If you think about it, our memories are much like home videos. We can rewind them as many times as we want, we can pause them to focus on the little details, we can skip over the boring parts and get straight to the meat, and we can excise or remove the parts we least want to remember. "04 In Retrospect" is a level that deeply understands this. Its whole framing device as this old home video captured on a retro camcorder makes the level's whole message on memory in relation to the human mind all the more poignant and profound. As the 4th episode of BrainETR's "Somewhere Else" project, I find that "In Retrospect" might be the most powerful instalment. As a standalone, it's already amazing how much atmosphere and emotion BrainETR is able to stir up in a simple 2 minutes. However, with the added context of the series as a whole, a whole new layer of sadness and profundity is added to the flickering tape that is presented to the player's eyes. "In Retrospect" might be one of the best depictions of a fading memory ever presented in Geometry Dash.

"In Retrospect" is a level that follows "Respite Interlude". A brief interlude and 'break' in the project, "Respite" can be interpreted as depicting the grieving individual (whom most of the series focuses on) turning to drugs and hallucinogens in order to cope with their loss. Following an overdose, they are taken to the hospital which then leads swiftly into "In Retrospect", where the individual appears to be looking back on everything that has taken them to where they are now. With regard to the content of "In Retrospect", it's a rather abstract and nebulous collage of random items and objects from the individual's life. The meaning of these items isn't clearly disclosed to the player, inviting an extremely wide variety of interpretations. There is a 'STOP' sign that is repeatedly shown throughout "In Retrospect". Perhaps this sign could be representative of the person's desire to 'STOP' and prevent the untimely demise of their loved one? Alternatively, perhaps this 'STOP' sign could be the person's inner conscience warning themselves to not overdose and get carried away by their drug abuse? I find the use of a 'STOP' sign particularly interesting, especially as there is a recurring motif of road signs and road-related imagery within "In Retrospect", such a sign indicating 'no U-turns', an electric sign displaying 'REMEMBER' (much like an electric sign positioned next to a highway), and another sign that threateningly displays 'Do Not Enter'. The use of road-related imagery could be interpreted as providing some insight into the original manner by which the loved one may have died in the first instalment. After all, the cause of the loved one's demise is never explicitly specified. The fact that signs associated with roads feature so prominently within "In Retrospect" suggests that it was possibly a car accident which claimed the life of the person's loved one who died.

A pencil also repeatedly features however its meaning isn't as easily definable as that of the 'STOP' sign. Trivial and seemingly insignificant objects such as a pencil appearing only add to the stream of consciousness vibe that the "Somewhere Else" series as a whole emanates. Perhaps the pencil was a gift from the person who originally died? Perhaps the person that the level centres on used this pencil to sign in to the hospital. The fact that no definitive answers exist within the opaque "In Retrospect" makes it all the more special and fascinating to theorize about. Memories can't necessarily be 'explained' in the traditional sense and this is a level that completely understands this. What is the meaning of the repeated Rubik's cube? Does it even matter what the meaning of this cube is when the level is just the mere collation of a grieving individual's consciousness? It may have been a gift. It may have been a reminder of who once was. Regardless, I find "In Retrospect" beautiful for how it chooses to explore the mysterious vagueness there is to human memories.

While in "02 Downward Spiral", the person is initially unwilling to move on from their loved one's death, with "In Retrospect", it seems as if the person has come to a significant awakening regarding their loss. The appearance of 'no U-turn' signs within this level suggests that the person has only just begun to acknowledge that there really is no going back. It, alongside the appearance of rapidly progressing clocks in the level's genuinely transcendental second half, is a pretty devastating reminder to the fact that the progression and passage of time is a constant inevitability within this universe. You can't go back and change the past no matter how hard you try. You can only continue to live no matter how difficult or arduous it may initially seem. If episodes 02 and 03 are about an inability to process one's death, episode 04 is about the slow and painful process of realizing that — 'in retrospect' — you must move on.

The second half of "In Retrospect" just has to be one of the best level parts created by BrainETR, and maybe one of my favorite level parts of all time. I don't know how I could possibly capture how amazing it is in words, but it's such an enlightening experience to play through this section for the first time. The way the blurry yet stunning backgrounds constantly flicker and switch as the battery of the camcorder starts to fade away and die is perfection. The blurriness of the backgrounds only serves to hammer in the blurry nature of human memories, after all, human memories are never exactly the clearest or the most reliable. In fact, the more times you revisit or retell a memory, the more times you 'rewrite' a memory, hence any verity that originally existed inside a memory only begins to fade, deteriorate and blur the more times you internally recount it. I think it's the most perfect and powerful depiction of being blasted with the memories of the life you've lived in Geometry Dash. The way each background only lasts for a fleeting window of time before disappearing and moving onto the next is strikingly beautiful in spite of how simple of a concept it is. It's an ethereal segment of level-making that masterfully encapsulates the feeling of watching your entire life flash before your eyes.

"04 In Restrospect" is a simply amazing level. It's an evocative depiction of the volatile nature of human memory and a simply excellent addition to the overarching narrative of "Somewhere Else". That second half was just breathtaking…

This is the longest review I've written yet, and I think "In Retrospect" is absolutely deserving of it. It's such an amazing and stunning masterpiece that might be BrainETR's deepest.