very very fun level with some really cool mountain theming and deco. i dig this a lot!!!

Written on July 2nd, 2024.

Arctic alpine is a level that I’ve been waiting for ShadowIan to finish ever since I met her a few months ago. I’ve heard about ShadowIan previously and truly recognized her as a creator to watch when she released EPILEPSY WARNING, being her first epic rate. However, with arctic alpine, she has really proved how excellent of a creator she is.

To start off with, the decoration is fantastic. Arctic alpine revolves around a theme of being in the peaks of mountains and pulls off this theme fantastically. Every part has uniquely crafted designs themed around the snow and rocks you would find on the peak of a mountain. However, ShadowIan takes other measures to keep the theme and the decoration interesting. She has a very colorful decoration style, and she was not afraid to use it in this level. Almost every part has beautiful rainbow colors and pulses, mainly starting at the ship part at 0:35.This is where the color usage really comes into play. After you pass the dark cave part at 0:51, you are blasted with color for the rest of the level. The parts after feature a lot of individual assets and detailed backgrounds, such as the foliage and clouds at 0:59, and the massive mountain background at 1:08, that flawlessly utilize the rainbow colors. These assets and backgrounds use lots of vibrancy and different hues to build upon the outstanding color usage. Overall, the masterfully crafted designs, excellent theming, and exquisite usage of colors truly cements this level as one of the best in the game.

Additionally, arctic alpine has extremely fun gameplay to complement the perfect decoration. The gameplay also maintains a cool Easy Demon difficulty throughout the level. Unfortunately, there are a few tricky spots that can be confusing for some people. Later into the ship part at 0:35 there are a few yellow orbs that you have to avoid hitting. Additionally, the ball part at 0:51 has a few unclear timings of when to switch gravity off of the rolling minecarts. However, if these few tricky bits can be remembered, then this level is truly a fun experience to play.

Without a doubt, arctic alpine excels in every aspect of decoration and gameplay. ShadowIan has legitimately outdone herself with this level and I think the Legendary rating was deserved. She is definitely one of my favorite creators as of right now, and I am very excited to see what she makes next.