Paroxysm 1.7Mb
This is a re-post, with images, from two years ago HERE from Week 16, where it was listed amongst over two dozen games, early in the free game project.
It’s a super-cool if somewhat bloodthirsty game that is difficult or very difficult at times; as you try to escape a dungeon (a bit like Saw on steroids!) filled with devious and deadly traps such as rotary saws amd moving rotary saws, swinging axes, crushers, lava, bear-traps, acid baths, spikes and spike pits, while sometimes being shot at by acid. Something to make the game more interesting is that you have a pain threshold, and if you don’t exceed that, your health restores quickly; provided you don’t really cop it in the meantime - when it’s instant as in instant death! Not a game for younger children, as your character gets despatched very violently, in a bloodbath of some proportions! There are 4 stages, and 15 levels in total. Survival and extremely good timing are the order of the day.
Sometimes a level will have different routes to test you out, as some routes will not be successful, or may not be so ‘easily’ passable! This gives some replayability, over and above retrying levels when you die!
You can crouch or slide as well as jump or climb. Freefall is ok as long as you don’t land on something nasty! Because you can survive short encounters with the some of the ‘machinery’, lava or acid, sometimes getting through depends on taking partial hits, while avoiding complete hits and suddenly dying, with complete dismemberment!
You can find some videos at the above link for Week 16, though you’ll have to scroll down through the other games to find it. The game controls are listed at both download links below. 'Alt + Enter' or Options to play 'full' screen. The music and sounds add to the very 'creepy' atmosphere of the game . . .
Be patient, it does take a short while to load. Play/select with the menu when the music starts.
Paroxysm is a reminder of the good old days of action platform days, where timing and quick reactions are everything! It does have an element of strategy, in that several traps close together will have to be watched to see when it might be possible to get past them all, given that each trap has its own timing! Sometimes sheer luck can play a part, though skill is rewarded by consistent (and well-earned!) progress. You can restart a stage once you’ve got that far! It is ‘possible’ to complete the game in just a bit less than 10 minutes, though you’ll have to do incredibly well to do so!
Mostly, it’ll probably have you restarting levels fairly constantly, unless you cheat and look at the walk-through video! - a bit at a time for each level! Devilishly (and often enjoyably!) difficult if you try some parts of some levels entirely on your own!
There are other games that are similar, but no others that will give you such little relief between traps or sets/series of traps; - leading to a constant adrenalin rush of some proportions - to stay alive and complete the next bit!
Retro in terms of graphics and gamestyle but every bit up to the minute for fast and frenetic gameplay! And look out for all those deadly trap combos . . . !
Warning - contains gratuitous (self-inflicted!) violence.
Video Walkthrough HERE