Serri Judge Evaluations

- Aesthetics (graphics, music, mapping, smooth cutscenes, etc.), (10 points)
- Design (gameplay, level design), (15 points)
- Difficulty/balance (10 points)
- Polish (general consistent theme behind the mod, realization, lack of bugs, etc.) (10 points)
- Entertainment value (the mod is fun to play, is challenging, has an interesting story if there's one, etc. anything that makes the player want to keep playing). (5 points)
(total: 50)


Tarix - "Imseimer's Odyssey"

Aesthetics - 5
Design - 7
Difficulty/balance - 4
Polish - 0
Entertainment Value - 2

Total: 18/50

I'm not sure if I can even call this a level, tbh. While it follows the technical qualifications for it to be submitted, it really feels more like this was meant for a contest like Modcon (where you build mods instead of levels). This really feels more like you submitted a mod to the contest than a level. The story is pretty interesting, and there are several interesting concepts used in the submission. But then it completely breaks the mold and drags on with the level design. It took me about two hours to finish this one, and I often came across several bugs that I have to patch over. The first level is pretty decent, and while it became pretty boring after only killing so many enemies that are just laughably skippable, but it's forcibly required to grind as much as you can, making this level take much longer than it should. Going to the second level felt like a breath of fresh air. I know it's a hotel, but I felt like I've booked in for too long. The second level feels a bit too open to explore, with several parts of it looking like I should be able to go in, but they're closed off in all sides. There's also an area that can softlock the game if you don't have the Booster 2.0 (or shotgun) on you if you didn't get those first, causing you to load your save file and avoid going there. The third level was pretty headache inducing, as it's all a palette of red, which can look very confusing to travel through too, as the tiles aren't distinguishable at all on which ones are solid and which ones are not. I really felt creeped out as there's a huge tie-in to The Final Level, and I'm surprised that you've decided to follow that crappy plotline I made up on the spot during Modcon 2016. The story just became meta far too quickly and it's pretty confusing too on why that happens. The fourth level just feels like it's been rushed on and it was pretty hard to go through if you're not fast enough. Also, if you aren't mindful enough to pop all exp capsules, you would eventually be forced to fight Ballos with the sword, which sounds better on paper, but then becomes a pain to deal damage to as he takes 10 health away from you each time. Also, the credits are rather incomplete. There are graphics from me, Noxid, VoidMage_Lowell, and Gavintendo64. Who's Vedasi, again?
EDIT DURING SECOND TIME PLAYING: I noticed that you can get the shotgun and the optional boss you have to encounter is pretty awful. You really could've just used the Blargo boss from much later on in the level. Having about 20 ravils jump at me is no fun.

SeasonsOfDestiny - "Introspection"

Aesthetics - 7
Design - 12
Difficulty/Balance - 7
Polish - 10
Entertainment Value - 5

Total - 41/50

This is a very cute and creative level! I really like the concept behind this, and it was pulled off great! The challenges were pretty neat, and you gave no neglect towards the platforming sections of the level, either! There are a couple quirks I have with the level, however, albeit rather trivial. One being the robot boss that can be easily cheesed by staying at the center of the room, even with the extra added challenge given to you. I do understand what you're going for, but I am awful at dealing with the fish missiles, but I do like the extra challenge given to you even by cheesing the boss. As for the other boss, I really felt the weapon order could've been different, though the order you've set it to is feasible as well, just be ready to try grabbing exp for the shotgun before the third phase. 5 ammo on a shotgun for that skeleton was a wild ride. This was a pretty solid level, and I hope to see more interesting concepts like this!

Tendrille (Slither) - "The Raven"

Aesthetics - 9
Design - 14
Difficulty/Balance - 7
Polish - 10
Entertainment Value - 5

Total - 45/50

Wow, this level! It took me a while to solve the puzzles out, but during my second playthrough, everything felt more like a breeze to go through, justifying the amount of time spent figuring out the puzzles! I really liked the puzzles here, they really feel like if this were a Zelda game done in Cave Story format (the same goes for the item holding, if only there was a way to have Quote and the bun girl do that pose when grabbing an item). While its intended purpose is to punish you by giving you more enemies to deal with, the second puzzle feels like a great spot to grind for health and EXP, to power through the critters much easier. The third puzzle, albeit extremely quirky at times, feels really worth the extra challenge for that heart piece! That's a very cool implementation on my book! The "fourth-dimensional" puzzle (it feels like that for me) was pretty cool too, moving chunks of land from one realm to the other, that was a neat mechanic. After all this, I... accidentally went straight for the element in my first playthrough, I continued where I left off in my second playthrough and I really love the boss here! Raven was pretty challenging, but pretty learnable, she's probably my favorite custom boss in any Cave Story mod so far. This level really finished on a good note, and I'm now in the mood to play some Legend of Zelda! <3

Tpcool - "The Challenge Pyramid"

Aesthetics - 7
Design - 12
Difficulty/Balance - 6
Polish - 10
Entertainment Value - 5

Total - 40/50

I gotta say, I think the scientist is correct on calling me a fool, for I do enjoy the challenge in all six possible routes, for the most part. The combinations between three weapons and two platforming styles is pretty neat, with one of them I just have a really bad quirk with. The Blade/Horizontal Speed combo just don't sit right with me, imo. While the setup is unique, and the section given for it can be completed, I just couldn't keep my patience in me, as it's been throwing me off completely! I would get hit multiple times whenever i try doing the thing where I'm not supposed to get hit, because of me trying to go in a normal speed while going high speed. For the other five combinations, they were pretty neat on their own. The Nemesis/Double Jump and Nemesis/Horizontal Speed sections were pretty difficult in their own right, but it felt very satisfying getting past them after learning by my mistakes in them (I wish I could say the same for the Blade/Horizontal Speed section). It's a neat, challenging level that I think would be pretty neat to do a speedrun challenge on! Also, I feel bad for the foolish assistant, I wanna hug him!

X-Calibar - "Cursed Lands"

Aesthetics - 4
Design - 5
Difficulty/Balance - 0
Polish - 0
Entertainment Value - 1

Total - 10/50

I'm going to be honest, until I continued on in this level, I really thought this was a prank at first. I see where you're trying to go, but with the adjusted physics and the enemy spam, as well as no general direction on where to go, this was very difficult to have a say on things. I'm interested in the potential story you have going on, but I think a more balanced mod would be better suited to complement the idea.