Bli is an extremely skilled creator but I feel like, despite Final Frontier being surprisingly solid and entertaining, with every release of his we get further from the possibility of him using his incredible skills to make a level with a quality truly representative of his potential. And I honestly really enjoy some of his works, at least more than it seems my peers do. Absolute Garbage is a great level that holds up really nicely, and I think Change of Scene while overrated is still a superb level regardless of what one might say about slop snd whatnot.

Watching Final Orbit, especially with levels like Rage Quit (which I don't even think is that bad) or Autopilot in mind, this level gives a strong first impression. There is a lot of awesome and intricately designed art pieces, backgrounds and gameplay objects alike, and the level follows a narrative that is easily digestible. There are so many cool little details and effects and etc. that are all expected of Bli. But the biggest issues with this level overshadow all these novel and positive aspects.

Final Orbit has basically nothing to contribute. Yes, Bli delivers a visual feast as he usually does, yes there is a lot to be impressed by, yes theres a cool cinematic intro, but as I watched this level I just didn't feel anything, which sucks because I feel like there is an extremely captivating and engaging level buried underneath the sheen this level has. Other than Rage Quit (which I barely consider canon to Bli's level-ography considering it was made for a Waboo cc 🤢), this is the most Bli has steered into that "slop" feel. In a weird way I think the biggest reason why this level feels like this is due to the amazing art.

Every piece of art is put together amazingly, everything has a nice design to it, but ultimately it just doesn't feel that nice to look at. To me this is most analagous to SamDoesArt, an amazing visual artist with loads of skill and talent but whos style feels so generic and overly polished that I just don't want to engage with his pieces. Its like the level was put through a slop filter made for mass appeal. Another issue I find is with not only Final Frontier but all levels that are widely considered "slop", is the complete disconnect from Geometry Dash. This is far from the most flagrant offender of this, as during the drop there are some very nice looking structures that utilize regular Geometry Dash designs, but this is the only time. If the only thing reminding me that I'm watching a Geometry Dash level are the orbs, portals, and icon, then I find it difficult to engage with that level. I really think integrating more traditional designs into levels like these would improve them tenfold. Even the subtle and sparse structures I mentioned being in the drop significantly raise the appeal of that part alone.

All being said, I still think this level is fine, and compared to the other stuff I've seen been released for this competition this is very far from the worst. I enjoyed viewing it and I imagine I will enjoy playing it in the future as Bli's gameplay is usually solid. I just hope that this level (especially sfter following Rage Quit) isn't an indicator of Bli levels having a drop in quality.