(Completed in 8/7/25)

Now this is a level I wanted for quite a while. A therapeutic level that contains a calming atmosphere and does its progression justice by starting off slow and later picks up speed as it continues. Cometface seems to be a master of pulling stuff like that in their levels, and while this one works well for that, I did get a slightly mixed feel on the overall experience.

It is very reliant on its progression and it's thankfully not too slow with it to get very boring, and for a good majority the gameplay is still quite fun. What does ruin it for me was that there were a few too many chokeable moments for a long level to remain fun for so long, especially around the ending. I got super unlucky with it right after getting 77%, only to die to the ending quite a lot. Three deaths of which I swear didn't feel like my fault at all; it was just the ending was very chokeable. It went from a necessarily calming experience to a rather frustrating one for how bad the luck went down.

I really did not want to not like this level, and yes I still think it's really good and well designed for its approach on building up progression. But if the level didn't feel as chokeable as it was and if I was given a far better experience with it, it would've been so much better than it did in the end.

Total Attempts: 81

i really wish i couldve enjoyed this level more tbh

apart from the boring and sometimes unfair gameplay that the level has i honestly appreciate a lot the direction cometface went with the levels ambientation and its progression as well (except for some maybe rushed parts at the end of the level)

Helluva boss art at the end = instant 10/10

helluva boss is a goated show

despite cometface being the de facto neodesign creator and singlehandedly defining many of its most iconic tropes, the style has always lagged far behind his creative vision. his levels may seem unassuming at a cursory glance, but when you dig into them, i find them to be some of the most immersive and captivating levels in the game's history. cometface's xl levels in particular are so easy to get lost in, but the hills have eyes stands out among the rest for its unforgettable atmosphere. the desolate, somber landscape slowly fades away into a beautiful finale in a way i truly love. beating for this first time and soaking in all the atmosphere is an experience i will never forget. truly a magical experience from top to bottom.

of course, immersing the player into your level requires real skill, whereas spamming flashy color loops doesn't, which has led us to the sanitized, by-the-books style neodesign is known for today. so perhaps it's of no surprise that by the time neon color loops entered the mainstream, cometface had long since abandoned using them in his work