For a lot of people, the gauntlets can be a slog to play through due to having to play through a bunch of levels that they may not enjoy just so they can get another cube or more shards. I've personally always liked the gauntlets, but I can see where these feelings come from, especially in the Castle and Water gauntlets which consist almost entirely of XL demons. When I was playing through the Water Gauntlet when it came out, it was at a time before I learned to love longer levels the way I do now. My first time seeing Soar was in the Water Gauntlet and at first I thought, "oh my god, ANOTHER XL medium demon?" I was expecting to leave feeling frustrated with it like I did with the previous level in the gauntlet, Trek. Needless to say, it was a huge surprise when I came out of Soar absolutely LOVING it and it currently stands as one of my favorite medium demons in the game.

Soar is an amazing level on its own, but it also displays everything that makes Puueds such a great and memorable builder and why he's currently one of my favorite level builders in the game. His style is a great-looking blend between modernism with its focus on strong color combinations and some visual simplicity & a somewhat cartoony art-based style which lets him seamless add animations and give each of his level some worldbuilding without feeling overbearing. His levels are all well-polished, but it's not so much to the point where there's no edge to any of his work. This leads into my final thing, and what I love the most: he makes experimental gameplay that explores ideas and gimmicks that are both unique and really fun to play. This type of gameplay seems like something that absolutely should not work as well as it does with Puueds's style of decoration, yet it somehow does.

Of course, Soar's central gameplay concept isn't the most adventurous thing Puueds has tried, in fact I'd probably say it's one of his more tame levels gameplay-wise, but that doesn't stop it from still excelling in what it tries to do. Soar's concept is that it is meant to be a newer take on a ship-based demon level. In the multiple ship parts throughout Soar, Puueds is able to make multiple path parts, dual action, orb tech, and odd structuring. All of these parts have something going on, either gameplay-wise or visually, to make them memorable from the other parts in the level (though the final ship may be an outlier). All the while, Soar is fast-paced to match its energetic song and playing it in normal mode feels so satisfying despite not even being all that difficult or tight. Puueds is able to make the upbeat, empowering energy of this level so pronounced through his visual style and it's always a blast to rebeat.

I've only got one problem with this level, and it's relatively minor. The first half does a lot to build up its energy and ideas, and the second half is much more relaxed in comparison. There aren't as much new ideas introduced after the first drop. It's still really fun gameplay and a good test of nerve control with the atmosphere changing and the sun setting, but I wish there was just a bit more going on in this last part.

Other than that, Soar is a level I would recommend in a heartbeat to any player looking for a great entry-level medium demon. It does so much right on all fronts and I'm so glad RobTop picked this level to be in a gauntlet.