World 0 By Master106 - EGD 2013 Review

Review by spinachie on Sunday, July 21st 2013
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Click to play World 0

World 0 is a game created by master106

World 0 is definitely not one of the better EGD games. The least significant fault found within it was that the scenery was irritating to the eye. By looking at Master106's track record, you can see that his studio has not had much experience in game development, never mind the higher end projects. However, it is also a first game in the world of serious development from master's mind. It is far from polished, but it does have some stronger elements within its equation.


On the topic of the aforementioned irritating aesthetic, it does happen to be a case that we can inspect in more detail, a job in itself made easier by mentally dividing this up into smaller categories. For instance, set pieces placed on the levels canvas are usually gaudy and/or unappealing to the untrained eye, bearing in mind that Master's eye possibly hasn't had the experience, so we can possibly cut some slack here. Also, the set doesn't change often, and those infrequent changes are sudden and unexplainable, not good in a world where most action games have frequent and smooth set changes. Looking at the other end of the spectrum though, we notice that master matches enemies and settings to a tee (noting however, that such practices are not complex and common these days).


However, at the heart of this game lies pure action, a gold mine of excitement and joy for quick, maybe five minute plays. Yet (Yes, I made a however within a however) this action is often times slow and far between. It took me around a minute to get between enemies at most points, and that is simply boring. You know, I know, we all known that action games don't have frequent and excessive pauses in their core aspect. But (The however based syntax here is definitely not overused...) when the timing does hit home, it is ever so satisfying. The adrenaline actually begins to rush (albeit not very much and not very fast.) Admittedly these moments aren't very frequent, but they are brilliant.


Other potential mediums for the action are skipped, which is a tragedy, but World 0 can be considered an experiment in overly purified action. It certainly won't make you think, and it won't win any awards in the puzzling department, but it does occasionally give you the tiniest bit of nostalgia based enjoyment. Additionally, it isn't what you'd call the traditional, old-style beat 'em ups of the Street Fighter days, but it gives the game its own style, an open-aired, humble playing experience with a slight twist of giddiness and charisma, and to boot its status as an experimental game also promises the final project a grand show of mind-melting innovation.


World 0 is hardly what you would call a difficult game, but that doesn't stop it from being a punishing one. The game hardly prepares you for the sheer and sudden difficulty spikes that do nothing but wreck an otherwise consistent play experience. A perfect example can be found in just the second level. You've been conditioned to the simple, beginning of game action (Which is very slow and not terribly sense exciting) and suddenly, there's a trap that is completely almost blatantly unavoidable. Most of Sploder's demographic consists of people who don't have knowledge and/or don't have the burning desire to use the infinite wall-climb, but this and traps like this force you to in the greater majority of cases. To apply salt burns to our wounds, these segments also serve to greatly annoy any who attempt them. Once again, not good.


Not much is welded, glued, or even tacked on to the side of World 0's main quest. Outside of the main objective and gameplay, there is no incentive for a player to step off the beaten path and explore. Not even the subtle Easter Egg or extra puzzle/action segment. It is worth noting, however, that the action genre does not usually feature these elements, a fact further fortified by the purity of such a trial of a game. But even so, these little joys could have drawn attention away from the faults in the actual game, making it seem to play out better.


Before the game's actual release, I also noted a lack of hype focussed on the game. As you have probably guess, this could have been because of three events. In our first possibility, our maker didn't care or didn't appreciate the project enough to showcase it. Secondly, he possibly wasn't very good in the presentational department, and our final possibility is that he simply didn't have time to advertise. I can not stress the importance of presenting a game, as advertisement and the trailing hype are vital to the project's overall success (in most cases). I feel that Master either didn't find the time to or didn't care enough to hype the game beyond an announcement, and this greatly hinders both the enthusiasm of the developer and the player. This was a really important element, perhaps more-so then the game itself, that was skipped based on a quick decision.


To round up the sheep, World 0 is a game that has many flaws, but also a few things that is does (uniquely) right and even fewer things that it does radically. It could have been an Inter-Sploder genre definer, but many of the development choices make it fall slightly short. If you decide to play World 0, try to feel the bliss in what it does right, and try to ignore its shortfalls. Playing such a game critically cripples the experience. So just enjoy it, and hopefully Master106 can pull excellence off the next time around.


The Verdict


A weak game that is rough around the edges but shows potential in places.


Rating: ____/__________