DISCLAIMER: bli's a chill dude he's awesome this is just my opinion bli if you see this please stop reading now for your own sake lol

first 1 I'm giving, I got a lot on my mind with this one

gonna preface a couple things, I'm already not a fan of bli's visual aesthetic, this is not gonna be a significant part of why I gave a 1 but can and will be a reason for this, second of all for context this was made for waboo's $1k creator contest which I'll get into in a bit

so, why the 1? Well, this level is [insert specifically 3 vague and apparently very umbrella critique terms here that people somehow like to bash on]. Long version, I'll save that for the end so this review gets read and I don't get dogged on for apparently being irritable and a bitch and a hater (I'm a hater but I got my reasons)

let's start with the completely biased and personal stuff: I'm just not a fan of bli's aesthetic of sometimes really thick outlines and very soft color blends and sharp flashes on top of a ton of contrast, coupled with how he usually optimizes his levels to the point where it compromises level integrity (as in like...durability and cohesion, this is the closest word I could think of), to me it's just something that I don't really fuck with, and that's okay. What's not okay for me, was the level being born as a waboo contest entry, lived as a waboo contest entry, then died and promptly buried as a waboo contest entry with the shovel dripping its own blood (you can see how quick I can turn this into a rant about contests and I swear I'll get there)

this is not to assume the level's made solely for the waboo contest, but to me it sure as hell feels like it since I've tried and was still unable to look at this level from any other perspective than that, so much of the level itself reflects on my choice of perspective as well

the level's about the icon gone metaphysical on its disgruntled 40 something-year old player with anger issues and a LOT of money judging by all the phones and ipads and monitors he wrecks throughout the level (yes I know all the angry caveman sounds for the guy from the fx library's just in a super low pitch on default just lemme finish the joke), and I'm aware that not every level has to mean something, it can just have some kind of an amusement factor for the audience, but what is it trying to say? Usually with aesthetics aiming for such a high visual fidelity and without much personalized abstraction I expect quite a literal presentation, so it theoretically wouldn't be too hard for me to find anything the creator's trying to bring forth, but I've yet to find any. Maybe there's none? Maybe it really is just a tech flex and nothing else?

then came the point of it being a waboo contest entry of all things. I don't think I need to emphasize how much a thousand dollars is, and when you put a tech flex of an entry in there, I think it makes plenty sense that it's there for the win, and I'm all for people flexing their skills and flaunting their expressions, and this is yet again pretty personal: this ain't it for me. I'd rather enjoy stuff that amuse me and or mean something, but for a tech flex of a thousand-dollar contest entry to just be there to be cool, on top of my dislike for bli's aesthetics, just...nope

as for the theming, any of you remember back in the day when we muttered the phrase "gamers don't die, they respawn"?

(it's ok I physically shriveled typing that)

turns out, that making a level ABOUT the game you're making the level in, and waving one of its most prominent features like a parade flag, wasn't so much of a good idea. It's corny, it's like Jeff Keighley mentioning the "please wrap it up" sign in his TGA script the year after it happened, or if chick-fil-A sold a lesbian taco on pride month with the slogan "eat her taco out" (don't ask me how I know this)

so with all 3 of these things combined, we get a level born as a thousand-dollar contest entry, lived gloriously as a thousand-dollar contest entry (got first in the waboo cc in fact), and will now die and haphazardly get buried with an arm sticking out by me as a thousand-dollar contest entry with the shovel that just killed it

I'm not mad that stuff like this is being made, I'm mad instead about the contests that birthed conditioned creators to make these kinds of levels. A prize alone already incentivizes competition, let alone a monetary prize which pretty much always turns everything hostile, both for the creators and the audience, and the host up on their pedestal gets to make a video about it and farm views and repeat it over and over (yes waboo, you)

creation shouldn't be capitalistic, creation should be a celebrated biproduct of culture, because this is the stuff we leave behind when the aliens find our bones. Do you want it to be about how you won a thousand that you immediately spent on a new battle pass? I mean it's your money and I wouldn't judge you for it, maybe you're using it on new video editing software to do cooler stuff in the future, good for you, but I personally wouldn't stoop this low to let culture get leeched on by this all-devouring capitalism and condemn anything that supports it

short version, it's soulless corporate slop. Long version, it's a dystopian landmark of capitalism preying on culture

and I still didn't like the level

here's the 1