i feel like the 2nd half lacked any sort of progression to match the song aside from the background changing when everything faded out. the 1st half was amazing though

talked to faust before writing this and I considered an 8, and I think I'll keep it there lol (that said this is a pretty high 8, you'll see why)

love the song rep, the static and the rotating stars like panning a spinning camera straight up into the pitch black with every barely noticeable low hum, and then it roars to life with almost no warning after flashing and deforming the title as it blasts you for the rest of the minute with white and everything distorted and barely tangible objects slowly showing up on the screen, and as the drums slowly creeping up from behind and you start jumping to it, what a tone-setter

buildup to the drop has us climbing the blocks with eyes occasionally dotting the screen (same eyes that show up on the thumbnail of faust's own vid) with a broken black border and keeping up behind us with flashing objects lodged inside, ending with a fall all the way back to the ground as the drop enters with even more of that chaos back from the intro (no fluff here, just writing down what I see, I'll explain later)

drop ensues with a steady melody and drums from the chaotic buildup earlier, and I'm definitely left a bit desired for gameplay since the only indicator was the player hitting a speed change (very noticeably out of place among the jumble of stuff), but at the same time pretty fun just watching everything fall apart, I like to think it's deliberate with the fade effects for the foreground elements and the fact that motion blur was off specifically for the player to emphasize its presence among the still super chaotic visuals

and then the drums very slowly fade, still audible, the piano starts showing up, everything is still chaotic as ever, the bagpipes feel like they're louder now, and eventually the drum break comes and everything starts fading and as all the sounds go away the visuals crawl away as well out of the screen and we're left with the end credits

...then a near-minute of nothing.

levels like these I often can't judge its visuals purely because this is a process of feeling the material on hand way more than looking at visual composition and whatnot, it's also why I gave this such a high 8, you can feel that chaos and everything rumbling throughout the level with some pretty clever details sneaked in there as well, like the motion blur being off for the player near the drop with no gameplay so we're forced to watch everything crumble and have nothing to do about it as the melancholic track goes on, then that near-minute of death-quiet before the endscreen (the song talks about struggling towards a better future with marching band drum patterns and bagpipes as a metaphor to motivation, then the chaos throughout as pain and suffering, the main instruments come back near the end with the piano again as motivation before everything's cut down for good)

it's usually not my thing to look for this much research and info when reviewing levels like these since review site unga bunga caveman brain pretty thing give big number, but faust specifically asked for a review from me, and I wanna honor this the best I can, and I can confidently say I really truly loved what I experienced

and I know trying to feel a level just goes into really subjective territory hence why most people don't feel like looking at these at all, but hey, give it a try, if it's not your cup of tea fine by me and most other people, if it is then I'm happy for you finding out a new way to enjoy stuff

so lovely... ;)

60 seconds of intro. If you laugh you go to hell

Jokes aside the vibe is dead on and the effects are simply masterful- the fake 3D effect is kind of insane and something that feels really fitting for this level, kind of like being in a new body that you feel excruciating pain in (imagine being a third dimensional being in a fourth dimensional body. absolutely metal). Sadly, I think this being a GD level is what holds it back more- probably would've preferred this if it were purely a visual experience (similar to The Lark's works on youtube if anyone knows about him) or auto. GD levels just don't lend themselves too well to having long intros- especially since if the point is to be off-putting, that hostile design doesn't really contribute much to the level; the gameplay is pretty easy and the second half is free, so it doesn't really make sense why to have it here.

Still, this is a pretty good and alluring level- reminds me a lot of from her eyes flow in that regard, something that'll stick in your memory.

pretty neat, although lacks in song rep in the second half quite a bit.