Having also participated in making a three and a half minute level for the discord contest myself, I really respect the effort Bli was able to put into this. If you’re actually making new decoration for each part and not just inverting the colors or changing the level slightly, this requires you to make seven minutes worth of decoration under a tight deadline. The fact Bli was able to produce something fairly consistent in quality under these constraints still baffles me, and normally I don’t really find levels memorable for whatever makes them technically impressive but this is a little exception. It isn’t like this level repeats a lot of decoration either, since Change of Scene features around twelve distinct parts.

Even if it may be consistently high quality, I wouldn’t say it is conceptually consistent. Part of this feels intentional, as if to better represent freely jumping between ideas like the level claims its theme is, though especially towards the middle you start to forget exactly what this is themed after due to just how random the level can be. Especially at the matrix part I start to lose the narrative, since I feel like that could have been executed way clearer with more artwork if Bli just had the time to work on it more. I think the seven seas, the dragon, and the wild west are very good ideas for parts when the level is half themed around plays and media, the rest doesn’t really hit as hard for me though. The two “modes” of Change of Scene decide if the level “comes to life” or not, but honestly I wish more work was put into the path where the level is more reserved. The first few parts offer a really charming play aesthetic that I mentioned, with the monsters and structures seeming to be puppets made of cardboard and paint. After these parts the levels kind of just loses this theme and I think I blame the pixel part. The level tries to bring its theming back at the end with the short little recap before the bossfight, which I like but ultimately still am left wanting just a bit more. The bossfight itself… doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense in the context of the level. It feels like it was inserted in just to add a finale without really giving much thought towards how it would work with the rest of the level’s theme. It’s overall a really solid level, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best thing the game’s seen and part of that definitely was because of the gauntlet deadline getting in the way. The level feels a tad bit rushed, but I don’t blame Bli due to how I also struggled with my entry.

Gameplay is alright especially considering how hard it is to make an XXL easy demon fun. Ending is a little weird to play though.

I have to admit this level was very inspiring to see due to how much I could connect it with my own experiences with building my entry, so even if it may have flaws, I can ignore some of them.