I appreciate this level

this is some of the biggest bullshit i’ve ever seen on the gd servers. peak 2.0 level, i wouldn't change a thing.

Looking back on 2.0, jakerz95's style might be one of the funniest things to come out of the entire update. Most aspects of Sysmique Locked are so ridiculously over-the-top and messy, but hell it's a damn memorable level because of it. This level's structuring and designs are incredibly unique; especially so for 2.0, but even 8 or 9 years down the line I've rarely seen anyone successfully replicate the cluttered, colourful mess of blending glow and odd angles that makes up most of jakerz's structuring. This extends to the backgrounds, being reminiscent of some highly detailed tech creators from 2.1 like Xender Game, but with a lot more glow and a lot less polish. I do very much find this charming, and generally fairly good looking, but it is undeniably extremely messy in a way that muddies most of the actual detail of the level, causing much of it to be missed on the player as everything sort of coalesces into vague blobs of blue and purple. Sysmique Locked's boss is similar, but even more noticeable since it's present for the entire level. The layering in particular is pretty awkward, as sometimes structuring from the level clips through the boss, breaking its "foreground" appearance somewhat. There's also next to no contrast between the boss and the rest of the level, so it doesn't really stand out and feels more like a nuisance than an imposing threat of any kind. However, the design is honestly pretty sick for the time, with a lot of black glow and bright highlights used to give it a shiny, metallic feel that I think compliments its sharp, angular, dragonlike design pretty nicely. The attacks themselves are also decent for 2.0 standards, being telegraphed fairly well and varying between lasers, projectiles and melee attacks enough to keep things interesting.

While Sysmique Locked is a nice callback to 2.0 and has a few strong elements in its designs and colour usage, it's incredibly messy and not the most pleasant to look at. I'm perfectly fine with the Featured rating it has received, and I'm quite glad levels like this are still paid attention to in the modern era, as they're both funny and highly intriguing.