There's always been a lot of discussion regarding New Wicked Hue as a pioneer of chill modern levels so I'll pretty much leave that as it is, but something that I find underrated is the song choice. Apart from it just being a really fun song that surprisingly works really well for GD, it's lead me down a line of thinking that compels me to argue that a lot of this level's appeal comes from its sense of maturity. Apart from just being visually ahead of its time, New Wicked Hue has a strangely perfect vision of what the more laid-back and stylized levels look like now. Jayuff always manages to seem effortless in their pioneering, and with how relatively bare New Wicked Hue is I'm sure they'd be interesting in what creators like Quazery and Split72 are up to now. Despite being really colorful and upbeat, New Wicked Hue is admirably restrained and it fits the song incredibly. Most of the reason this doesn't get a higher score from me is how blindingly bright all the glow gets later on, but I'd still say that New Wicked Hue more than deserves its reputation.

my first 10 here, and I'm not gonna regret it

there's a special place in my heart for this level, jayuff's one of my fav creators of all time, and the vibe here is just immaculate as fuck

mid to late-2.1's a time where I got extremely burned out and just hated mostly anything anyone made outside of a really small circle of people that surprised me along with a few people being a constant on my favs list, jayuff's been on there for a while for a couple other drops in the past, but I think this takes the cake alongside hidden creation (gonna review that eventually)

what I love about this is how comfortable the level makes itself in its own time period: the really rough line art, the song choice back when sampling laws weren't complete dogshit, jayuff's own aesthetic that pulls this cocktail together to make me so drunk and dance like there's no tomorrow in the middle of the street and trip on my own foot and admire the stars when I hit the ground, it's smth so magical that I don't think I've experienced with almost any other level

it's not the most detailed line art of a cocktail cup or a dolphin, but it matches the neon lights the nightclubs hang on their walls, and that's enough, on top of how jayuff handles object density and pulses with how much louder the song gets throughout, and the whole thing just feels insanely cohesive. Most of the time levels try to wow you with sheer complexity, but this to me feels so much more fulfilling from an emotional aspect, all while actually decluttering and stripping stuff away

granted it's not a level that I'd be wanting to play every single day to relive the experience the same way you wouldn't wanna hang around in a nightclub daily, but on a day where you really want it, it not only gives it, it's consistent in the feeling it gives me when I play it. Every piece of glow on a block and spike, all the glitter from the dolphin leaping out of the waves, all the pulses and gameplay synced up to make you move along, and at the very end of it, you find yourself humming the lyrics of the song

and like any other drug, you go back in for another taste of it

god I wish sex was real

Good vibes but pretty generic and the gameplay isn't interesting at all.

So, so, so ahead of its time. Not my favorite but still super sweet and pretty.