Environmental Station Alpha (PC, 2015)
Graphics-7 Sound-8 Control-7.5 Challenge-7.5/8.5* Story-6.5
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8 Fun-7.5? Originality-5.5
Overall Score-7.5
*100%
+
Pretty good sense of vulnerability at times (has you face a mini-boss and get cut off from your ship before your first save, makes you go through a relatively tough part of the lava area early on to progress - similar to Super Metroid, some unkillable enemies early on, one enemy can follow you to other screens in the same area)
Some good enemy AI
Difficulty options (easy or normal, unlockable 1 HP mode)
Find message logs scattered about that give tips and info about your surroundings as well as some backstory and lore (System Shock, Metroid Prime)
Decent map system (marks save points (dark pink/red dots), teleporters (dark blue), repair points (green), spirit orbs (light pink), marks some secret rooms with purple dots, upgrades and health upgrades (orange), boss and mini-bosses (white and blue Vs/hearts), your ship and the databank (crosses), glass tubes and the one elevator; can also trigger a zoomed in view where it's easier to read the points of interest and they can be examined). There's also a hidden map item which outlines the edges of unexplored areas and marks all teleporters (however it makes no distinction between ones you have and haven't visited yet)
Good bosses overall (multiple phases, minor puzzle element to some). Some mini-bosses
Some interesting movement abilities (Dash Booster X (near flight as you can keep boosting in all directions in mid-air) - similar to the jetpack in Cave Story but more OP, pretty good grappling hook/hookshot mechanic (fast swings and potentially huge jumps, however see below) - Super Metroid/Bionic Commando, fast swimming after getting the propeller upgrade, air dashes (horizontal and vertical, you're also invincible during these and can dash through hazards) - Altered Beast/MMX2/Super Metroid)
Fast travel via visited teleporters (unlocked fairly early - about 2h+ in, generally two per area and sometimes up to four meaning they're pretty frequent)
Some major sequence breaking opportunities (dash booster v after double jump (kind of tricky however since a later patch (used to be pretty easy back when the game was new) - have to lure two enemies and then damage boost off of them) and some other skips mostly thanks to it - see below, can get Dash Booster X after getting both dash moves+double jump and hookshot though the heat-resistant suit is also recommended unless playing on Easy and it's still pretty tricky (I'd recommend having at least 27 HP, this bypasses getting all the 12 diskettes), can hook swing through some air streams)
Some interesting level gimmicks (additional layer to some rooms in the small glass tubes, some platforming (hook swinging, air streams) and timing challenges leading to optional upgrades, blocks that cause a chain reaction of blocks being destroyed - Yoshi's Island/Kirby)
Some decent puzzles (waterflow switches in the water area, platforming/timing/block puzzle in the NW of the water area) and some good ones (southern dark red area timed gate with coordinates puzzle)
A few neutral creatures (can't be interacted with though)
No health refills after bosses (generally not a problem but it can be)
Some foreshadowing of sub areas you can't reach (Super Metroid, System Shock)
Shows bosses' health bars and names
New enemies and hazards sometimes appear in previous areas when revisiting them
Some environmental storytelling (broken down vehicles, ruins w/ statues, two large scale layout changes (turning off the growth control system, activating the main computer thus activating robotic defense systems here and there))
Some shortcuts
Four alternate endings (100% completion?, the regular one is a bad/sad one)
+/-
Mostly linear structure until the end-game (opens up a little bit after getting the hookshot and charge shot but can't explore new areas in a different order, you might be able to explore fully into the southern lava area before getting the heat suit but it's veery hard, after getting the sideways (and upwards?) dash you can go beat an optional boss, non-linear main computer area with four challenge corridors (three paths in the southern dark red/second remote area), can either beat the final boss (yellow skull) or go to the NE temple area after beating the security overmind near the main computer - this leaves two whole areas unexplored though). Some backtracking to previously visited areas to progress
Well interconnected world (single entry point to one area (or two if you count the bright green one near the elevator as its own area, two areas have two entry points)
Pretty frequent save points which also heal you (one slot per game, shows completion percentage and time taken but not location) and some healing points
Borrows pretty heavily from Metroid (intro gameplay with a defense system activating as you explore, various enemies and some bosses, setting and various background elements, some music, platforming puzzles, ghost-like enemies appearing in previous areas, etc.). Also borrows some enemies and hazards from Zelda 3
Some quest markers (marks the next major item(s) but not the path to them up until the late game) - while it's optional to read the monitors that spawn them you can't turn them off after activating them and you won't know which monitors will spawn one in advance
Some death pits (and a couple of leaps of faith)
Very low res visuals with small sprites but pretty large color palette (kinda similar to a GG or MSX2 game)
SMW-style tutorial messages early on (text only, pauses gameplay)
Doesn't show walls/floors within rooms on the map
The music sounds like MD chiptunes mixed with modern indie electro (for the most part it sounds a lot more hi-fi than the visuals look). SFX are sometimes more like real life sounds
Sometimes goes flip screen when moving vertically
Have to time your shots right or the button presses don't register creating some delay between shots (similar with air dashing though you can mash the buttons here)
Some unavoidable damage
Short default shot range
If you swing from one screen to another then you automatically let go and lose your momentum
Can't shoot diagonally
Enemies aren't knocked back by your shots
Health upgrades only add 4 HP each and there are no e-tanks
OP Supercharge module (4x damage/all shots are instantly charged) and Dash Booster X (near flight as you can keep boosting in all directions) gained in the late game - can toggle it on/off. The former is rather hard to get to without the latter though
Can't save at your ship
Can hookshot swing through water without an effect on momentum if the swing ends outside of it
Three of the types of ability gates you come across are just colored block barriers
Can't cancel a dash move
The puzzle element to the dark red area's energy-fueled enemies is kind of interesting but they end up being a bit tedious to fight due to the level design
-
Some interface/control issues (the map doesn't mark colored block barriers/"access lvl x required" barriers/air stream barriers/the drilling machines and doesn't remove/fade out markers for collected upgrades, can't place map markers, can't access the options while in-game, oddly semi-sticky physics when jumping in-between 1x1 platform tiles - you stick to the block and lose some momentum if you don't keep holding the direction you jumped in, higher default jump height on the double jump, the hookshot disappears after one swing instead of letting you hold on and build up more momentum either by swinging or extending the beam if you made a mistake (can use it again in the same jump after letting go however) - various segments punish you with high damage or death if you make a mistake, no map icon explanations for the zoomed out map view which is much more efficient for browsing than the zoomed in one, no mini-map, no message log, somewhat slow screen transitions, )
Trial & error (death wall at the end of the room below the supercharge module, the segment past the "moon gate" doesn't seem doable without dash booster x (also hard to make out some of the blocks there), the game traps you into fighting the hive boss until you beat it if you save before it (no warning that you're about to face it), false wall in the NE temple area that you need to pass through to progress - no clue, most boss patterns - some randomization here, the single save slot system makes you reluctant to save in the damaging part of the lava area, some open paths don't show up on the map - underwater path to a rough map item early on, some cheap enemy placements - certain tentacles, hookshot platforming segment to the left of the conveyor belt tap in the lava area followed by some tricky platforming through hazards and flying enemies+your HP is slowly draining - you shouldn't even go there from that side as you're supposed to enter the path from the left with the dash to get the health upgrade (and if you go further you can get to a save point but not get either the diskette or the upgrade near it - if you get the diskette without the heat suit you can't make out!), some hidden paths make you shoot a random wall several times, if you dash upwards into a different screen then you can dash again during the same jump after performing a double jump (dash, double jump, dash again) - needed to get the optional plasma field upgrade (alternatively you can teleport into this room after entering it), the gold teleporter near the beginning (eastern first area) looks like a regular one on the map, invisible walls to the sides in the space below the overmind boss)
Sometimes uneven difficulty (spikes: the insta-death spikes segment (huge spike, optional though), the game arbitrarily removes the supercharge module for the southern dark red area boss fight and the rng is pretty tedious here, southern dark red area with the black enemies, overmind boss's second phase, bright green area with the second orb robot boss - long and kind of tricky platforming segment before it and then the game doesn't let you save, overly demanding hookshot challenges for items such as in the lava area pretty early on, western "dark green" area, southern lava area, overgrowth boss if you didn't get the optional triple shot upgrade first; dips: easier temple and SE dark grey area bosses than the overmind boss, final boss with the supercharge module)
No drops from enemies
Some pointless one-way paths (one point near a tube puzzle in the "dark green" area, north of "dark green" area near the fishing NPC for example, some falls here and there, path between the dark green/desert and dark brown areas for example, sudden barricade appears for no reason in the northern green area if you go inside and back out at one point (due to the chain reaction switch's effect not being persistent), between the lower dark grey and lava areas)
Some minor dead ends (for example in the NW "dark green" area which you can enter from the W with some tricky hookshot jumping but then not be able to proceed, at one point you go through a blue barrier only to find a red barrier in the next room) and some dead space (if you try to explore the main computer area before turning it on you can go all the way to the four main gate switches but not activate them and there are almost no hazards in these rooms yet)
Some other tedious aspects (some spongy enemies, some repeated tutorial messages, some backtracking for the desert area teleporter if you failed getting the diskette to the right of it - pretty easy jump though, some pointless gates are added after activating the main computer such as the one right next to a teleporter in a room with a teleporter and a save point (it's there even after beating the second orb boss - the one in the bright green area), no save point near the hookshot challenge room with a giant worm and a bunch of jumping crabs/antlions in it - optional as it leads to a diskette though)
Some clipping in the main menu music
Too many diskettes to collect (12) by going through timing/platforming challenges and exploring considering you can skip them and still get dash booster x
Bugs:
-Some issues with the controller support (had to use either joytokey or the d-pad only setting which actually means stick only with a PS3 controller)
-Hit detection bug in the bottom right of the lava area near the HP upgrade that you get to with the hookshot - lets you go through the one-way platform before the room with the upgrade in it
-The game once glitched out in the lava area and made it so my avatar stayed in a swimming state after exiting lava thus continuing to lose HP until death
-In the separate spaceship area with the hive boss, one computer talks about marking a location on the map but then it doesn't
Notes:
-Sequence break notes: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=815227072
-95% completion
-Map key: save points (dark pink/red dots), teleporters (dark blue), repair points (green), spirit orbs (light pink), some secret rooms with purple dots, upgrades and health upgrades (orange), boss and mini-bosses (white and blue Vs/hearts), your ship and the databank (crosses)
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8 Fun-7.5? Originality-5.5
Overall Score-7.5
*100%
+
Pretty good sense of vulnerability at times (has you face a mini-boss and get cut off from your ship before your first save, makes you go through a relatively tough part of the lava area early on to progress - similar to Super Metroid, some unkillable enemies early on, one enemy can follow you to other screens in the same area)
Some good enemy AI
Difficulty options (easy or normal, unlockable 1 HP mode)
Find message logs scattered about that give tips and info about your surroundings as well as some backstory and lore (System Shock, Metroid Prime)
Decent map system (marks save points (dark pink/red dots), teleporters (dark blue), repair points (green), spirit orbs (light pink), marks some secret rooms with purple dots, upgrades and health upgrades (orange), boss and mini-bosses (white and blue Vs/hearts), your ship and the databank (crosses), glass tubes and the one elevator; can also trigger a zoomed in view where it's easier to read the points of interest and they can be examined). There's also a hidden map item which outlines the edges of unexplored areas and marks all teleporters (however it makes no distinction between ones you have and haven't visited yet)
Good bosses overall (multiple phases, minor puzzle element to some). Some mini-bosses
Some interesting movement abilities (Dash Booster X (near flight as you can keep boosting in all directions in mid-air) - similar to the jetpack in Cave Story but more OP, pretty good grappling hook/hookshot mechanic (fast swings and potentially huge jumps, however see below) - Super Metroid/Bionic Commando, fast swimming after getting the propeller upgrade, air dashes (horizontal and vertical, you're also invincible during these and can dash through hazards) - Altered Beast/MMX2/Super Metroid)
Fast travel via visited teleporters (unlocked fairly early - about 2h+ in, generally two per area and sometimes up to four meaning they're pretty frequent)
Some major sequence breaking opportunities (dash booster v after double jump (kind of tricky however since a later patch (used to be pretty easy back when the game was new) - have to lure two enemies and then damage boost off of them) and some other skips mostly thanks to it - see below, can get Dash Booster X after getting both dash moves+double jump and hookshot though the heat-resistant suit is also recommended unless playing on Easy and it's still pretty tricky (I'd recommend having at least 27 HP, this bypasses getting all the 12 diskettes), can hook swing through some air streams)
Some interesting level gimmicks (additional layer to some rooms in the small glass tubes, some platforming (hook swinging, air streams) and timing challenges leading to optional upgrades, blocks that cause a chain reaction of blocks being destroyed - Yoshi's Island/Kirby)
Some decent puzzles (waterflow switches in the water area, platforming/timing/block puzzle in the NW of the water area) and some good ones (southern dark red area timed gate with coordinates puzzle)
A few neutral creatures (can't be interacted with though)
No health refills after bosses (generally not a problem but it can be)
Some foreshadowing of sub areas you can't reach (Super Metroid, System Shock)
Shows bosses' health bars and names
New enemies and hazards sometimes appear in previous areas when revisiting them
Some environmental storytelling (broken down vehicles, ruins w/ statues, two large scale layout changes (turning off the growth control system, activating the main computer thus activating robotic defense systems here and there))
Some shortcuts
Four alternate endings (100% completion?, the regular one is a bad/sad one)
+/-
Mostly linear structure until the end-game (opens up a little bit after getting the hookshot and charge shot but can't explore new areas in a different order, you might be able to explore fully into the southern lava area before getting the heat suit but it's veery hard, after getting the sideways (and upwards?) dash you can go beat an optional boss, non-linear main computer area with four challenge corridors (three paths in the southern dark red/second remote area), can either beat the final boss (yellow skull) or go to the NE temple area after beating the security overmind near the main computer - this leaves two whole areas unexplored though). Some backtracking to previously visited areas to progress
Well interconnected world (single entry point to one area (or two if you count the bright green one near the elevator as its own area, two areas have two entry points)
Pretty frequent save points which also heal you (one slot per game, shows completion percentage and time taken but not location) and some healing points
Borrows pretty heavily from Metroid (intro gameplay with a defense system activating as you explore, various enemies and some bosses, setting and various background elements, some music, platforming puzzles, ghost-like enemies appearing in previous areas, etc.). Also borrows some enemies and hazards from Zelda 3
Some quest markers (marks the next major item(s) but not the path to them up until the late game) - while it's optional to read the monitors that spawn them you can't turn them off after activating them and you won't know which monitors will spawn one in advance
Some death pits (and a couple of leaps of faith)
Very low res visuals with small sprites but pretty large color palette (kinda similar to a GG or MSX2 game)
SMW-style tutorial messages early on (text only, pauses gameplay)
Doesn't show walls/floors within rooms on the map
The music sounds like MD chiptunes mixed with modern indie electro (for the most part it sounds a lot more hi-fi than the visuals look). SFX are sometimes more like real life sounds
Sometimes goes flip screen when moving vertically
Have to time your shots right or the button presses don't register creating some delay between shots (similar with air dashing though you can mash the buttons here)
Some unavoidable damage
Short default shot range
If you swing from one screen to another then you automatically let go and lose your momentum
Can't shoot diagonally
Enemies aren't knocked back by your shots
Health upgrades only add 4 HP each and there are no e-tanks
OP Supercharge module (4x damage/all shots are instantly charged) and Dash Booster X (near flight as you can keep boosting in all directions) gained in the late game - can toggle it on/off. The former is rather hard to get to without the latter though
Can't save at your ship
Can hookshot swing through water without an effect on momentum if the swing ends outside of it
Three of the types of ability gates you come across are just colored block barriers
Can't cancel a dash move
The puzzle element to the dark red area's energy-fueled enemies is kind of interesting but they end up being a bit tedious to fight due to the level design
-
Some interface/control issues (the map doesn't mark colored block barriers/"access lvl x required" barriers/air stream barriers/the drilling machines and doesn't remove/fade out markers for collected upgrades, can't place map markers, can't access the options while in-game, oddly semi-sticky physics when jumping in-between 1x1 platform tiles - you stick to the block and lose some momentum if you don't keep holding the direction you jumped in, higher default jump height on the double jump, the hookshot disappears after one swing instead of letting you hold on and build up more momentum either by swinging or extending the beam if you made a mistake (can use it again in the same jump after letting go however) - various segments punish you with high damage or death if you make a mistake, no map icon explanations for the zoomed out map view which is much more efficient for browsing than the zoomed in one, no mini-map, no message log, somewhat slow screen transitions, )
Trial & error (death wall at the end of the room below the supercharge module, the segment past the "moon gate" doesn't seem doable without dash booster x (also hard to make out some of the blocks there), the game traps you into fighting the hive boss until you beat it if you save before it (no warning that you're about to face it), false wall in the NE temple area that you need to pass through to progress - no clue, most boss patterns - some randomization here, the single save slot system makes you reluctant to save in the damaging part of the lava area, some open paths don't show up on the map - underwater path to a rough map item early on, some cheap enemy placements - certain tentacles, hookshot platforming segment to the left of the conveyor belt tap in the lava area followed by some tricky platforming through hazards and flying enemies+your HP is slowly draining - you shouldn't even go there from that side as you're supposed to enter the path from the left with the dash to get the health upgrade (and if you go further you can get to a save point but not get either the diskette or the upgrade near it - if you get the diskette without the heat suit you can't make out!), some hidden paths make you shoot a random wall several times, if you dash upwards into a different screen then you can dash again during the same jump after performing a double jump (dash, double jump, dash again) - needed to get the optional plasma field upgrade (alternatively you can teleport into this room after entering it), the gold teleporter near the beginning (eastern first area) looks like a regular one on the map, invisible walls to the sides in the space below the overmind boss)
Sometimes uneven difficulty (spikes: the insta-death spikes segment (huge spike, optional though), the game arbitrarily removes the supercharge module for the southern dark red area boss fight and the rng is pretty tedious here, southern dark red area with the black enemies, overmind boss's second phase, bright green area with the second orb robot boss - long and kind of tricky platforming segment before it and then the game doesn't let you save, overly demanding hookshot challenges for items such as in the lava area pretty early on, western "dark green" area, southern lava area, overgrowth boss if you didn't get the optional triple shot upgrade first; dips: easier temple and SE dark grey area bosses than the overmind boss, final boss with the supercharge module)
No drops from enemies
Some pointless one-way paths (one point near a tube puzzle in the "dark green" area, north of "dark green" area near the fishing NPC for example, some falls here and there, path between the dark green/desert and dark brown areas for example, sudden barricade appears for no reason in the northern green area if you go inside and back out at one point (due to the chain reaction switch's effect not being persistent), between the lower dark grey and lava areas)
Some minor dead ends (for example in the NW "dark green" area which you can enter from the W with some tricky hookshot jumping but then not be able to proceed, at one point you go through a blue barrier only to find a red barrier in the next room) and some dead space (if you try to explore the main computer area before turning it on you can go all the way to the four main gate switches but not activate them and there are almost no hazards in these rooms yet)
Some other tedious aspects (some spongy enemies, some repeated tutorial messages, some backtracking for the desert area teleporter if you failed getting the diskette to the right of it - pretty easy jump though, some pointless gates are added after activating the main computer such as the one right next to a teleporter in a room with a teleporter and a save point (it's there even after beating the second orb boss - the one in the bright green area), no save point near the hookshot challenge room with a giant worm and a bunch of jumping crabs/antlions in it - optional as it leads to a diskette though)
Some clipping in the main menu music
Too many diskettes to collect (12) by going through timing/platforming challenges and exploring considering you can skip them and still get dash booster x
Bugs:
-Some issues with the controller support (had to use either joytokey or the d-pad only setting which actually means stick only with a PS3 controller)
-Hit detection bug in the bottom right of the lava area near the HP upgrade that you get to with the hookshot - lets you go through the one-way platform before the room with the upgrade in it
-The game once glitched out in the lava area and made it so my avatar stayed in a swimming state after exiting lava thus continuing to lose HP until death
-In the separate spaceship area with the hive boss, one computer talks about marking a location on the map but then it doesn't
Notes:
-Sequence break notes: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=815227072
-95% completion
-Map key: save points (dark pink/red dots), teleporters (dark blue), repair points (green), spirit orbs (light pink), some secret rooms with purple dots, upgrades and health upgrades (orange), boss and mini-bosses (white and blue Vs/hearts), your ship and the databank (crosses)