I don't hate this level but, the fact that the gp is inexistent makes the level less interesting and intense.

There are levels with condescending GP but the thing here is that I don't like to be spamming the whole level

This level is the epitome of “better to watch than play”. To start on the bright side, the art is really good throughout the entire level, and the use of camera movements brings out the song quite nicely. I wish there were more animations though, because it feels quite static looking past all the camera movements.

However the main problem with this level is the gameplay. It is absolutely atrocious. I can give some points because in some portions of the level there is some marginal effort put into it, but the marginally good gameplay id obscured by the over-the-top camera movements that it doesn’t really matter. Also, half the time there is no gameplay, and the player can just not click and still survive.

Overall, while the visuals are good, the gameplay absolutely tanks this level, and needs heavy improvements

I like to describe this level as if it was a baby dragon: Its intimidating asf but it dont do much other than some very random orb clicks.

The visuals are alright, decent shader usage, although i didnt like how goofy it made the icons look sometimes. Bad executions in regards to that, I guess. The particles are kind off decent. Character design is pretty cool. Very intimidating as I said before, which is something that I like about this level. Now the gameplay if we can call it that. I mean I dont see an issue with it by itself but rather than the level is made solely for the space gauntlet. I can expect people comparing this to Abducted, but at least Abducted makes you feel like youre playing the level meanwhile in this level the playability is almost unexistent.

Not a bad level by any means, I do like it. But maybe it was posted in a bad timing and for the wrong target audience, which made it crumble down.

not great but i felt bad for the low score this level has been getting lol

definitely way too much shenaniganery but it feels like its going somewhere the whole time which is nice for a change

im absolutely gonna be the bad apple here but i ADORE this level. it just grew on me more and more as time went on. i wont deny that the gameplay is absolutely an afterthought (more on that later) and that it might get a little too flashy with the camera, making it hard to watch on a first impression, but everything else about this level clicks so hard for me. the song is represented almost violently (cant believe no one used fantaisie impromptu until this came out, it might be the best of meganeko’s Chaos Magic) but it kinda slaps for me. it’s clear that the “fight against an eldritch bring” theme is very, VERY enhanced by the song being so intense and almost brutal. the decoration is honestly fantastic with some of the smoothest animations i’ve seen. Mato’s character designs have been pretty good when he’s cooking high-effort levels, the best example being Own Display (which i have NO IDEA how it didn’t place on the NCS Gauntlets) but the thing you fight (i’m not sure if it’s called the “Starbladesaster” although that would go hard) is so well designed that i cannot believe he dared to put that in the oven. it’s so simple yet so memorable, i’m able to see it and my mind instantly goes to this level. i cant get over it. plus, it should be noted that it’s almost always there, like it’s not just an equal fight - it almost feels like it’s playing with you since it even ends up “defeating” the player

now, the main problem a lot of people have is that the gameplay is a total afterthought and, i’ll be honest - i agree. the gameplay was obviously overlooked since most of the challenging stuff is figuring out where to jump instead of when. but my score is still a 9 for one very arbitrary reason: it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to be a level. Starbladesaster truly feels like an animation, and i genuinely think that it would’ve been loved by a lot more people if it was auto. now sadly, since this was made for a contest where auto levels weren’t allowed, there had to be a few jumps here and there, and there was no easy way of implementing them in a level like this. for example, Alien Dream Emulator (a level i compare it to because of the gameplay being an afterthought in both) also suffers from a similar issue, but it just tries to balance the animation and the gameplay so hard it fails at both in a minor scale, as it ends up being a mixed bad. Starbladesaster does NOT give a crap about that, it just wants to be an animation, it feels like it and it would be perfect as one, but it just HAD to have jumps because of the no auto levels rule of the Space Gauntlet CC. i’m not blaming the gameplay overlook on the contest rules, though, even if it reallt affects the level, especially on public view. it feels like a middle finger to immersive gameplay, and while that sounds abysmal, i feel like the actually immersive part of the level is the decoration and mainly the animations. i am a sucker for smooth animations. it takes a ton of effort to master them and Mato has absolutely been smashing them recently.

finally, there’s a sense of cohesion i don’t see often in levels made for creator contests. most of the levels feel disconnected and made thinking “hmm how can i impress the judges”. think of Ber Zer Ker (which i like a lot, but i can’t deny it’s very disconnected) and the aforementioned Alien Dream Emulator. Starbladesaster, even if it still tries to impress the judges with the frenetic movements, is insistent with “you’re fighting a godlike being, it’s making a mess and actively trying to slash you”. it’s easy to describe the level in one sentence, and it just goes to show how this level, behind all of the flashy and intense effects, animations and decoration, has a little bit of simplicity which it manages to stick to through the entire 2 minutes and a half. now, a lot of my favorite levels are fairly complex and can’t be described with one sentence, but sometimes simplicity is key, even if it initially seems like it’s anything but simple. it feels like a simple level that gets the job done wonderfully with what it wants to do.

the shaky camera and lack of gameplay of Starbladesaster is so, so close to making me lower this to an 8, but there’s also the factor that i personally love what it goes for. just an insane, unhinged and brutal level i sometimes go back to playing (or watching, it’s really the same experience) for absolutely no reason but to witness some insane shit on the screen.

this level to me is like a fish or perhaps a bug

woulda liked it more if it actually had gp.

whatever, still not as bad as what abducted did

Like the deco is so damn cool but like I want to play the level. Hopefully Mato gets the memo and improves, I genuinely like his style.

I think this level didnt have to be this bad, the idea was there and the execution was just butchered, the visuals are not saving this one dude, the level sometimes just feels like its trying to get a part over with by using pretty repetitive and/or lazy gameplay rather than build on it, and the fact that there are legitimately gigantic indicators are a testament to this. this disappointed me so badly im sorry. Only thing left to mention is that I liked the character design but the level itself really just couldve been so much more than what we got here, lookin back, the overall may be a bit harsh lol