File:The Dark Geometry (Aftershock)

Description
We come upon a highly buggy Single Player level in our quest to find the good levels of Aftershock Standalone Levels. This level is referring to some Dark Geometry, though I don't really get the name. There is darkness in the level and there are brushes, but is that really the best name for this level? That basically could describe any level in this collection...

This level is pretty straightforward, giving you a surplus amount of resources at the start that you are expected to carry through the rest of the level (with only one Shells pickup later in the level). There are 2 Nails, though the Nailgun falls through the map on startup and therefore they are completely useless.

Most of the Enemies will be found in the second half of the first section, basically a bridge suspended over a pool of Lava. The Grunts are easy enough to take care of, though the Ogres will take a bit more work. Note that while it is possible to reach both platforms (as demonstrated in the video), the Rockets that the Ogres drop are as pointless as the Nails.

This level reminds me of The Cult. Both were standalone Single Player levels, though The Cult was a lot more refined. Both are of a rather linear nature, while both also feature pools of Lava. The Cult, as stated before, was more refined. There is no level exit here, nor is there any custom messages or triggers.

Starting this level, the player will be met with a series of error messages. Basically, the level designer made some typos to the names of some items, resulting in them being unidentifiable. Two 15 Health are supposed to appear in this level, but don't because they are just called "health" instead of the correct name "item_health". Similarly, a fire doesn't appear in one of the light fixtures (it is pretty noticeable, it is in the corridor before the final room) due to an extra empty line being added.

The corridor before the final room is extremely bug ridden. It is extremely dark, meaning it is hard to see much in that room. Of course, the ceiling is missing a texture, leaving it with a highly noticeable blur effect. A less noticeable but similar effect can be seen through the stairs. The stairs were designed so that you could look through them, though no texture was added behind them and therefore you can even see the bottom of the block of Lava in the final room.

The final room can be pretty frustrating. There was supposed to be a Nailgun, though it doesn't appear in the level as it probably was in the bounding box of the Fiend (I can't check as the errors cause the level to immediately crash upon trying to edit it). Trying to kill the Fiend with a Shotgun is fine if the Fiend remains out of the Lava, but sometimes the Fiend will miss a leap and therefore you have to look for slight bits of movement and continually try to snipe a Fiend.

The final room also has a series of precarious platforms that could be pretty deadly to cross. Of course, there is absolutely no point in crossing the platforms besides collecting the Cells that the Enforcers drop (absolutely useless in this level).

Overall, this level is okay at best. It reminds me of The Cult, but is a weak imitation that is filled with numerous bugs. It is nice to see another Single Player level (especially as they seem uncommon in this collection), but it doesn't seem worth it when the level is relatively small (only 5 rooms) and the latter two are highly buggy.