Rating Curve

still remember first time i watched this when the drop hit i felt like i entered an alternate dimension. still an inexplicably surreal level, doesn't feel like it should exist, like something youd see in a dream. rating for the buffed version as it makes an already odd level just a little bit stranger

feat. millepatte doing millepatte things and rlol doing rlol things

great example of the benefits of invisible (especially speed) portals, amplifying the dreamlike atmosphere of this level courtesy of its both glittery and bassy/muffled song and its stream of consciousness design. the first two parts of this level are definitely burned into my soul. sure, the gameplay can't be intuited very well, more so on average than levels with clear obstacles but unclear ways to beat them, but can be very fun, unpredictable but interesting to master, when done right. definitely something i hoped to see a bit of a return of with the timewarp trigger since that's inherently invisible being a trigger and all

it's barely recognizable as haon at all given it's an earlier level of theirs, and thats interesting because of how profound of an impact they had on gameplay practices from late 2.0 to early 2.1, elements of their style very much forming a core element of the 'default' style you see in not terribly playing but not super interesting generic levels, to an extent still able to be felt

the 2.0 update + extension definitely is a downgrade but i mean it's an absolute classic for good reason. less well known now but hugely influential for the time, in both the specific effects and especially in xaro's characteristic gameplay, a primitive precursor to flow gp for better and worse