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Illusionist
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This is relatively old game, from 2007. Some of you might even recognize it.

An Untitled Story is a simple metroidvania game, when you start as an egg in your nest, and go for an epic adventure. While the game is huge, it's very easy to navigate. Game offers different difficulty options, so if someone is not skilled, they can enjoy easy way, while those who are really good, can try their chance with expert, and by that, I mean really really expert.

What makes this game one of my most beloved games of all times, is beside a very gooooood soundtrack, cute art, and pretty beautiful story. All of it combined creates a charming experience that stays in your head, but more importantly, in your heart. The art might seem crude at first, but it has a very recognizable style that really fits the game and makes it unique, combined with very catchy midi music.

About the plot:
Click here to view the secret text


In regards to gameplay, the game has your standard areas, like lava level, underwater level, climbing mountain, sand levels, and so on. And of course every area has a boss. You also collect some currency which can be spend on some upgrades, albeit many of the upgrades can be found through progression of the game.

The game was popular enough that there were two fan-made sequels, An Untitled Tale (which didn't go far) and an Expanded version of the game, called An Untitled Story Extension Project, which can be found online, in its almost finished form (like 98% finished).

While An Untitled Story is not as excellent and professional as Cave Story (which inspired it), or Eternal Daughter, it's the one game that I like revisiting from time to time.

The game can be downloaded for free on mattmakesgames.com

The guy went on to create some successful games later, but this
one is my favorite one from him.

some screenshots




some playthrough I've found


[Last edited by Illusionist at 02-06-2021 07:18 PM]
02-06-2021 at 07:10 PM
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Xindaris
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AUS has some very brutal platforming in it. Several upgrade items are locked behind "you can't even get hurt once during this ridiculously hard platforming section" doors. The person who made it was also responsible for Celeste (much later), which may tell you a few things about what to expect.

Also, there is one other very short AUS fangame, which came out at the end of last year and was played by raocow during his cyber digital advent thing.

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[Last edited by Xindaris at 02-06-2021 11:07 PM]
02-06-2021 at 11:04 PM
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ThemsAllTook
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This is pretty high on my list of all-time favorite games. There's something absolutely magical about it, and you can tell that the author (who goes by Maddy these days) really poured their heart and soul into it. The unassuming initial appearance hides something deep and powerful within.

Play it. It's a timeless classic.
02-07-2021 at 03:55 AM
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Illusionist
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Xindaris wrote:
AUS has some very brutal platforming in it. Several upgrade items are locked behind "you can't even get hurt once during this ridiculously hard platforming section" doors. The person who made it was also responsible for Celeste (much later), which may tell you a few things about what to expect.

Also, there is one other very short AUS fangame, which came out at the end of last year and was played by raocow during his cyber digital advent thing.

True true. Which is why I've played easy mode at first. The game has something of a learning curve. It's worth noting that depending on WHICH version of AUS you've played, the difficulty differs. The earlier versions were much harder and more twisted than the updated versions. AFAIR, I played both 1.14 and 1.17 and between these two there were many changes, like in that Mountain level, but the one with purple colors, where you couldn't touch the floor and had to bounce using the rotating arrows.

Some people compare it to "I Wanna Be The Guy", but imo AUS is nowhere near that level of difficulty. For some reason, why I had some ragequits with AUS, sooner or later I've managed to be flawless. I don't consider myself a skilled platformer, but then again, it's possible that I'm underrating my skills as I'm not playing games fanatically, but rather, casually.

Didn't know about that other AUS fangame. I will probably find it and download.

Thanks guys for the warm response!

[Last edited by Illusionist at 02-07-2021 07:50 AM]
02-07-2021 at 07:46 AM
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Xindaris
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It's pretty hard, as I recall, especially if you're going for 100%. It crossed my threshold of "I respect this game, but probably don't want to play it again". Like, there's one minigame that costs a bunch of money to buy, consists of difficult platforming with different mechanics from the regular game and just one hit, and awards a health up for getting all the way through (if memory serves). I think there was also some stuff near the end of the game that I couldn't figure out and wound up needing to look up.

Anyway, what I was talking about is linked at the bottom of this post on raocow's forum; it's "day 18" of the calendar. If you're not a raocow fan you may not get all of the references in it, but it does have a brand new mechanic invented for it that is pretty neat. His playthrough of it (not 100%) is here.

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[Last edited by Xindaris at 02-07-2021 04:04 PM]
02-07-2021 at 04:04 PM
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Xindaris wrote:
It's pretty hard, as I recall, especially if you're going for 100%. It crossed my threshold of "I respect this game, but probably don't want to play it again". Like, there's one minigame that costs a bunch of money to buy, consists of difficult platforming with different mechanics from the regular game and just one hit, and awards a health up for getting all the way through (if memory serves). I think there was also some stuff near the end of the game that I couldn't figure out and wound up needing to look up.

Anyway, what I was talking about is linked at the bottom of this post on raocow's forum; it's "day 18" of the calendar. If you're not a raocow fan you may not get all of the references in it, but it does have a brand new mechanic invented for it that is pretty neat. His playthrough of it (not 100%) is here.

Thanks man I'll check it.

Yeaaaaaah I remember that mini-game it's this pixelated retro game where you have to make tough jumps and don't fall down. And yeah, you need to beat certain score to get the upgrades, you don't have to beat all of the levels, and I don't know anyone who had beaten that whole mini-game. I certainly agree that this part was pure horror, albeit I also got better at this one.

There certainly are some rage-inducing parts, and I certainly raged a lot (like with that cloud level) and I wonder how I would fare nowadays, as it's been a while since the last time I've played it. Getting the ghost flowers were also difficult, as one of them was hidden in this upper area of the skyland so if you fell down, you could either restart from the last save, or go up and again.

I do recommend finding out somewhere the extension project version as it's more of an addon to the original game, rather than a separate game, and takes place directly after beating the final boss of the original game, and starts where you move to the beach area. Kinda wish it was finished, but then again maybe it is, but I just haven't found it yet.

[Last edited by Illusionist at 02-07-2021 04:32 PM]
02-07-2021 at 04:31 PM
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Dragon Fogel
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Personally, I found easy mode was too easy for me but normal mode was just a bit rougher than I liked; I beat it (not with 100 percent, couldn't get through some of the minigames) but when I was thinking about replaying it, there was a bunch of stuff I felt like I didn't want to do over again. I hoped easy mode would reduce the pressure, but it reduced it to a point where I wasn't staying engaged.

I would have liked a difficulty between easy and normal, I think. Definitely a fun overall experience, but some individual parts could have used a bit more polish.
02-07-2021 at 04:34 PM
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Just played that fangame, Untitled Christmas. Interesting twist on freezeballs and jumping. A little tad frustrating, but otherwise pretty pretty chill. It has that spirit of the original game, and i did curse a lot, but I've beaten it. I feel like I understand you a little better now Xindaris. With that said, the spirit of the game is that if you don't give up, but keep trying, eventually you will achieve everything.

I also understood the karoshi reference
Venbrux was another great game creator (his games are still avalaible for free to download). He later worked for japanese company in japan, but it seems that he moved back? He kinda wasted the potential that he had, but I really dug his games

[Last edited by Illusionist at 02-08-2021 11:55 AM]
02-08-2021 at 11:41 AM
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mrimer
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AUS is still getting played at my house. We all love this game.

Walking into the room, I hear the tunes playing, and it always takes me back to good times.

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02-09-2021 at 03:50 PM
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mrimer wrote:
AUS is still getting played at my house. We all love this game.

Walking into the room, I hear the tunes playing, and it always takes me back to good times.

Nice, good to know that this game isn't as obscure as I thought it would be. As a matter of fact I'm very positively surprised. And I also have to stress that the soundtrack is very crucial for my nostalgia for this game, I still have it in my playlist, and my favorite song is "Precipitation" (the music from the pink clouds level). It's a very meditative song that I used to play on repeat.
02-09-2021 at 09:21 PM
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The Architest
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Yes, I loved this game as a kiddo. I remember it being shareware and then I was quite happy when it became freeware. It's atmospheric and makes you wonder what else lies beyond the world you get to explore. Hopefully Maddy would give some nod to AUS someday, perhaps even a sequel or spiritual successor of sort? ;)

The Final Battle is such a killer track for being MIDI.

[Last edited by The Architest at 06-19-2021 02:08 PM]
06-19-2021 at 02:07 PM
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The Architest wrote:
Yes, I loved this game as a kiddo. I remember it being shareware and then I was quite happy when it became freeware. It's atmospheric and makes you wonder what else lies beyond the world you get to explore. Hopefully Maddy would give some nod to AUS someday, perhaps even a sequel or spiritual successor of sort? ;)

The Final Battle is such a killer track for being MIDI.

There is a fanmade extension project that is like 99% finished and you can download it (the link is in one of the videos, but if you can't find, I might upload it on my own if you need it). AUS EP is bretty gud and has good music as well, the fans really did their best

And yeah, the game reminds me about the better things in life as well.

[Last edited by Illusionist at 06-27-2021 07:00 PM]
06-27-2021 at 06:58 PM
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Illusionist wrote:
(the link is in one of the videos, but if you can't find, I might upload it on my own if you need it).


Yes please. I've been looking everynow and again for years now.
10-25-2021 at 09:56 PM
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