Rating Curve

It's a great level visually and technically. I love the way it looks and how each section has a unique theme but it still feels like a connected world. I love the mechanics in each stage and how they're implemented in level design. However, I'm not a fan of the precision the later stages require (whereas earlier sections get much of their difficulty from unique mechanics and input sequences) and I've never been a fan of the controls. I enjoyed my time playing this level and getting to stage 6 but felt like I was locked out of progressing further because of setup-based jumps/precision, hz differences where the level was harder on 60 (though I haven't played the level in 2.2), and lag. I also just generally wish it was a bit easier, I feel like a lot of levels sacrifice enjoyability in favor of difficulty. I would love to see an update with at least refined platformer controls and using static cam for optimization, but I know it's unlikely. As I'm writing this, I'm excited for Electric Archives, which hasn't come out yet.

The gameplay is the selling point here, my only gripe with it is that you can buffer almost everything in the fast sections except a couple random spots. I beat this 3 years ago and I still remember that. Every element of the decoration is solid but overall it's nothing particularly special or interesting. You could argue it's song carry, but I don't really mind that.

In 2.2, MattewGame's levels have mostly been recreations or translations of other games into GD, which were impressive and sometimes fun but lacked identity and had little to say. A couple standout visuals and ideas from his previous levels (mostly Tears of Denial and shapeless -- though these levels take heavy inspiration from other games, there are still original aspects and sections of them) expressed his interest in history and warfare. I distinctly remember being fascinated by the justice balance scale with the caryatids in the background from Tears of Denial and wishing Mattew made more stuff like it. Motivated by criticism of his past work, Mattew made Espiazione, a level filled with these unique aesthetic ideas, personal expressions, and his own spins on boss fight conventions. Mechanically, I found several of his previous levels frustrating to play, but this level works better with GD's controls as the boss fights are relatively simple and easy but still satisfying. It makes sense for them to work like this because the level's focus is more on its narrative. He also challenges boss fight conventions in a couple delightful ways, the first being the beginning where you damage the boss by letting it attack you, but the one I found absolutely shocking was at the end of a battle with some army troops, they place a nuclear bomb which you are forced to let explode, encouraged by the soldier that appears throughout the level to kill off the bosses. It fits right in line with how the level uses warfare as a lens to look at the subject of mortality, where death is everywhere and is terrifying (it's my own greatest fear). And it's like, what the hell do we do about that? Mattew says fuck it all, we make art. The only thing I would really wish for here is for him to make more platforming gameplay. I thought it was cool in shapeless and I'm not attached to the boss fight on a flat surface gameplay loop.

It's a neat idea, but to be completely honest I find the final product pretty disappointing. The parts are super dissonant which maybe I wouldn't mind if they didn't shoehorn in a story to try to tie it all together. I also just think a lot of the parts are ugly, and a few of them that try to be funny kill the vibe entirely. I also find the gameplay quite infuriating (it's also incredibly laggy), it blows my mind that they decided to make a hard level instead of a fun one. I get that it's supposed to be like a IWBTG fangame, but I just don't really care. Maybe my opinion on the gameplay will change as I keep playing through it. I can't help but compare it to the Strawberry Jam collaboration from Celeste, an absolute masterpiece, as it's just worse in every way. So disappointing especially given how much potential something like this has.

This level is full of life and culture, it's just so fun and fresh, and of course beautiful. The custom art meshes really well with the level design and there's not much visual clutter, which really allows you to appreciate the beautiful backgrounds and colors.