I wish I had more profound things to say about Echo Delta but if this review doesn't suffice watch Interstellar. It's comfortably in my top 3 favorite movies ever and although I can't really explain why I think it gives a little bit more clarity to what this level has to offer over other space-depicting ones, especially the projects released for the space gauntlet contest. I've talked up less literal approaches to contest themes very frequently with the space gauntlet, a mindset that didn't really get me anywhere with Echo Delta since it is actually quite literal in that way. Space is the setting first and foremost, which is a fair enough starting point given the theme. However, Echo Delta takes the extra step to establish that setting in ways that I feel most creators are scared to, lest a boring beginning sacrifice an engaging playing experience. While I acknowledge that as a pitfall that Echo Delta falls into, the scale and texture of the slow opening carries so much weight on everything that comes after that it still feels worth it.

The whole level has a powerful sense of scale at any given point, either with zoomed out landscapes or the ever-present dead space that haunts the entire experience. When everything does come together and the intensity spikes, everything is dramatically supported by the tension built early on. Of course it helps that Serponge did make the song to be used in Echo Delta, but the transition from a serene opening to what later unfolds is so smooth that it's hard to pinpoint the moment where the intensity starts to feel inevitable, similarly to how Interstellar spends enough time building tension that it doesn't really matter that the movie doesn't yet take place in outer space. Every part past the first leg of Echo Delta has something to offer too, especially the explosive and masterfully well done effect work towards the end. The cube part before is also a highlight, where the tone is at its darkest and the gameplay itself feels just unstable enough to avoid being unreadable. I also sincerely adore the outro where the icon slowly shrinks into deep space, especially since it closes out the flow of intensity much more effectively than if the level just ended. I wouldn't say Echo Delta has a cohesive story or anything like that, but leaving the player with that image is as cruel as it is powerful.