I wanted to completely rewrite this review because I feel like waffling about some 1.9 demon. So here we go.

“Theory of SkriLLex” is a 1.9 Medium Demon by the infamous creator Noobas, who also made levels such as Sakupen Hell. It’s well known for being the most popular demon with an undownloadable song (I think). Theory of SkriLLex is also known (ironically) for its music sync and song representation.

The gameplay throughout ToS is very unique but takes inspiration from Theory of Everything 2 for some parts. It starts with a memory-based cube with many fakes. Once the drop hits, you are sent into a fast-paced UFO section. This is mainly just learning click patterns, so don’t feel too intimidated. The dual is perhaps the most…infamous? part gameplay-wise. There have been complaints that this part is buggy and inconsistent, and for good reason. The timings required to clear this roughly 10% long section are not generous. There is a way I’ve found to pass the dual roughly 80% of the time: Buffer the first yellow orb, hit the pink orb somewhat late and buffer the next yellow orb. This helps you clear the 30% structures and avoid the bug. After the dual is a decently-synced cube part before moving into a mini cube dual. This is fortunately a lot easier. At around 55% comes, in my opinion, the hardest part of ToS: the wave. The difficulty for me came from the transition from upside down to regular wave as you need to hold and release very precisely. The blue section (another iconic part of this level) is very consistent and I never died from 0% here. The ship at around 80% is fairly consistent as well. The last UFO looks intimidating but as long as you’re focused you can pass it. Finally, the level ends with a fast ball section as the song fades to a piano part. As said previously, the gameplay has great music sync especially for 1.9, despite it being a NONG level. If you learn the dual then Theory of SkriLLex actually becomes fairly consistent.

ToS has decoration which is obviously very inspired by Theory of Everything 2, but with its own twists and designs for other parts. As with the gameplay, the visuals are heavily inspired by that level, at least for the first half. The second half has more unique decoration as the music changes. The wave at 50% is all-black designs on a purple background, which works very nicely. Afterwards, the blue part of the wave flashes colours in time with the music, another example of song representation in a 1.9 level. The end has an almost hellish vibe to it with the red, going well with the almost demonic sounds that First of the Year has in its drop.

Overall, out of what I consider to be the “Big 3” of old medium demons, this is the best BY FAR.

(The “Big 3” are Theory of SkriLLex, Reanimation and -sirius-, by the way)

The gameplay blows most other 1.9 levels out of the water with its sync and surprisingly good balancing. The decoration (like Reanimation) is inspired by other more popular levels, but ToS brings new ideas to the table and doesn’t feel like a rehash of something better (Death Moon…)