Level reviews

"This would have been a double level revolving around a four-elements challenge, plus an extra level featuring six secrets, so the readme tells us; but, as usual, this little demo is all that ever came of it. It consists of a single, simple platforming task: You go up a large room using various ledges and throw a switch at the top, which opens a gate below; so you go down again to throw another switch there, which opens a gate at the top. Off you go again back up the ledges, only this time the tiles marked with a different texture are on fire. This makes your second ascent only marginally less easy (in fact I had already been avoiding the marked tiles the first time around, because why tempt fate when you don’t have to?), and as Spike points out, you never have to engage with a couple of slamming doors that are now active as well, however loudly they may be clamoring for your attention.

Like the gameplay, construction is simplistic and rudimentary, slightly glitchy in one or two spots, but nothing serious. Designwise it’s all wallpapering with a few distorted triangles; lighting exists only at the top level; the light static above the central structure is used with the wrong texture, and doors don’t fit their openings. There are a couple of cameras, and of course the inevitable slo-mo flyby when the flames turn on.

So, while it all sort of works at a basic level, it’s really nothing more than a test level for the builder, and for the player a quick occasion to practice some simple jumps if you’re a novice, or if you feel you’ve become a bit rusty maybe. The back-and-forth (first up, then down, then up again) is of course highly contrived, but it’ll all be over within minutes." - Mulf

"A very short demo which never came to completion, using catacomb assets you have to work your way to the top of a tall room, then backtrack to the bottom and back up again, it takes but a matter of minutes to clear. Not bad for the little it's in there though. 5 minutes. 05/23" - Treeble

"Very much a demo, but it does indeed look good. Some nice colourful lighting and competent texturing create a nice atmosphere, but as in the case of most demos with this length, there's not much to do. Jump around a central tower, avoid some fire traps, watch a nice sweeping camera flyby, backtrack and end the level. Should a full version ever materialise, I hope that there is more substantial gameplay." - Ryan

"A very dull and unremarkable short demo that doesn't really entice me to get excited about the prospect of seeing the full version of this project made(as unlikely as it seems now at time of writing), with repetitive texturing, flat lighting, lifeless environments and far too easy gameplay not serving to help matters. So best to just skip this one. Don't understand why this is categorized under 'Alien' though, as outside of the hourglass-shaped crystals in the main hub, nothing else is present to suggest that this is anything more than your run-of-the-mill Egyptian tomb. But hey, that's just my perspective." - Ceamonks890

"Here we have a rather dull little (demo) level with interesting name. I have no idea why this is listed in the Alien category - maybe because of that purple-pink thing in the main room. There is not much to do other than pulling two levers and climbing up and down the same area twice. Two flybys are silent and there are no enemies. The Lara model is nice, but the lighting is flat and there are quite a few stretched and misplaced textures. A full version of this game was never released. Playtime under 10 minutes." - Blue43

"Constant, neither dark, nor bright lighting, possibly causing symptoms of nausea in sensitive organisms. Texturing is nearly unicolor, and probably makes these symptoms chronic. One set of fire traps. Useless monkey swing. Silent emptiness. Everywhere. For gameplay: in one part, you go the same way two times, in the other part, you go the same way three times, and the whole game is made of these two parts. Neither puzzles, nor aliens are present here. But I know why this game is called "5th element". Because there are 4 pillars and 1 obelisk. That's the whole epic furniture. SUMMARY: Absolute timewaster. Another mistake rated too high. But I feel obliged to give 1 point for the number of static objects, poetically adequate to the title." - DJ Full

"I didn't like this game, simply because it was meek, uninteresting, bland, and undetailed. Of course, this is the sign of a starter, but at least the person tried. I hope that the full game is better than the demo, i couldn't stand to play another game like this. The only thing that was okay was the fire effects, that is all of the good things. The outfit didn't reallly fit the whole setting, and the objects were bland and weak." - Vaughnage

"This demo is too much short to can say something real, but pull two switches to open two doors and jump over a few ledges avoiding some fires is a poor gameplay. Where are the puzzles? There are not pickups, enemies or secrets. Where is the action? The best of this demo can be the cameras and lights. The author will have to implement some features to avoid players get bored." - Jose

"It is clearly a short demo with a few jumps on platforms to get on the upper level. There is some fire involved and two doors to open. The setting is catacombs like but we have to wait for the level to be finished. You get an idea from this demo and it is something ordinary but let's not be too quick to judge." - Kristina

"Well, it's a demo so we don't expect too much, do we? This is, as expected, short and the gameplay is somewhat meagre, consisting mainly of a lot of climbing and loads of fire emitters, which look very pretty but are laughably easy to avoid. On the plus side, it looks solid and well constructed. . It's obviously hard to assess the true potential of a complete level from a few short minutes of gameplay. Could this be expanded to a good level? Very possibly, but it would certainly need much more variety." - Jay

"A demo of 10 minutes, in which you have to climb twice a big room with many ledges. There is some backtracking with another area , avoiding poorly placed traps on the way back. Lighting is non existent, and the Catacombs textures are not always happily applied. No enemies and no objects placed for the decor in this demo except for an obelisk." - eRIC

"The oddest thing about this level is it's classification as 'Alien', as apart from the giant purple crystal in the middle of the level this was distinctly Catacomb-like. However, whatever it classifies as, it doesn't prevent the level from being quite uninteresting and bland. There is mainly a lot of jumping around platforms at first, and my first spark of excitement came with the activation of flames and a spike door. Sadly though, the flames could be walked around with ease, and even though I could hear the door slamming in the background, I never actually found it. Texturing is alright, but wallpapered and not varied enough, in a similar way to the lighting, which was also pretty dull. The fly-by camera was very well executed though, despite the fact that it was a little bit unneeded. While I did give low marks to this 'Demo', if the author makes the rest of the level more interesting then I will happily take a look." - Spike

"I guess the Fifth Element connection here must be with the Egyptian Temple that appears in the movie, as I didn't find anything particularly 'alien' about this demo. Actually it's a pretty well constructed game and the low ratings I've given are more because it takes you less than 10 minutes to get through it, not because there's anything bad about it. Sure, the tasks are simple and any obstacles will be bypassed with ease by more experienced players, the looks - while solidly done could use more attention to make the lighting more diverse in places or to avoid such nuances as compressed textures, but the author seems on the right track and I hope the full version, or any other games from the author can be expected in the future. Well done." - eTux

"Ok.... demo...... stretched and compressed textures comes to mind. Lightning could be a bit subtler in places. No need for the included EXE (yet). Going from A to B, pull a lever and back to pull another lever and then back to B, is not real gameplay that is unnecessary prolonging gameplay. Now we wait for the real McCoy." - Gerty

"A demo indeed, with actually lots of potential but way to short at under 10 minutes. The long flyby with the fires is well done, the platforming action is fun while it lasts, but in the end all you need to do here is flip two levers and backtrack. Let's hope the author keeps at it and builds this into a full level." - MichaelP

"ummmmmmm... well another demo. 9 mins of gameplay, jumping, pulling a lever or two, jumping again. Thats it. A medipack, a random spike door that you avoid without noticing it. It was ok, the only thing the builder seems to be able to do quite well is the flames, thats all." - Cory

"It's an average demo;no more no less. 9 minutes of straightforward platform jumping (repeated deliberately to pad out the game,apparently) and avoiding poorly placed traps. The textures are applied competantly and the lighting is generally non-existent,but there's just enough here to indicate potential should a full game eventually materialise." - Orbit Dream

"This was a very short demo level that didn't appear to have anything to do with the Fifth Element movie. Lara's only goals apparently were to get a couple gates open but she goes nowhere. The only interesting part was getting through some fire traps after throwing a lever. I liked how all the traps came on after that lever was thrown, but sadly, the traps weren't really traps at all, as they were very easily gone around. There appeared to be a useless monkeyswing and a strangely placed closing door trap. I think with a bit more organization, this builder has a good deal of promise for future levels (don't give up!). The audio was nice (monks chanting), but seemed out of place, although I have an idea why he chose this background audio. At any rate, I am expecting good things in the future from Oscky Croft." - Shandroid