TRANCE TRANCE is something I resonate with surprisingly heavily, considering how abstract most of its storytelling is. I like the fact that it leaves itself quite open-ended and up to the player's interpretation, but from what I've gathered it deals with the experience of one coming out as trans and being themself, something I'm very familiar with. I appreciate the usage of blue and pink near the beginning to express this - the very dull, foggy blue definitely sells a sense of discomfort that the brighter pink or pink-white-blue sections lack. I especially like how much more open and energetic the level becomes during the climax, with the blue-white-pink flashing colours on full display and the level generally feeling much more alive and sure of itself, so to speak. I don't know whether this is the impact the level is supposed to have on the player, but I do love more open-ended forays into storytelling as it allows everyone to draw their own parallels to the events that play out, and helps make it that much more meaningful.

In terms of the actual level design, the pixelate shader is a bit of an odd touch - the level is vaguely themed around technology, but not to such an extent that I feel the harsh pixelation effect adds much beyond blurring some of the level's details. It does make the level feel more like a lower budget indie game, which is charming in its own right but again doesn't do much for me. The exception to this is the ending, as the increased pixelation here makes the part feel more like a blurry memory or a scrap, which lines up somewhat with the dialogue and the part slowly disintegrating into the "secret ending" of sorts, which is a nice touch.

The choice to use three separate songs for the most distinct sections of the level is one I love seeing people explore, and for the first two songs I think it works quite well as the Cacola song found in the second part feels much more hopeful and bright than that of the first, nicely aligning with the themes of taking back self control and finding yourself. The third part is one I don't like as much, as while I like the amount of depth and variation in the backgrounds and structuring styles, I don't think this is very conducive to the brash, repetitive Tanger song that was chosen, and it makes this part feel lacking in having a strong identity or direction. Overall, though, TRANCE TRANCE is a super fascinating level and quite a sweet exploration of the trans experience as a whole. I'd recommend this for Feature or Epic and will be keeping up with OctoAngel's works going forward.

Not feeling it.