An experience that takes you through the mind of the creator and crushes you to your very core.

I would be hesitant to call high expectations a level, as it seems to go against every idea of being one. There is no winning in this level, you will always die no matter what you try. No matter how hard you try and escape, the walls will always close in onto you and crush you. The world will always go against you and never succumb to your wishes, that’s what this level portrays itself to you as. A level with no winning. A life with no end goal.

I think that’s what PAHC was thinking when they made high expectations. It’s not a level meant to be played, it’s a showcase of the inner workings of their mind. A dark, raging chasm of expectations that crush you no matter what. There’s no way to escape these expectations, there’s no way to suddenly find a way out that wasn’t already there, there’s no way to complete this.

Except death.

high expectations showcases PAHC’s mind at this point. Their most popular level SAVE AS had been released a year ago, and was still their most popular by far. Every new level they released always came with some people disappointed that it wasn’t the next SAVE AS. There’s no way that wouldn’t weigh on somebody’s mind, every level they released that they put effort into, always came with that same couple of people disappointed it wasn’t the masterpiece they had all hoped for.

That’s what this level represents, a constant surge of expectations, crushing this creator from the outside no matter what they tried to make. It signifies the lowest portion of their life, a time where perhaps all they could see as an escape from these expectations, is death. A silent end to the ravaging red around them. If these expectations will crush them to their death in the future, what’s the purpose of living through this hell just to see it happen?

A death in this level makes the level go silent, everything stops moving. It doesn’t matter where you die, whether you jump and hit the walls before they crush you, or sit there as it inevitably crushes you to death on its own. It’s a trap where you’re the victim, with no possible way of winning.

high expectations is haunting. It is an experience which shows a creator breaking from all the expectations surrounding them, putting you in their place as the walls crush you to death as it is to them. It is a showcase of everything difficult PAHC was going through at this point in time, and should be treated as such.

I’m glad they’re still here with us. They are an amazing creator and I’m glad they were able to move past this as an individual. This level serves as a reminder of how overbearing life can get, and is a showcase that even when you’re falling into the darkest pits of your mind, there will always be a way out to the surface.

I would give no rating if I could, but since I'm forced I'll give it an 8 for the visuals.

very few levels in the game place their worth entirely in their ideas. this doesn't either to be fair, it certainly exerts some effort to Look Good while conveying its concept, but i bring this up because what makes high expectations good almost exclusively is the context of the level, making the decoration clearly the less important aspect. it's not something you have to read up on extensively to "get" (although pahc's review does provide good insight) because it does a stunningly good job of communicating itself; the dread seeping through the level shakes you to your core and becomes immediately apparent the second you hit play. that feeling never leaves through the level's short length, aided by not only the sharp red-and-black visuals but most importantly the fact that you are always aware of a box slowly closing in on you. once it finally comes down on you you just die, and the shock of dying a seemingly unpreventable death here is one of the coolest moments in the game. no fanfare, not even a death effect, the level just stops. that death is the concept i'm talking about and it alone sells the level. this grand deprivation of an ending ties beautifully into the idea of an inevitable, impending death and the commitment to this concept in a game where removing the "end" of a level essentially invalidates its level-ness is monumental.

I have to leave a rating which I kinda wish I didn’t have to cause for a level like this I don’t think it’s really right to rate this in terms of a level itself when its moreso the thought of the creator. I do think this is a good representation of feeling as if “high expectations from others will crush you” (paraphrasing PAHC’s review) as I can relate to how my mindset felt generally when I was in middle school. Really appreciate seeing levels such as these as it makes me know I’m not alone when I feel any kind of negative thoughts that can be seen as very bottom of the barrel.

high expectations is a fascinating level to me. on paper it’s not much, a single part majorly inspired by a pocke level i cant remember that ends with you being crushed and dying. not particularly innovative but interesting as a core concept.

the actual meat of high expectations is its interpretations, and particularly its context.

i’ve struggled with depression for a while now, over 5 years, and during the early phases i had made some 1 hour vent levels (3 specifically) to sort of convey more in the moment thoughts and feelings.

chasing sunlight is about always coming back to the same spot despite trying to hard to help yourself, it’s neat overall but uninteresting.

starting over is bad. its about struggling to do stuff after a long time in stasis, and a lot less subtle at doing it. it feels too im your face about it in a way thats annoying.

high expectations is a desperate cry for help.

the concept of the level is a lot more… complex? than the rest of the 1 hour vent series - “overly high expectations from people surrounding me feel like theyre crushing me in a way that’ll kill me sooner or later” which is admittedly dark but feels a bit weird to give a 10 to as a whole.

i gave high expectations a 10 because i tried ending my life a few days after releasing it. it wasn’t a serious attempt because i didn’t know exactly what to do and it was wholly unplanned, but i think ill remember it for basically ever.

i think with that sort of forever attached to the level for me, it’s become a sort of benchmark for my current mood - it’s a particularly nasty depiction of me at my lowest point in a way that feels so incoherent as a whole. it feels like me screaming for help from behind my own screen in a way that’s really depressing to me now, but it also feels hopeful in a way that’s sort of indescribable.

to me, it represents me wanting to escape the hand grasping at my throat so tightly, squeezing it until there’s no more air left. 

to me, it symbolizes a part of me ive sort of left behind saying "hey, youre still here" in its own twisted way, and i think that’s the key to understanding it.