Damn, it's been too long since I finally got back into Blast Radius.
Anyway I've finished the secret level!
Lights, camera, revolution
This map takes us to Paris, and it's here that we get to the next step on the escalation ladder. We're introduced to new enemy variants, including the assault assaulter: a grey liztroop with a devastating attack. And that's not the only dangerous bastard out there. From here on out you better keep moving because you'll be dealing with enemies spewing extremely deadly projectiles! This means a fundamental shift in gameplay, which pretty much started from map 2 but kicks into full gear here. Every enemy now has several variants, ranging from your basic grunt to super deadly assholes. So this drastically changes the approach to combat, as you'll have to constantly adapt, switch weapons and quickly determine which targets should be prioritized. I personally really enjoy this but it is more taxing than the original game so I can only enjoy it in small doses.
Now onto the map itself: I'm glad some issues from the beta version have been smoothed out, the background scenery also looks better now. The build interpretation of the Eiffel tower is just cute. I like the vertical nature of the street area and the way it encloses the museum. Like all maps in BR, the scale is pretty damn huge and conquering all ground will take some time. The museum is definitely a highlight in the episode, it really makes for a fun and creative use of sprites and textures to create all types of artwork. A lot of the French jokes fly over my head but you can tell this was made by someone who actually lives in France. It's interesting to compare this one to the Paris map in World Tour, because there are some parallels. Both don't feature the most famous landmarks, except for the eiffel tower in the background. And both have a large underground section with alien structures. CK3D already talked about his inspiration from the real life Paris catacombs, and it's endlessly fascinating to me. Also that just begs for a solid horror movie, but I digress.
Overall it's another worthy map in the episode, and the European architecture is nicely represented to make it look distinct from the American levels. For some reason I didn't find the secret map during beta testing, in hindsight its location seems so obvious!
Duke du Quatrain
The secret map takes us to a smaller French city, or at least what's left of it. The apocalyptic nature of the invasion becomes more clear with each level, as we only find little chunks of what used to be a city floating in a sea of deadly superlava. So this is the first time I played this level, but it immediately joins the ranks as one of my favorites. The main idea here is hop from island to island, which means you have to quickly cross the lava before your boots or health run out. Taking damage is pretty much unavoidable as you need to cross great distances. But this only underscores the sense of danger and hopelessness.
I really enjoy the design here, the suburban areas forming a stark contrast with the endless sea of purple lava. I recognize some of these locations from ck3d's early Anarchy City series, I assume it's based on the same real life areas in his neighbourhood. But they've been given the BR treatment, which basically means that the scale has been really expanded. Still, ck3d finds time to add tiny details (like the slide and the swing in one of the gardens) that add a ton of character to the world. What baffles me the most is how he got away with the size of this map. It's maybe not as big as map 4, but here there's nothing blocking your view. From certain angles you will see the entire map, which pushes the engine to its limits and may actually cause the game to crash. Saving often is recommended.
Progression felt natural, with each island giving you more tools to reach the next one. Overall I really enjoyed his one, and seeing a new interpretation of those old AC locations added a sense of nostalgia as well.
Next up is the Norisk map!