"Elder Devourer" by FrostDragonGD | (No Damage) | GD 2.2
Level ID: 97735944
Songs:
The Midnight Glades - ErlendFlatin
https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/62...
The Assassination - Mattashi
https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/63...
Hey! As some of you may know, I've been obsessed with the new platformer mode that has come out with the new update 2.2, and as a result, I've been looking for all of the cool ones I can find. Needless to say, I consider this level one of those.
Elder Devourer is a boss centered level that has you go up against this worm, and I must comment on how impressive it is considering the time it was built in! It hadn't even been a week since the update came out before this was released, and that's what shocks me. From FrostDragon's other works, I know he's a really good and established creator, and this just took that to the next level. The health system is great, the boss design and mechanics are great, the sound effects are well placed, and it's pretty fun to play, too!
Despite the positive things I have to say, I also have some critiques that could maybe go towards making the level even better. My main gripes are with the attacks. The first thing I could think of saying about them would be that there's not enough variety. The boss cycles through the same three attacks the whole time, and while I cannot nag simplicity and automatically say it brings down something, the boss could've had phases and experimented just a little bit as the fight went on. Robtop's tower bossfight, "The Cursed Thorn," is a great example of simplicity mixed with experimentation. I would love to see that in FrostDragon's future works.
The second thing I have to say, and the thing I feel is most important to improve on, is the attack indications. Whenever the Elder Devourer plunges into the ground, they shoot a spread of bullets, and while I ended up finding a consistent way to dodge this attack, it's still unfair to have the direction of the bullets be obscured when it gets mixed with other attacks. Since the Elder Devourer hits the same spots on the ground regularly, it wouldn't hurt to add glowing strips or something of the sorts to show the line of attack before it occurs. Indicators could also be applied to the energy orbs that get shot by the little worms and split into four; these could begin to glow brighter, for example, as they prepare to split into four bullets so that the player can react accordingly.
Elder Devourer is a really nice level overall, especially for the time it was built it. I'd say it has things it could work on, but that doesn't take away from its overall quality. I'd be tempted to call this a demon, but because you get six hitpoints for the level, I could easily see it being an insane 8-9* level instead. Great work, FrostDragon!