Wednesday, 30th September 2015, 18:31 by archaeo
Sorry, I should've said "consumable." You use the item, it plops you on a new Zig:1, and it goes away; you can only get another one by finishing another Zig:27. The fact that it's a 1-time escape item really doesn't bother me, since if you can make it to Zig:27, you can win the game at your leisure anyway.
To me, this is the best balance between "cool post-game challenge" and "obnoxious scumming." It requires players who want to subject themselves to multiple Zigs to actually complete them while removing the need to spend ages looking for the next one in Pan. It also creates an "interesting" decision, since you have to decide whether to dive the Zig early for free loot or wait until you can complete it to be sure you get a Zig portal item.
eta: Also, making players finish Zig:27 ensures that the next Zig they face will be harder; currently, it's possible to leave every Zig early and not advance the megazig counter, or whatever it is.