-getting-the-grenade-launcher-for-all-those-zombies trope.

w1s1 - I like that tidy little diorama on entering. :-) And, props for doing a low-grav secret map. The giant castle is a good theme for that; having a familiar structure makes it more fun to break the rules of normal traversal. Although I wish I had gotten more of a look at / feel for the overall structure during normal play; often it felt like being channeled down unrelated halls and it wasn't clear where I was in the castle. Some beautiful setpieces though, really getting good use out of the contrast between the lava and the blue bricks/tiles. 

w1m4 - Just lovely; my favorite map of the episode. Reminiscent of czg's Honey IMO, although unsurprisingly also taking from uKKo's earlier stuff. Dialing the combat back a bit and dialing up the exploration with an effortless mix of terrain and ruins. It's pretty much everything I like about finding and unlocking paths and revisiting areas from different vantage points and etc. Great vertical range too. The opening slice of a view out of your entrance cave is a great mood-setter BTW; the fog and the framing are just right.

w1m5 - Another "puzzlebox" kind of map where you drop into a hub facing a few different paths and locked doors. This one medieval rather than runic. I wasn't surprised to see Naitelveni and VuRkka in the author list here (along with NewHouse) as this kind of layout seems to be in their wheelhouse. I remember at least one satisfying powerup run -- also there's a bit of a dirty trick that makes you likely to miss a powerup, but that was just funny. Not a map that throws any unusual ideas at you, but solid.

w1m6 - Very strong opening in a cool outdoor area facing a keep, and some fun areas immediately beyond the door, but once you get really stuck into the map it turns into abstract spaces filled with slime and nailtraps and teleport ambushes. Kind of an abrupt turn from really my thing to really not my thing. I pushed through though; I have to say, I appreciate the pointers to the gold keys, and once I had mostly rinsed the map of monsters it was pleasant enough to finish it out.

w1m7 - Seeing "500" for the monster count on loading a map is offputting for me, but since this was the last map in the episode I knew I'd be ok with just chipping away at it in sessions ... there's nothing after it that it was delaying me from seeing. As it turns out, w1m7 is good for a big map for a few reasons: a) it's well-structured with an understandable layout -- lots of the layout is visible to you, it has some symmetries, etc.; b) you can "finish" some areas so you don't need to return there; and c) for a reason I won't spoil here the total count is somewhat misleading about how long it will take you to complete the map. In the end it's a memorable conclusion to the episode with epic visuals, cool structures to figure out and climb around in, lots of monsters to blow up, and (bonus points) it doesn't inflict a half-baked bossfight on you. Capping things off can be tough... kudos!


Great effort and great results you guys. Nothing against speedmaps and jams but I double-appreciate these "full release" deals, especially in episode form.

I kind of hope someone records some all-secrets runs of these for me to watch someday, as I didn't feel like I had the time to scrounge for those. :-)

Onneksi olkoon!