I just completed this hold (post-mastered + solved optional levels). First of all I will note that I didn't play that many of DROD content: only DROD 1 to 4 main holds and Flood Warning before this one. Because of that, I might have incorrectly classified some ideas here as original.
I must say that not only did I immensely enjoyed the hold, but I also think it's the best level set I played in any game EVER! When there are moments in a logic game when you just have to take a moment to say to yourself "
WOW"
, you know you're playing something special. In this hold pretty much every second room was like that for me, either because for phenomenal architecture, original room ideas or just tricky and rewarding solutions.
I bought this SMS after taking a look at TSS demo. My expectations were low when I saw that there are dedicated Slayer and guard levels. I'm not a big fan of trying to figure out obscure movement details. However, few rooms focused on those (hardest of those were in secrets) and instead I got see how fun the manipulation for advanced enemies can be, especially in the wisp puzzles. This trend continued with some great utilization of stairs and crumbly walls in later levels, among other elements. You will need know some details, especially o guard moves priories and path-finding. I ended up taking 2-3 hints because of that, but this reliance on details also allowed for some great rooms, so I'm kind of split on this. Overall, I guess I simply enjoy Chaco's style of room building: high number of orb / pressure plates / gates, complicated layouts requiring a lot of planning but also very rewarding to see being played out and solved.
The architecture was splendid. The levels layout, rooms layout and the non-linear twisted progression with a lot of secrets. I also loved the various takes on rooms reuse. Those induced 2-3 variations on virtually the same room, progressively more complicated or solving the exactly same rooms 2-3 times from different "
angles"
(don't want to explain more to avoid spoilers). I can only imagine how much work went into preparing those. This hold, along with Flood Warning, really showcases why preparing DROD content is called architecture: building something both functional, often very constrained, that is also so visually appealing.
On the negatives: I was expecting more from the story element. Most of the exposition seemed to be cluttered at the holds very end and would be better to have it more interweave with the puzzles. The acting wasn't that great, but it really doesn't matter that much for me (and unlike some other people here, I really loved dramatic guards lines
). The overall voice quality itself really could be better, though. As for the puzzles: Analyzing some rooms can get tedious, but I think most of it will be neutralized with DROD 5 gate reverted checks (for orbs / pressure plates triggers), so I recommend playing in the newest engine. Again, There were 2-3 rooms with slayer and guard manipulation, that I really wasn't a fan of, but those were secret ones, and at the end still fairly fun to solve.
The hold truly showed me how versatile and deep DROD really is. After easily 200+ hours spent playing this series, this set pretty much felt like a brand new game. DROD really has more variety between different architects works that some gaming genres between games. I must admit that I'm really stingy when it comes to buying games and wasn't sure if SMS will be worth it. After playing FtFT however, I just must try out other DLC content. Once again big thanks to Chaco for possibly the best gaming experience I ever had.
My score:
8 brains
11 overall (rounded to 10)
.
.
