This level is so cool. R3xx3r has become one of my favorite creators recently and I'm sad that he is likely quitting for a while.

I think this level hands down has the best implementation of an alternate path in all of GD. In my interpretation, this level shows the two different ways that man can interact with nature and ancient civilizations. We have to choice to respect it or ruin it. There are a bunch of little details I could mention, but I would like to highlight the giant hole at the beginning of the level on the alternate path that wasn't there in the normal path. The environment that you as the player interact with has changed drastically between the two paths and it feels like you are missing something. On this path, we are missing a giant fountain that was flowing full of water which is now completely destroyed with no trace of it left. This goes along with the narrative of a drought occurring in the alternate path so much so that the people of this civilization destroyed this fountain just to salvage its resources. The people of this alternate civilization also seem to have a huge obsession with space. There are an insane amount of telescopes scattered around and there is a rocket at the end of the level. This leads me to believe that the people of this civilization ran all of the earth's resources dry so much so that they were looking to escape earth in a desperate attempt to save their species. Ultimately, it failed though.

Both civilizations are completely static except for the flowing water from the normal path. This leads me to believe that both civilizations have been pushed to extinction for one reason or another. I think it is pretty obvious why that is the case for the alternate path, but it doesn't make sense for the normal path. My theory is that the people of this civilization are respectful enough of the environment as to not disturb it after the construction of the observatory and the water system. Since the giant water plant appears to power the ancient fountain systems from earlier in the level, I believe it was constructed to preserve the beauty of the ancient civilization's water system. Afterward, it was left alone in order to prevent a situation such as the one from the alternate path. Still, both civilizations left an area completely devoid of animal life, but one is remembered fondly by us, the players, while the other is remembered disdainfully.

Lore aside, the level is quite fun to play and has some interesting interactions with the environment. You really feel like an archeologist exploring the second attempt at civilization that has vacated the area. It is a much different type of archeology than is normally performed or associated with the word archeology. You feel like a detective trying to piece together what happened to the level and why. Most of this review is my interpretation of that mystery, but I'm eager to hear other interpretations.

"Fountain" is a very beautiful and thought-provoking level with a touching and profound environmentalist message. It's surprisingly impactful for what it is, and it greatly helps that isn't plagued by being too overly didactic or obvious for its own good.