im BACK. with a new rating. yahoo
item asylum - 6.5/10
IT’S BEEN 3000 YEARS and item asylum has finally updated! This rating is about the latest version, the Summer 2022 update!
item asylum is a meme-based fighting randomizer stuffed with references and so many jokes only us old-timers will get (and by that I mean us “weird generation” kiddos, from 1999-2002, and a lot of other 90s/00s kids probably, but generally if you’re younger than me you don’t know what dial up internet is and/or have never held an original Gameboy in your hands and I pity and envy you simultaneously) and a lot of modern memes to offset what the younger crowd doesn’t understand.
I love IA, but there’s drawbacks to the chaos. That being said, this rating will be written with some terms you’ll really only get if you’ve played before, but I’ll try to explain.
VISUAL ACCESSIBILITY:
Eyestrain galore, ffa_ÿʌô¦Ñt -1
Where to begin?
ffa_ÿʌô¦Ñt is a free-for-all map based on missing textures and models from Garry’s Mod, one of the games IA heavily references. While I love its theme, this map is nightmarish to play on if you have photosensitivity. With every surface sporting a pink-and-black checkered missing-texture-style texture, walking through this map can be one hell of an eyestrain, and I often find myself having to server hop when it comes up. This is really the only accessibility issue with the maps themselves, mind you, but both ffa_baseplate and ffa_baseplate2021 share this issue, albeit to more minor degrees.
Full-screen flashing lights and jumpscares- zapper, sad moyai, + killer fish from san diego. -2.5
While originally I didn’t have much of an issue with items like sad moyai and killer fish, I feel the line was stepped over with the addition of zapper.
Zapper is a long-range weapon themed on the NES Zapper (I’m actually holding it in the image at the top). When fired by the player, it turns the screen black-and-white, creating a flash effect. This is true to the original Duck Hunt game, but this creates a flashing disco light effect that can VERY, VERY easily trigger an epileptic episode. I know why it was added and it’s certainly a cool effect, but it ABSOLUTELY makes an epilepsy and eyestrain warning on IA necessary. As you can guess, IA currently has no content warning for this at all in its game description.
Sad moyai and killer fish are lesser issues, but still result in jumpscare-style flashing textures that fill the whole screen. Jumpscares aren’t as big a problem as full out flashing lights, and I would understand not removing them, but this combined with the prior zapper and ffa_ÿʌô¦Ñt 100% means an eyestrain and epilepsy warning SHOULD BE ADDED to the game description.
-1.5 for the zapper alone, -1 for the rest.
Balanced lighting on most maps. +1
Maps that don’t have to be dark aren’t dark. Maps that are dark aren’t uncomfortably dark to the point I can’t see. Not perfect, but better than most.
Massive knockback weapons- wand, america, bomb on a stick, bomb, + ruler. -0.5
A half-point for its lesser severity, weapons with massive knockbacks (especially the ones with the most knockback, listed above) can cause eyestrain, especially on the eyestrain-y maps mentioned in my first point.
Players are a light source. +1
IA is one of those games that makes the player a light source! Players give off a faint glow only visible in dark locations, making it easier to see your immediate surroundings and see yourself- and your enemies!
Partial-screen jumpscares and flashing lights- apparition, bible, holy hand grenade, pow, snowball, + shine. -0.5
A half-point for lesser severity, some weapons cause jumpscare-style flashes or create bright or flashing lights that only take up a portion of the screen, as opposed to all of it. Bible and holy hand grenade are probably the worst of these, as the light they produce can bug out and remain in place despite their source being destroyed for a bit of time, creating a bright white light that partially blinds players or prevents them from seeing their character and nearby enemies if they’re too close.
MOTOR ACCESSIBILITY:
Hop/jump strats. -1
Considered an annoying part of IA meta, but also a part of most other Roblox fighting game metas, is hop strats- the art of literally bouncing around.
Jumping often means life-or-death in IA, making it easier to dodge small projectiles but hard to dodge melees with large hitboxes, and allowing you to escape your fate by playing jump-rope with a masumume or sealing your fate in the death plane when someone comes at you with a fish.
This can cause muscle strain in the hands and wrist. If you have a minor issue with your hands/wrists, then don’t play IA for too long. If it’s more major and you know games like IA will hurt you very quickly, avoid playing.
ACCEPTANCE:
(edit addition i forgot to mention earlier!)
Hinting at negative stereotypes, but no blatant mention of anything particularly bad. ±0
Oh, asylum games on Roblox. How hit-or-miss.
Except, wait, Angel, IA isn’t an asylum game. “Asylum” is just part of the name. You’re totally right, it is just in the name! I also do have to mention ffa_asylum, a free-for-all map that’s a white padded cell.
While the word “asylum” definitely makes some NDs cringe due to the negative stereotypes it often is included with, IA doesn’t touch on those stereotypes at all, and its map is simply that- a map. There’s nothing to really suggest they’re making jokes at the expense of NDs, and no “oh mentally ill people are so x” jokes or references at ALL. It’s kinda surprising!
For that reason, it’s no minus, but it’s also no plus. IA certainly doesn’t have to remove these references at all, they aren’t harmful, and I personally have no issue with them. It will become a problem if they do add ableist stereotypes and “jokes” like that, but hopefully that won’t happen. At worst, it currently might illicit some players to say some nasty things, but that’s just Roblox for you, isn’t it…
OTHER:
THE CHAOS. ±0
The chaos is on purpose and the game is actually quite easy to learn, so no point deduction. It makes up for what it is. The chaos becomes fun.
You’re thrown into matches without explanation, and the game doesn’t tell you how to use items. It takes a while to find out what everything does, if anything at all, and how best to use it. Honestly, it’s part of the charm.
IA is a game you have to learn, but you can quite easily get into the swing of it if you identify it’s a fighting game! Which, I don’t think that’s terribly difficult, after you spawn with weapons and maybe get killed a few times, as well as see the leaderboard.
Drawbacks include the initial confusion and unfamiliarity with the chaos- I believe this is what most newbies who first join IA leave the game because of. Maybe newbies don’t fight back, because they don’t know it’s a fighting game, and it results in them getting spam killed aggressively. Being autistic, I know this is especially true for us ND folk!
Neurodivergents like me aren’t partially great with scenarios we’re just randomly thrown into with no guidance. Some will fair well and others won’t, it’s different for all of us, but it’s a pretty consistent occurence. It’s one of the reasons why many of us have routines or patterns and NTs are advised against breaking those- because it throws us off and makes us feel vulnerable, which can result in anxiety, panic, and/or frustration. But IA is one of those games where, honestly, it’s alright and didn’t really bug me a whole lot.
Total score: 6.5/10
I love IA, don’t get me wrong, but especially with the addition of the zapper, it’s not a very disabled-friendly game. This score would be higher without the strobe effect of the zapper.
The control scheme causes muscle strain for sure, but eye strain is probably IA’s biggest issue, and is where it can improve the most.