in his monumental 2021-22 run deffy's defining trait was sheer consistency. from CA exempt, which was roughly where I clued myself in, through riot, air supply, & metal test, through well rested, and out the other side with new light, his hallmark was always a basic framework of a style - plainer structures where you could see the scaffolding, an inclination for minimalist air deco & open space, pared-down color palettes - from which he could effortlessly branch off into a variety of themes and flavors. it was a textbook example of how to construct a formula you could rapidly develop from without trapping yourself in a corner. no surprise to anybody how he became one of the most beloved creators of the new decade

...which is why I've always found the rapturous reception to specifically this one baffling. this is basically 3-4 of his levels stitched together into one Cinematic Experience. certainly nothing to scoff at, but unfortunately the community at large has got a crippling addiction for Cinematic Experiences, one that has more clearly reared its ugly head with the recent gauntlet contests - EPIC! climaxes and INTENSE! buildups and obvious oomphs in energy are the only thing that consistently turns heads this side of 2020. it's precisely the presence of those elements within well rested, and more importantly, the absence of those elements elsewhere in his other releases, that's always tipped me off. and not to say the cinematic elements don't contribute some essence to the whole thing, but I'd be hard pressed to say they're anything truly groundbreaking in how they're implemented or how they synthesize with the surrounding elements. and if you ask me, the actual compositions (structure designs, the flourishes of fauna, the artifact objects, overall thematics, etc.) aren't particularly far above anything else in his discography. even polar equals pushed the whole XL cinematic-sensibilities thing, but, like, it didn't have that CRAZY! aspect ratio shift! or something like that. so, y'know. whatever

the kind of hysteria surrounding the level didn't help either. we're in a community full of people that have sterilized their capacity for genuine and interesting criticism (or, alternatively, are too dense to intuit the difference between criticism and hate); when something is declared as "god tier" it usually remains there without any real scrutiny. if somebody with the stature of Viprin opens the hype cycle for this thing with "this is literally the best thing ever created, if this doesn't work for you you might just be dead inside", you might find more success screaming into your pillow than you ever will posting any sort of critique. and then the feedback loop ensues like it normally does. like it always has

it's telling that new light is another helping of the same floral vision (and in my opinion, with a markedly closer attention to detail), and has never come close to reaching this thing's critical heights

PS I don't even dislike this level it's mostly fine to good