Review of Afterfall

Map Authors: Gizmo & Cango
Origin: Map Link
Versions: MC = 1.17.1

Presentation

Afterfall is a short-medium CTM map. It is an open world with custom mechanics and textures.

This was done with a beta version, so some things might have changed since.

Overview

A pleasant stroll as mise en bouche.

The start of the map is a good introduction to the different mechanics in a curated space, along with scenarized goal. The crowbar promising many crawlspaces and there’s even puzzle code doors!

The closest we’ll get to a central hub.

Then, entering the shop alley felt like entering a warzone, a lot more intense but the central point with beds is great for respite. The variety in shop interiors is enjoyable.

There is no right path here.

The open world aspect means I could explore at my leisure. The gardens were a challenge due to the very unusual layout with no real path, but it was great fun even with my meager gear and the reward was worth the trouble.

Breaking through.

I cleared the rest of the shop alley, leading to sewers. This definitely felt like a “first objective” area, but not so much after all, the open world aspect is well balanced and means that trying out different places won’t feel uneven.

Biomess.

That is, excepting the phytohell area, which is a noticeable spike in difficulty and intensity - it can be considered the final area. It felt a bit rough, with paths too similar and no big variance in gameplay. But that’s also coherent with the intentions of the place to be difficult to navigate and it doesn’t prevent it to be perfectly playable. On a more personal note, supposing there would be a question of reworking one aspect of the map, I would say that it should be this one.

Inside the iron guts.

Finally, the last location, reached from the end of the previous area(it also has a closer entrance from the shop alley). It is quite labyrinthic, but there are many varied rooms and layouts, keeping it fresh throughout. The tracks for this place are especially freaky.

The end bit was nice, without being overkill like some maps like to do for their final final area, just a bit of flavor, fun and combat.

Conclusion

I did it! …Wait, that’s the wrong map!

First, since this was made in beta, the small things to fix and such won’t be mentioned since they were already noted and likely won’t appear in the release.

To begin with, the vibe of the map is top notch. You can feel the dread and decay of the place, but not in an unpleasant way. It’s very post apocalyptic, maybe it went past me but I didn’t feel much of the horror aspects mentioned. Although the sound direction is poggers, Enshano rocks, keep it up.

The open world aspect is really well done, with every area reachable from diverse paths, only the exception of the gardens. The many resources and items scattered everywhere, combined with the loads of secret paths and corners, really push my buttons in terms of fun exploration.

I do like the possibility of a different ending if you followed the bonus objectives questline, even if it’s just a few different lines of text. The fact the main objectives end up not needed is a bit anticlimactic, the monument aspect of CTMs is not to be underestimated - the gameplay impact is real. You swap the objective chests for levers to flick, and nothing changes on the technical side, watch out for that devaluation.

The mobs were themed diverse in each area, but mostly following the same roles. It can be boiled down to zombie and skeleton melee, creeper, spider, and skeleton archer. With the occasional vindicator, blaze, and silverfish in vents. On the other hand, the elites were all quite unique with abilities. Meaning it mostly relied on the vibe and layouts to spice up combat.

The decoration was a bit too busy at times, with lots of inventory flooding from the many loot, resources and random junk dropped. The use of the texturepack is very well done and helps greatly sell the ambiance of a different place. The guns were essentially reskinned bows and crossbows, but it works for the general vibe and respective enchants.

Gear and material progression was a bit strange, with a majority of the resources found not being that useful since you will always be able to find a good weapon or armor piece. Stone and gold in particular, where I didn’t even bother using a single piece despite being scarce. I slightly used leather at the very start, then made iron armor at the end since it had superior numerical value to what I could find. The rest was for repairing the good items I looted through. Repair station is great btw, it makes more materials worth gathering. Although more personally, I prefer not being able to sustain the best items too easily.

I can’t pronounce myself on the flashbangs much, my fault, didn’t use them enough but they were a good offhand option while staying relevant in action. The coded doors were quite enjoyable and a great encas to guard rare loot and bonus objectives. The vending machines did not provide any meaningful use, all that they gave was already plentiful through looting, so unless you’d manage to burn up resources to a crazy degree, it’s hard to want to use them. Although the food items giving out various buffs were real nice, exploiting what is too often left to the side even though it’s a big gameplay component.

So globally, the map was amazing, trying out many new things despite being a first time collaboration and it pays off even with some rough edges here and there. Surely it helps that both Gizmo and Cango have the same direction in mapmaking, which I also tend for and particularly appreciate.

20/20 Would go on a fatal errand again.