Code Lyoko: Monster Swarm

Code Lyoko: Monster Swarm was one of those Flash games you'd find on fan sites in the mid 2000s. It was a simple action game based on the animated series, where you took control of a character from the show to deal with an infestation. The game didn't try to be anything more than a quick, straightforward diversion, which was pretty common for the era.

You control a character, often Ulrich, from an isometric perspective. Your basic tools are a sword attack and a thrown fan projectile, mapped to the Z and X keys respectively. Movement is handled with the arrow keys. The objective is straightforward: clear each area of the monster swarms that spawn in waves. You run through the jungle maps, slashing at the creatures that get too close and using the fan to hit others from a distance. The pacing is constant, with enemies appearing regularly, and the difficulty comes from managing groups that can surround you. It feels like a repetitive but oddly satisfying arcade loop, where you're just trying to survive the next wave and see how far you can get.