Experiment is everything that “IN FI NI TY by AudieoVisual” tried to be but even better, a true classic of experimental 2.2 gameplay that I believe will be remembered for decades.

The core gimmick of this level’s gameplay is that you play through the same loops of gameplay over and over again, potentially forever, and your job as the player is to figure out how to escape the loop. This is a rare classic level that can take arbitrarily long - you can either speedrun it and break out of each loop as soon as possible or you could spend hours playing the same loop forever. This gimmick has been attempted in a few other rated classic levels, but none do it nearly as well as experiment and for that reason I think the gimmick will forever be associated with experiment by mbed

The first loop does a great job of introducing the concept - the loop repeats very fast telling the player something is not as it seems and there is a very clear opening in the floor after the pink orb below the two green orbs that clues the player as to how to escape this loop. By simply hitting the pink orb and skipping the other orbs it is easy to escape this loop, a gentle introduction to what could be a mean gimmick.

The second loop is a bit trickier but still approachable. You have a sequence of a black orb, than a dash orb, than another black orb followed by some breakable blocks in the floor. The breakable blocks are clearly visible which clues the player that they might need some height to jump onto and break those blocks, continuing the downward escape route from the first route. By skipping the black orb and taking a secret way to gain height, you can jump through the floor breaking the loop.

The third loop is possibly the easiest loop so far - you have a sequence of three spider orbs, but one spider orb is noticeably close to a floor platform which clues the player that if they time that spider orb late they can flip gravity and jump below the floor.

The fourth loop is the most sophisticated so far. You have a pulley system between two platforms - jumping on either platform causes that platform to fall and the other rises. There is a clear exit below the second platform, but it can only be accessed if the first platform is low while the second platform is high. This clues the player that they can do a well timed jump on the first platform that skips the second platform on one cycle to expose the exit on the next cycle, at which point exiting the loop is easy.

The fifth loop is probably the jankiest as it relies on the unorthodox nature of the spider. The exit is again clearly visible at the bottom of the screen, which clues the player they need to flip gravity at the very edge of a ceiling to access the exit. This timing is a bit precise and may be tricky for beginners. That being said, I like that the exit is obvious in this loop and that it teaches the player some niche spider tech.

The sixth loop repeats the gimmick from the second loop with the breakable blocks in the floor. This time it’s a little more involved as you are a robot and need to be normal sized to be able to break the floor (being mini and having enough height isn’t enough). This clues the player they need to skip the mini portal and jump on the breakable blocks to escape this loop.

The seventh loop breaks the pattern of the exit being at the bottom of the screen. This loop uses the new 2.2 green portal and is a great example of why green portals are fundamentally different from blue / yellow gravity portals. By abusing the ball’s gravity change mechanics at the right time you can enter a green gravity portal with the opposite of the intended gravity which allows you to access the exit that is clearly visible in the ceiling. This loop is also worth noting because one of the platforms has a colored pattern - purple, blue, red, green, black.

The eighth loop is the most cluttered loop up to this point. You are now the ship gamemode and must dodge a bunch of orbs and jump pads. By interacting with orbs / pads that follow the color pattern from the seventh loop, it is possible to escape this loop. I think for most people, myself included, this is the worst loop in experiment. First of all, the clue to escape is in the previous loop and will be missed by most players. Second, this is the first loop where the escape route isn't visible. That being said, it is possible to pass this via trial and error, it’s just annoying to do so. I appreciate there are no obstacles here, that makes this a little less frustrating.

The ninth loop is a mini cube part. No escape route is visible, but there’s noticeably no ceiling which clues the player they need to go up. By using a red orb to access a high platform to fall and buffer the top of a dash orb, it’s possible to get the trajectory you need to dash into the air which escapes this loop. I like this loop gives you the feeling of being outdoors which makes it feel like you’re close to escaping.

The tenth loop involves repeatedly jumping over 4 spikes. Some indicators reveal if you tap in the other half of the loop, you will fill a progress bar. This clues the player they need to spam to fill the progress bar before getting to the next set of spikes to escape the loop. I don’t like this loop as the window to start spamming is unclear.

After passing the tenth loop, you finally get to a normal classic GD gameplay part. First you have a short mini cube part and then you have a janky mini ship part where slopes redirect you between different straightfly corridors. I appreciate this part is mostly sightreadable despite being demon difficulty. After passing the ship, you are redirected to the final loop in the level - the cube repeatedly crosses the entire screen in front of an image with meme text that simply says “experiment” - no escape is visible. To escape, the player needs to manually reset the level (WITHOUT EXITING THE LEVEL) from the menu.

After resetting, the player is brought back to the first loop. After a few iterations the background goes dark and the level ends.

As many others have stated, this is the best example of puzzle gameplay in a classic level - all the puzzles are sightreadable meaning you could potentially 2-attempt this level. It’s really impressive how mbed used the 2.2 song feature to make the audio sync with the loops perfectly. Everything about this level came together perfectly to make the perfect easy demon puzzle experience.

This isn’t necessarily a level I’d rewatch often, but it’s such a once in a lifetime experience and a must play for any new GD player that I have to give it a 10/10