The Archipelago train continues, this time with me rating all of the APWorlds I have experience with, because I’ve wanted to do that in at least recent times, especially as the quality of them sees massive variance due to how community-driven the project is. I’ve been having so much fun with Archipelago in general, but with some recent snags, I wanted to relay my experiences forward to anyone considering a game I might have experience in for the next one; plus, this gives me an excuse to write about something, which is always welcome.

I’ll be using letter grading to rate APWorlds in four categories and give an Overall rating: Gameplay covers changes to the flow of the game itself within the context of the multiworld, Logic covers accessibility of checks and items, Accessibility covers how easy a game is to install and actively play, and Customization covers how robust the implementation is in terms of its settings. Any game with an A or higher as its Overall grade is a game I would personally make core-verified if I were a lead developer of Archipelago, with A- representing games I think would deserve to remain as core-verified if they were already. Games are listed in alphabetical order where possible, and I’ll detail my level of experience with the game prior to the review; obviously, everything here is subjective, but I hope my experiences are informative to some.

I condemn the use of genAI at large. I will include a disclaimer if I’m aware of AI coding being a major part of the development process of an APWorld, and my Overall grade may be adjusted as a result.

Archipeladoku#

I’ve completed a small board of this solo and a very large board of this as a public slot in a friendserver async.

Atlyss#

I included this game in a solo multiworld, but lost interest in this APWorld after learning it was vibe-coded.

Autopelago#

I’ve goaled this as part of a Multiarchi async.

Balatro#

I’ve goaled this as part of a solo async.

Beat Saber#

I’ve goaled this as part of a friendserver async.

Blockupelago#

I’ve goaled this as part of a friendserver async.

Bloons TD6#

I’ve goaled this as part of an RPelago Casino async.

Bumper Stickers#

I played through a portion of this as part of a Multiarchi async, but eventually set the slot to public after losing steam.

Celeste (Open World)#

This is one of my staple games. I have run this in syncs and asyncs of multiple sizes, including a Big Async slot.

Gameplay: A#

There’s a reason it’s one of the most played Archipelago games. The A-sides offer a simple strawberry collectathon that sends lots of checks, plus the strawberries in-game display exactly how valuable they are. Finding out-of-logic solutions can be very fun, especially in the earlier levels; in general, this game just has infectious movement that makes doing anything interesting.

Logic: B#

For as many players as this game gets, many players will either complain about getting BKed in, or behind, this game. High check density per interactable unlock plus only a few interactable unlocks, as well as a large pool for macguffins, leads to some lopsided logic and long single sections of play. The logic flows well enough despite that; checks are already placed reasonably by default, and the game often goals well before it collects all it can, often meaning a huge release.

Accessibility: A-#

About as good as it gets without it being made for Archipelago directly, with a dedicated mod loader being required to install the mod that you’re going to be used to for Celeste anyways. The Epic version on Linux needs a patch to convert it to a native Linux application, meaning support for the necessary Everest, and that’s about the most hassle setup could possibly have. It even comes with great PopTracker support.

Customization: A+#

The YAML is great, too: Cosmetics, traps, interactable conditions, multiple logic difficulties, macguffin count, multiple goals, and a billion other things I can’t name off the top of my head. It’s one of the most customizable implementations in the game, and that’s awesome.

Overall: A-#

It’s an instant classic: Easy to setup, long stints of gameplay, and great fun at that. It’s an incredible example of a modern title becoming an incredible Archipelago implementation and a great choice for both those who know the game inside out and those fresh off their first vanilla clear.

Content Warning#

I force-released this during a friendserver async due to rampant logic issues.

Deadlock#

I’ve goaled this as part of a friendserver async.

Gameplay: D#

Nothing really changes. There’s no real new gameplay. It feels like the purpose of this is to support more AP-privy friends to me; it’s not like you can do much else for a game like this.

Logic: F#

So many sphere 1 checks that are nowhere near possible in a sync setting and pipe dreams in an async setting. This APWorld is a sphere 1 merchant for literally no reason and holds up entire lobbies as a result; you practically need to setup an early goal to make it fun, and that just throws off balance; on top of this, it floods the multiworld with useless trash. It’s hard to make work at all and impossible to make work well.

Accessibility: F#

The actual interface to the server is inherently flawed: Replays take quite some time to generate and the API is subject to constant rate limiting restrictions, meaning you could very well finish a game and not be able to submit it until two entire games later.

Customization: C-#

A redeeming aspect of this randomizer, if not by much: Multiple goal conditions, final hero selection for the macguffin hunt goal, and a toggle to disable “hard checks” that expect you to perform well in lobbies consistently. It’s certainly something, but this alone can’t save anything.

Overall: F#

Avoid this APWorld at all costs. I’d love to put together something one day that makes Deadlock playable in an async setting, like a Keymaster’s Keep preset, but it’s something better done in a manual format until the game gets improved for the purpose.

Dracomino#

I’ve goaled this as part of a friendserver async.

Elementipelago#

I attempted to play this in a large solo multiworld that I ultimately abandoned for multiple reasons.

Geometry Dash#

I attempted to play this in a large solo multiworld that I ultimately abandoned for multiple reasons.

Haste#

I have not goaled this, but have played it in multiple solo multiworlds and feel comfortable with its systems.

Jigsaw#

I have goaled this as part of multiple asyncs, including a 1000 piece public slot as part of a friendserver async and a standard sized puzzle as part of a Multiarchi async.

Keymaster’s Keep#

I’ve goaled this as part of a friendserver async using only Warframe as my selected game.

Kingdom Hearts 2#

This is one of my staple games. I’ve goaled this as part of a solo multiworld.

Gameplay: A#

The randomizer just takes the annoying parts of KH2 and strips them from the game: No Gummi Ship sections, basically everything accessible from the start through the Garden of Assemblage, and what I find pretty fun about the randomizer through the fact that you get a portion of The World That Never Was from the start of the game to start farming XP and drive forms immediately. The early game is a little slow, as is the XP grind, but having increased multipliers makes progression a lot smoother and interesting. Having your movement options from the get-go also makes the game feel way better; the game isn’t overly complex in some areas it doesn’t need to be, meaning you can just focus on the combat.

Logic: A#

I don’t think there’s really any big complaints about the logic in this game at all, save maybe Final Form forcing being hard to telegraph, but that’s not even that big of an issue because you can get it from the pool as well for the extra total drive form levels. Despite the incredibly large check count, which is definitely a problem to some, the actual flow of the game’s logic is incredible; restrictions are reasonable and it feels like there’s an actual checklist of what to get that feels way better than my first experience with Birth By Sleep did; plus, with so many unlocks, it’s so hard to get BKed. There’s really nothing to say on this front; it’s incredible.

Accessibility: C-#

The setup on Linux just isn’t there yet, and they acknowledge it with their beta release, but the beta release has been pretty bad for a pretty long time as far as I’m aware. You need to completely extract KH2’s data just to install the mod, for one, which takes up 40+ gigabytes of hard drive space, but you also need a separate Archipelago install through Proton in the same prefix just to get the game to talk to the client. KH1 just got there with its own beta release; how hasn’t KH2 yet?

Customization: A#

This is what I want to see from a core-verified game. Independent multipliers for different forms of XP, various options for movement, three different goal conditions with increasingly lax settings for some, fight logic, final form forcing logic, optional objective toggles, and direct modifications to the item pool. It’s a shame that Scan has to be start inventoried manually, but that’s really about it; there’s nothing to complain about and so much to fine-tune.

Overall: A#

The accessibility isn’t quite there for the Linux audience, not like KH1’s is, but other than that, you’ve got a cohesive APWorld for a great game building off of an already great randomizer. If you’re a fan of Kingdom Hearts, you absolutely need to try out its randomizer; if not, consider picking up Kingdom Hearts to try this game out, then potentially try out the randomizer, which I encourage because that is literally what I did. If you don’t play a lot of games that make for more traditional forms of randomizers, this might be a good game to break that mold with… because that is also what I literally did. There’s a reason this is a staple game of mine.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep#

I’ve goaled this in multiple asyncs, including an RPelago Casino async. I have never played Terra’s story.

Gameplay: B#

Birth By Sleep’s implementation does some things very well that other Kingdom Hearts don’t do at all, and its base game does some things very poorly that the other Kingdom Hearts don’t really have to worry about. The issues are definitely linked for the gameplay and logic, so I might not deliver all of that in here.

I love the fact that zones’ combat level scales based off of how many worlds you’ve cleared, meaning they can be played completely out of order and EXP grinding will never be a pain point, unlike how it is in KH2. The fact that the game is short is definitely a boon for it; it means you can play multiple stories in one async and have it still feel balanced, or that you don’t really have to fine-tune the game much to make it sync compatible. It just works. I’m definitely upset that anyone who’s not Ventus doesn’t get to have Glide, but considering the others have chest placements that align with their movement capabilities, I guess it’s fair; it’s just annoying that I have to manually do all of the parkour in Disney Castle as someone who isn’t Ventus.

The command deck is, as it is with base Birth By Sleep, the game’s biggest boon and bane all in one. The system itself is so fun, especially with the finishers, command styles, and D-Links acting as fun support systems, but the Magnet, Thunder, Mine, and Cure ability lines are ultimately so good that I would never consider running anything else in the endgame.

Logic: D-#

Birth By Sleep suffers from an unfortunately lackluster implementation, potentially through the game’s own limitations on what can even be implemented, that allows and encourages so many ways to go out of logic, from shop purchases to melding to Command Board to whatever-the-fuck that makes charging your way through the game and turning logic into a suggestion way too easy. Movement logic in this game is fine, but the same can’t be said for commands: You could casually get access to Fire through a shop just by completing enough zones, which is a progression item you’re normally supposed to get through the randomizer to get literally one check. Combat logic isn’t ever questionable because of the level auto-adjust, but that’s never really the issue with this game: It’s just way too easy to get things that aren’t supposed to be randomized because the player gets way too much agency outside of systems that can actually be randomized, which even introduces bloat into the item pool that doesn’t do anything of use.

Accessibility: C+#

It’s as difficult to setup on Linux as KH2 is, but not as draining on storage space as it is; however, it comes with drawbacks in other areas instead. The client and mods can be very awkward to setup; I know I had to go through a lot of hell to get it set up when the solution was ultimately a symlink that was technically possible, but annoying, and left a weird dummy folder in my home directory when KH1 was already adapting enough to not have to do the same. The support for Linux just isn’t there, not yet, and I really hope that gets to change, because however good or not the game is, it deserves that much.

Customization: B#

It’s not KH1 or KH2 levels of good, but it’s pretty good. EXP multipliers, keyblade randomization, a generic option for “advanced logic”, pool size changes for HP, superboss/minigame/arena/Command Board logic, and options to include the final and secret episodes for Aqua means that you can squeeze what you need out of the game, and definitely explains why I can have my hat trick and random character YAMLs be so different and work out so well.

Overall: C-#

The sad thing about Birth By Sleep is that no matter what you’d want out of it, there’s a Kingdom Hearts game with Archipelago support that does what it does better. KH2 is a great randomizer experience, that much I know, but I suspect even KH1 and KH3D have their perks over this confusing entry. If you’re a big fan of the game, this would be a passable implementation for you; however, you’d probably want to avoid it in general.

Kirby Air Ride#

I’ve attempted to play this in multiple solo multiworlds, but couldn’t stick with it due to its difficult logic.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds#

I am currently playing this in a solo multiworld. Opinions are tentative.

Lingo#

I’ve goaled this in multiple friendserver asyncs with multiple goals. I prefer using door shuffle instead of color shuffle, as color shuffle means no items and only a few massive unlocks.

Gameplay: B+#

This game is definitely hard to navigate, meaning it’s very easy to miss a lot of checks if you’re aren’t using and abusing the tracker. The fact that you aren’t constantly responsible for your own areas somehow took a lot of pressure off of my shoulders; whenever I found a new area unlocked, I did it, and it was surprisingly straightforward and fun. It also means pretty easy access to a lot of postgame zones, including some that are just expected in logic, which is pretty funny.

Some of the weirdness of navigating in this APWorld is made up for by how cool the painting and sunwarp settings can be: They can generate in very limited ways at times, but they are incredibly fun in practice since logic will never feel the same twice. Despite how little can be unlocked in some places, this game still manages to work with what it has and makes something incredibly fun out of it.

Logic: A-#

Logic is pretty cut and dry; there are some out of logics with wall snipes, but nothing that anyone really needs to worry about. The less than perfect rating mostly comes from how unbalanced color shuffle feels, but door shuffle is great and painting shuffle makes logic very fun. Useless trash is present, but not overwhelming. It’s pretty rock solid, which makes sense for a core-verified game.

Accessibility: A#

It’s literally a Steam Workshop mod. That’s it. It’s maybe one of the easiest games to access in Archipelago that isn’t made for it directly; plus, it even comes with multiplayer across slots, which the base game doesn’t even have. My one complaint at all would be the poor tracker support for Linux, as the auto tracker is years old and buggy; I’d love to see that updated to iron out some of the issues, but at least it doesn’t detract from the main game.

Customization: A#

Customization is also decently robust for how complex the game is; as I’ve said, the game has so little that really needs to be customized, but makes the most of it in a good way. Obviously, multiple types of shuffles are present, as well as a few funny optional traps, but there’s options to group doors, toggles for the pilgrimage and various progressives, and four ending conditions: The End, The Master, Level 2, and Pilgrimage; in fact, the nonstandard Pilgrimage ending with nearly everything shuffled is one of my favorite ways to play this, a navigation puzzle inside of the already confusing main game. There’s even puzzle skips and optional slowdowns if you’re really a masochist about it. This game is so easy to pick up and play… at least, on the Archipelago side. It’s just a perplexing game in general.

Overall: A-#

Despite its limited randomization, this game very much warrants its place as a core verified title and more: It’s fun and very clear in its logic. If you enjoy the genre, definitely give this game a try, but maybe try to get to the end outside of a randomizer first.

Mario Kart: Double Dash#

I attempted to play this in a solo multiworld that I gave up on for mostly unrelated reasons.

Minecraft Dig#

I have played this as part of multiple public slots, including a friendserver async and a sync in the 360chrism community.

Muse Dash#

I’ve goaled this as part of a Big Async.

Neon White#

This is one of my staple games. I’ve goaled this in multiple asyncs of many sizes.

Gameplay: A+#

I love this implementation because its gameplay is maybe some of the most interesting in the non-traditional format it’s in out there: Levels as individual unlocks, with the more general card systems further affecting logic, as well as the format of logic being fine-tuned to player skill, makes for one of the most interesting Archipelago implementations out there. Finding solutions to the levels is incredibly fun, just as much as speedrunning them myself (in fact, I’ve gotten times that are even better than my leaderboard times on some of these levels just because of how persistent I have to be to get through them). This randomizer takes Neon White and makes something unique out of an experience that normally could ever be played in one of two ways; now, I find myself coming back to the randomizer every so often just to experience more of it.

Logic: C-#

Now’s the part where I have to dog on work-in-progress logic. What logic exists is honestly quite good, with levels being added to logic as time goes on and people find new solutions to levels; the actual difficulty settings are quite good, with more being discovered as the game goes on; ace medal maximum is good for the semi-casual player, while dev medal maximum is quite fun and challenging for a longer run.

The issue isn’t in the levels themselves as much as the filler that has to accompany them. Right now, every level (that isn’t a sidequest) can come with up to six checks: Five medals, for dev and below, and one gift, meaning that, depending on the way you play (and excluding sidequests just to get my point across), there are anywhere from 4x to 6x the amount of checks as there are level items in the pool, plus the fourteen items to unlock soul cards, which is ultimately pretty limited. The rest of the pool is filled with Heavenly Delight Tickets, which are completely useless and ultimately come in the hundreds. It’s a lot, even if it goes by quickly; plus, it used to be worse, as Heavenly Delight Tickets used to be labeled as Useful and tended to flood other peoples’ games as a result, more than they already are, to the point where I’ve made so many jokes about checks in multiworlds that don’t even include Neon White being Heavenly Delight Tickets.

It’s a lot better now, but it needs work, and that’s fine because the implementation is in alpha. I hope it’s able to get to a point where things are stable enough to recommend to absolutely everybody, but I’m glad it’s at least something I can still recommend.

Accessibility: B#

The current APWorld is literally only found in the Archipelago Discord thread, which is very disappointing. The client mod is open, at least, which is nice, but it all requires a manual BepInEx install, and if you don’t know about White’s Storage, it’s difficult to get your hands on the quality of life mods that go very nicely with the client mod. It’s not the easiest game to mod, that’s for sure, but it’s nothing extremely hard.

Customization: B#

For what it is, it’s not bad. Two different forms of logic difficulty, freedom on maximum medal caps, optional checks on gifts and sidequests, multiple methods of level unlock, and options on what medal is required for the bosses. There are some NYI settings that are exciting, such as deathlink, options to disable progressive checks (such that 1 level = 1 check), and traps, which I’m excited for.

Overall: B#

The quality of the implementation means I can’t recommend it to everyone just yet, but I’m incredibly glad I can recommend the game as-is to the dedicated Neon White fan, or at least someone playing with themselves or a larger group that is fine with seeing a lot of filler. I’m really hopeful for the direction this APWorld is going and I’d love to see it shine.

osu!#

This is one of my staple games and the first game I ever played in Archipelago. I’ve goaled this in syncs, as with a cjya community sync where I was the only osu! player, as well as many asyncs, both public and private, including solo multiworlds as well. I play all gamemodes, mostly osu!mania, but the APWorld doesn’t have any meaningful differences between modes anyways.

Gameplay: A-#

I love this, but I know I’m biased as hell: The premise of getting any random song from the featured artist ranked pool within your skill level is incredibly fun and it means you just get to experience whatever songs the randomizer has picked out for you, which has led to some very surprising moments (including some surprise close-to-top plays). I’m disappointed that the entire ranked pool can’t be selected and hope the changes they’re thinking about to potentially make that a reality can come through, but even of the featured artists’ songs, there’s a lot of variety, so it’s quite fun.

Logic: A-#

A for airtight: Only progression items, a simple macguffin hunt, and a goal song. The logic is about as simple as it gets, and that’s all it really needs to be. I will definitely complain about the fact that the randomizer makes some lopsided song pools if you pick multiple gamemodes, but it’s not as much on the developers as it is on the mappool in general, what with osu!standard being such a popular mode.

Accessibility: C+#

It’s a nuisance the first time around, but once you get it, you can just save your information in the client and get it any time you play in the future. You need to make an API key with certain settings that are detailed in the Discord thread, then you can just submit scores to the server that the client reads. The client is very accessible, with options to manually update or auto track. On the official Archipelago servers, there’s a slight delay between submitting the score and seeing checks get sent out, but that’s a non-issue; really, all it is is first-time setup.

Customization: A#

About as robust as you could possibly get for an implementation this simple: Gamemode inclusion (with seperate pools for osu!mania between 4K, 7K, and other key modes), difficulty selection, adding loved maps/explicit lyrics maps to the pool, toggling difficulty reduction mods or an optional minimum grade, and length settings for the entire slot and each individual song. The APWorld does not track mods from osu!lazer, meaning you can use LN affecting mods and DA.

Overall: B+#

It’s solid. It’s maybe the best thing you could do for an osu! APWorld, and that’s awesome, but it’s definitely a bit scuffed, which is literally the only reason I’m not giving it an A-. It’s a solid implementation, but it takes a bit of work to make perfect, which many of the other rhythm game implementations do just a bit better.

Peggle Deluxe#

I have not goaled this, but have played it in multiple solo multiworlds and feel comfortable with its systems.

Rabbit & Steel#

I’ve goaled this as part of a Classroom async in the 360chrism community.

Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal#

I am currently playing this in a solo multiworld. Opinions are tentative.

Refunct#

I’ve goaled this as part of multiple asyncs, including an RPelago Casino async.

Simon Tatham’s Portable Puzzle Collection#

I’ve goaled this as part of an RPelago Casino async and maintained a slot eventually made public as part of a Multiarchi async.

Tetris Attack#

I am currently playing this in a solo multiworld. Opinions are tentative.

ToonTown#

I have not goaled this game yet, but I got quite far in it in a solo multiworld I abandoned for unrelated reasons.

Twisty Cube#

I’ve goaled this as part of a friendserver async.

Gameplay: B-#

It’s unfortunately more annoying than actually solving a Rubik’s Cube due to hidden stickers causing apparent parity issues, but is still quite fun. Much of these issues are offset by being in a larger multiworld, but I find the game intensely unfun when it’s mostly dependent on itself. It needs variety that it often doesn’t get.

Logic: A+#

It’s airtight as hell; one sticker solved correlates to one sticker sent, anyways. This implementation really flexes the fact that the goal and check count don’t need to overlap, as some YAML settings can allow you to goal early out of logic if only a portion of your stickers are visible, but everything, including hidden stickers, are already solved. No questions need be asked here.

Accessibility: A+#

It’s a made for Archipelago browser game, so really, all you need to do is log in, type in your slot name, and let the magic happen. It’s great.

Customization: B+#

Enough for the job. Size of the cube (2x2x2 through 5x5x5), color shuffle, and percentage of revealed stickers to goal, hallmarks of a simple, yet effective APWorld.

Overall: B#

It’s a great BK game if you have Rubik’s Cube knowledge, but it requires patience some might not have. It’s for the people who know this thing well enough to solve it well and not for the masses who can’t, but I do wonder if it’s gotten at least one person into speedcubing like Archipelago in general gets me into so many games.

ULTRAKILL#

I’ve goaled this as part of multiple asyncs, including a Classroom async in the 360chrism community.

UNBEATABLE#

I’ve goaled this as part of a friendserver async.

Gameplay: A+#

I could describe it as a leg up or simply a sidegrade, but one thing makes this APWorld stand out compared to those of other rhythm games, being the burden of effort placed on the player and the unique, freeform unlock system. Instead of individual songs sending out checks, they contribute to a modified version of your player rating, which is what is tied to unlocks. This effectively means you can play what you want when you want, as long as you’re not BKed (a tall ask in a game like this, with the amount of songs and checks you’ll be sending out early), meaning there’s less immediate pressure to do well.

It’s also a game that’s very tuned to your skill level, using your actual in-game rating to determine how much you need to play to progress the expected amount. This means that as long as you play decently well, you’re going to have a fun time, as you’re going to be scoring higher than what the randomizer expects of you, anyways.

Ultimately, it plays well and is incredibly freeform. It’s a dream rhythm game randomizer: No stress, just gaming.

Logic: A+#

The rating system means that every check in the game will just be squeezed into the same window anyways, so besides the cosmetics that count as filler and traps, this game is literally completely airtight. Everything flows smoothly. Difficulty for songs is handled progressively if you select multiple. There’s nothing to complain about, pretty much, and I’ve never really seen complaints about anything.

Accessibility: A-#

It’s a BepInEx mod for a game without much of a modding scene, so it is a bit awkward, but the setup is mostly confined to putting things in your game folder and setting launch commands, so it’s definitely very cut and dry. Everything is handled in game, and there’s even a fully functional text client inside, hence the high rating; it all flows smoothly without much thought needed once you get everything setup.

Customization: A#

As I said before, this APWorld is quite robust for what it is. There’s a place to put in your skill level, difficulty selection (which controls randomizer length), DLC selection, and options for traps and cosmetic filler. It’s not like a rhythm game needs much to do with its settings, but this does those settings well.

Overall: A+#

This game deserves to be core verified, potentially over the rhythm game that is actually core verified (for all I hope there’s not fierce competition in that regard): This APWorld oozes with quality that some others don’t really have and sets a precedent I hope I get to see with more rhythm game APWorlds (I know Beat Saber wants to do something similar down the line). I hope I get more opportunities to play this one.

Yacht Dice#

I’ve goaled this in multiple asyncs, including a Big Async.

YARG (+ its forks)#

I have not goaled this, but have played it in multiple solo multiworlds and feel comfortable with its systems.#

On August 25th, 2026, this page underwent a massive overhaul, with the WIP new reviews above. The below reviews have been preserved until I can replace them above and do not represent my current opinions on each game.

Autopelago#

I haven’t goaled this game yet, but I’ve played a lot of it and seen a lot of it.

Gameplay: 0/10#

It’s a slow release simulator. What do you expect? There’s a reason I ban it from my lobbies; it’s trivial, even if not as trivial as Clique, and it’s not fun to have to sit behind while a rat slowly chugs along the line. This isn’t an experience I would recommend to anyone.

Logic: 3/10#

If you want to treat this like an actual game, the logic can be very annoying; there are a million blockers despite the low sphere count, and it can be very annoying to get anything done, especially in larger lobbies. This game is perfect for simulating what a lobby could look like, and especially what a heavy blocked/blocker game could end up playing like with your game of choice, but it’s not a great choice for many.

Customization: 8/10#

Autopelago was made for APWorld testing, and it shows with how much goes on in it for just being a slow release simulator: Custom chat messages, filtering of buffs/debuffs, multiple goals, and lots of fun little options to make this game a better fit for your lobby.

Overall: 2/10#

Avoid without purpose.

Content Warning#

I ran the Monster Hunter goal in an async as a solo slot and had to force-release my slot after techincal issues started coming up, so I expect some pretty heavy bias in my review that could be fixed a few ways. It should be stated outright that it’s been a long time since this implementation saw any activity, so be wary when running it anyways.

Gameplay: 0/10#

Yes, I cheated, and I’m okay with that.

It’s a friendslop game, and I really went into it solo. The issue with this is that there’s no one to save you when you go down (and you do go down pretty frequently), and if you go down, you basically kill your run right there and then, making some later game checks a nightmare. By the end of it, I had to download multiple cheaty mods just to not constantly die and kill my runs, something I felt guilty about while still putting myself up to try to make footage I’d never send anywhere entertaining, throwing off game balance and making progression items feel moot, somehow even more than they already did due to just how bland the game felt with or without them.

It should also be mentioned how RNG-dependent the entire game is, from hats to sponsors to spawns in the Old World, to the point where some checks that really should be easy are impossible. Many checks are bugged to not even register, in fact; I never got my Arms checks and it never counted against anything, which inevitably forced me to release, and I never saw the Black Hole Bomb again after the first time I died with it in my camera roll, meaning I was straight up locked out of my goal. I’m sure that I’d have a better experience with a different goal, but I’m already too burned.

Did I mention that filler items are sent on connection and are often sent before you even load your save? This makes certain checks impossible in an async, especially as Meta Coins, which are required to buy hats, are just straight up not sent to an offline save.

Logic: 0/10#

Almost everything is a sphere 1 check. This game really wasn’t meant to have good randomizer logic and it shows. I’m sure this is an issue lots of friendslop games have, but this one definitely has it the worst with everything else stacked on top of it. There’s going to be a pattern in this document of games that have horrid logic having so many things in sphere 1, and it’s painful when you finally do get a sphere 1 check because it turns out someone’s progression item is behind something you should’ve been able to do if the game didn’t intentionally screw you over. Why are Meta Coins marked as filler when they’re literally required for sphere 1 checks, anyways? It’s just a mess.

Customization: 7/10#

Multiple goal conditions, inclusion and exclusion of goals and checks, inclusion and exclusion of monsters, and a surprisingly thorough set of rules for a run that would probably feel a lot better if the game was actually good, even down to filtering in multiplayer-exclusive logic and deathlink.

Overall: 0/10#

They call me 007: 0 Gameplay, 0 Logic, 7 Customization. Nothing could possibly save this dumpster fire of an implementation short of a major clean-up operation, potentially a complete overhaul.

Elementipelago#

I was never able to goal the solo I put this in and I’d love to potentially give it another try as a result, but I did play it for quite a bit and have thoughts on it regardless.

Gameplay: 1/10#

This is an alchemy type game with absolutely no logic as to what goes together with what. Gameplay of this is predominantly performed by trial and error of a million combinations of random entries in your list of literally any type until something finally happens, after which you just have to do it all over again because you forgot what works with what and what doesn’t. I’d love to see recordings of trial and error or a proper hint system for combinations because I don’t know when I’m BKed or when I’m not, and it just becomes a mess after a lot of items come through; maybe a system that shows what items have checks in logic, still?

Logic: 7/10#

Take this rating with a grain of salt, but the logic… actually isn’t that bad? The theming of what you get in-game literally being the checks other people send you the items with is a fun touch, and there’s heavy customization when it actually comes down to how complex you want the logic to be. It’s quintessential BK game, which is really going for it.

Customization: 3/10#

You can customize exactly how long or short your game will be, as well as if compounds matter beyond sending checks, which is a fun touch. You can’t disable intermediates entirely, disappointingly, and you can’t set how many checks there are directly, which is definitely fair if the implementation demands it a certain way.

Overall: 2/10#

I’ll give this game some credit for being a solid BK game, but there are a million better BK games to run to the point where I don’t know why you’d bother.

Geometry Dash#

I never goaled the slot I played of this due to the difficulty of the game that I’m still bad at.

Gameplay: 3/10#

It’s Geometry Dash. I never could really get into it, as much as I tried. It’s not even custom level oriented, so it’s just old levels and pain. Electrodynamix is a 12 star level, somehow. The game resets your configuration and login when you enter this, which is also very disappointing and I’d love to see an alternative to that to keep my cool icon and my very important settings.

Logic: 1/10#

Checks are in the low double digits total, even with everything turned on. No partial level progress, which would fit this game very well: Just level clears (and secret coins, apparently, but I never saw those be sent) and that’s it. It’s hard to tell what the goal even is. It’s incredibly punishing for people who can’t beat every level up to either Electrodynamix or Deadlocked, and definitely not as fun as I’m sure many custom levels would be. It’s just disappointing. I’d love an implementation of this that was custom platformer focused so that I could put some energy into it, but that unfortunately just doesn’t exist, and I’d expect that the logic for making something like that just isn’t there, in part. Give me more.

Customization: 5/10#

There’s some, actually, so it’s not that bad: Deathlink is present, coins can be toggled, there’s a dedicated checks shop… Some fun stuff. I just don’t know if any of it works.

Overall: 1/10#

Try to steer clear of this one until it gets completed, or play one centered around custom levels if it exists, which I hope it does.

Muse Dash#

I’ve goaled this as part of the Big Async. My normal YAML is harder, and I’ve played some of it, but have not goaled that.

Gameplay: 10/10#

Rhythm games generally make wonderful APWorlds, and with Muse Dash being the quintissential rhythm game implementation, it’s perfect for the cause. I don’t even like Muse Dash that much and I definitely have quite a bit of fun with it in multiworlds; I get to play random songs and just have a ton of fun doing it. It’s great.

Logic: 10/10#

No need for filler if your implementation is this airtight: Just songs and macguffins. Pacing just works and the checks don’t need to be high for you to have a ton of fun. It’s perfect.

Customization: 9/10#

Customize how long your run is, your song pool, your goal song, clear requirements, difficulty of songs, and enable deathlink and certain VFX/SFX traps depending on what DLC you have. It’s a pretty small YAML compared to some other Core-Verified games, but it’s still quite good, and you can’t expect too much out of it.

Overall: 10/10#

If you enjoy Muse Dash, you’ll enjoy this APWorld for sure. If you don’t enjoy Muse Dash but enjoy other rhythm games, you’ll probably have more fun with this APWorld than you usually do with Muse Dash. If you don’t enjoy rhythm games normally, maybe this would be a good way to expose yourself to a new genre of Archipelago games.

Rabbit & Steel#

I’ve goaled this before in a solo and am pretty close to goaling this again in an async. I run with kingdomsanity and classanity as must-haves, as well as set-based itemsanity.

Gameplay: 6/10#

It’s pretty damn close to the original experience and it’s great for that. Limited item pools make it possible to stack dupes of the same item, which can lead to some very fun builds. The only thing that feels off is when runs cut off early, which can feel very limp and generally disappointing. It should also be mentioned that runs do take a very long time, making it a pretty difficult sell in a shorter sync setting unless you’re running a very short 1 Shira 1 Witch YAML or something like that. It’s certainly not for everyone, but it’s not bad per se, and you know what you’re getting into.

Logic: 9/10#

At present, run length settings and progressive regions are broken, which one of my runs uses, leading to some very long and unfun stretches of BKs, but if we count that out… I’ve genuinely never seen this implementation send out trash, and it’s actually pretty flexible on how you get to your goals. It’s a challenging experience that’s light on checks and items unless you turn on a -sanity, and with a curated YAML, the logic is pretty airtight and enjoyable. It’s a very solid roguelike randomizer for what it is.

Customization: 9/10#

Fits the bill literally perfectly. Multiple different randomization vectors as -sanities, varying goal conditions, and even forced kingdom orders. You can even turn off randomization entirely, from the looks of it… but at that point, what are you even doing? It’s that robust.

Overall: 7/10#

It’s an incredible roguelike randomizer; as such, it’s not for everyone, but if you’re a fan of this game, you’re gonna have a ton of fun here.

Refunct#

I’ve goaled this in a single-game run; in fact, I literally bought this game just for Archipelago. It’s so cheap that I did it by selling Steam cards, even.

Gameplay: 10/10#

It needs to be said outright that this is more than the base Refunct experience by a mile, and it’s great. The main game itself is very nice and meshes well with Refunct as a move randomizer that harkens to any well fleshed out randomizer out there, but the selling point for this APWorld is the minigames, custom variants of the base game with their own set of checks that are just incredibly fun to play in an already fun movement set. You’ll be completing Refunct in a million different ways with so much of the character of Archipelago inside it. It feels like a love letter to both the game and the community it’s based for. It’s incredible.

Logic: 6/10#

Much of this game’s item pool is filler, and the check pool can be massive, leading to a case of Ticketpocalypse; however, this is offset by the use of macguffins on top of a decent number of progression checks, which can offset it quite a bit; however, minigames can be forced to contain trash after a certain point to make reliance on them less necessary and decrease the amount of flowers in the multiworld. Minigame selection is random, however, so this can be an unpredictable solution.

Customization: 9/10#

Macguffin count length control, many options on how a goal would work (including unknown goal conditions), unlockables and minigame count to control the amount of checks somewhat, multiple levels of traps, and some fun cosmetics, on top of a low-stakes deathlink implementation. It’s incredibly robust, and the default settings already lead to a level of replayability.

Overall: 9/10#

It’s an incredible implementation, an expansion of Refunct that practically serves as its own game, and for a game so cheap, it’s an incredible experience. Just be careful if you’re running it in a smaller lobby.

Twisty Cube#

I’ve goaled the 3x3x3 cube.

Gameplay: 6/10#

It works well as a BK game, but becomes more frustrating the more thought you have to put into it, I find. The gameplay is reasonably boring, not much more than I’d expect, and it’s kind of annoying to get new pieces early on when you’ve set something up already, especially as someone who still can’t wrap their head around commutators. It’s somewhat offset by how satisfying this game’s late game can be as the cube comes together and you can actually start to solve it like a regular cube, but it can be very annoying otherwise.

Logic: 10/10#

This is as airtight as logic gets, with checks being linear despite pieces being as random as they are. It plays no different from the non-Archipelago experience, just with added delay between checks, and that does it so many favors: No trash, all action. It’s a perfect small addition to any run.

Customization: 7/10#

It certainly doesn’t need much, but it has what it needs to: Different starting sticker counts, random color layouts, and how soon or late you want your goal if you just so happen to accidentally solve the cube without seeing everything (a statistical improbability). It’s not much, but it doesn’t really need to be.

Overall: 7/10#

It’s a fantastic BK game and will serve you perfectly there, but it falls flatter and flatter the more time you spend thinking about it and the less time you spend thinking about anything else.

ULTRAKILL#

I’ve goaled this before in an async.

Gameplay: 10/10#

It’s peak, straight up. Unlocks feel natural even when they’re out of order, and the challenge of running this game with whatever weapons you end up getting is interesting and leads to some very fun ways to play around logic. The collectibles lend themselves well to the game and the trash still actually does something, even if it’s ultimately moot. The game already has systems to make running low weapon counts near the start interesting, and including your arm in the randomization pool could also be an interesting experience. It really speaks to the challenge of ULTRAKILL in a unique way.

I’ll also mention here that you do need to be very careful of how you disconnect from the lobby to make sure data saves, but obviously, that’s just an issue for the end of a session and doesn’t cut down points.

Logic: 9/10#

The game definitely serves up a bunch of trash at times, especially with the more checks you put in, but the trash at least feels satisfying. There’s definitely no strict logic for progression items, thankfully, as long as what you’re doing leads to goal and you feel confident with what you’ve got to learn. I definitely don’t like the fact that clearing a level on its own does not send a check and only contributes to the goal, which definitely forces me to go for P-ranks to contribute to the multiworld if those are on, but things are very flexible around that, even, so I’m chill.

Customization: 10/10#

It’s so, so robust. Custom starting level, goal level, clear count requirement, special handling for certain types of unlocks, multiple types of filler and traps, levels of trap toggling, “-sanity” settings that can go pretty deep down, starting weapon pool, many levels of loadout handling, movement restrictions, and even cosmetic randomizers, as well as deathlink with amnesty. It may not be as jam-packed with features as the biggest implementations, but that’s downplaying how advanced what’s going on here is.

Overall: 10/10#

I can’t pretend I don’t have the most minor of qualms with the logic that do throw me off, but that doesn’t stop a masterpiece of an APWorld in its tracks on its own. Go frag out and have fun.

Yacht Dice#

I haven’t goaled this game yet, but I’ve got a ton of experience with the game in preset YAML asyncs and my own YAML submissions to the point where I feel qualified to speak on it. I think the distinction of Bliss and the core-verified version being different games is stupid, so I’ll just treat them as one, with Bliss being my version of choice.

Gameplay: 9/10#

Despite being luck-based, it’s a surprisingly satisfying implementation with a solid gameplay loop. The inclusion of alternative categories makes for a lot of interesting play with the most random of things popping up as important chases, and the buildup of power feels satisfying, especially with the exponential explosion in power that just an extra die, roll, or category makes for the run. Logic being as clearly defined as it is means there’s not as much pressure to overperform, but hitting things way out of logic is incredibly satisfying. The dice skins are a fun cosmetic touch, as well.

Logic: 10/10#

This APWorld designs itself around low trash counts unless you explicitly ask for them, and I don’t think I’ve seen anything useless be sent to it to date, which makes for very clean multiworlds. While it does have a pretty small check count, at least how I have it set up, it still feels like enough for a lobby much of the time.

Customization: 10/10#

Customizable logic difficulty on multiple axes, game length, check count, category filtering, and lots of fun ways to fill the last bits of remaining space.

Overall: 10/10#

A random branded BK game being core-verified should be a sign of its merit as a solid APWorld. If you need a BK game in a panic, come give this a try.

YARG#

I’ve not goaled this one before, but I do have experience in it and its forks from various solo runs.

Gameplay: 8/10#

The game itself is solid, as all rhythm games tend to be, but there’s definitely less freedom of play. I’m bummed that the randomizer can’t filter out songs that don’t have a chart for my instrument of choice, that being pro keys, without me having to turn on instrument shuffle, which isn’t viable for only one instrument. The song selection, however, is great, and the game is very flexible.

Logic: 8/10#

Three checks per song is a bit much. I guess it’s offset by higher macguffin counts, but it doesn’t feel right running anything higher than 50% on macguffin generation. YARG could almost become a load-bearing game for progression. The higher rating is mostly because I haven’t had any issues with it yet.

Customization: 7/10#

Not bad, actually. Deathlink, energylink, run length, setlists included/excluded as needed, song exclusion, and an instrument shuffle mode for those who care about more than one instrument. Well thought out.

Overall: 8/10#

Not a stellar, airtight rhythm game implementation like they tend to be, but I don’t even think it’s bias speaking when I say it’s still a solid APWorld for a game I’m sure many find enjoyable.