Rating Curve

I've been waiting for this day to come.

I said in my Aeternus review that I would really like to see a Top 1 level that challenges EVERYTHING. All gamemodes, all skillsets, basically literally everything that a top player knows into GD and put into the ultimate test. I'm gonna be honest when I say this... but I knew long ago that Flamewall is the exact level that I am looking for in a Top 1 the moment I looked at it. The sheer amount of intensity, the overall length of the level, the gameplay, the difficulty, utilization of all gamemodes (minus swing, because this was 2.1), this level really has it all. Not to mention, it looks incredibly good. It's a fire themed level with deco kept to 1.9 with a hint of 2.0 and 2.1, representing the song (of the same name) by Camellia insanely well. It is very damn satisfying to look at in both the gameplay and the deco department, and it's one in which I find particularly interesting.

Rarely do I ever praise a (supposedly) Top 1 level so much that I even consider it one of my Top 3 favorite extreme demons in the game (alongside Protoflicker and Network (Agat3)), but I do feel as if this level deserves it. I genuinely really like this level a lot, and it's one that I hope it picks up that interest factor for me and Top Play in general (if people even attempt to go for it... lol)

Ya know, despite knowing CarlosArt16, I actually have not tried out more of his levels. I have seen his parts in collabs like Helios and Lagtrain (an unrated XL Demon), and to be honest, this guy is quite the unknown creator, so it's quite the shocker to see one of his levels up here. But I am happy though. He's such an underrated creator, and really needs more attention.

For the level itself? Well I'll be damned, this level is really an underrated marble. The gameplay is really satisfying to pull off and everything flows really well with one another. It's not that complicated to learn, and everything is really well balanced. Nothing seems to be unfair. The decoration is also really good. While I do like levels that tend to have a lot of complexity in them, I gotta appreciate the levels in which the decoration goes for the more simpler approach. It's nice in the eyes and it doesn't feel like you'll be blinded too much by it. A similar sense as to why I consider Protoflicker to be my favorite Extreme Demon, but easier... obviously.

I initially rated it a 9 as that was a first impressions sort of thing, but after playing it, I bumped it to a 10, making this my new favorite Insane Demon in the game. Y'all should give this a shot when you get the chance.

I finally got around to playing it, and I was not disappointed!

The rating comes from the fact that this "level" was inspired by Balatro, where you have to play smart with the cards you have on your deck in order to reach a specific quota (for DGC, Influence is this "level's" term for quota). The more you succeed, the higher the quota gets, and failure to meet that quota within 3 turns, you'll need to start from scratch again. The objective is to expand the cult of a Dead God to fulfill it's wish of bringing it back to life. Continue doing exhibitions, you'll gain followers. Gain 1000 followers total, you've succeeded, and thus your contract with hell can be terminated.

Now because I actually play Balatro, I had a good idea of how the mechanics work. But the core gameplay was all original. Like I said, you have to play smart with the cards you have on your deck in order to reach a specific quota, but you'll also need to consider about your Faith (this "level's" equivalent to mana) as the cards in your deck will cost a certain amount of that, and it doesn't replenish unless you play a card that does refill your Faith or until the turn ends. Sticking with what you have will not help you out for long as well, as the quota will grow higher the more you succeed, not to mention, you only have 3 turns in order to meet that quota, so you'll need to do a lot of upgrading (Reforging your cards, Increasing your chances, the amount of cards you pull, the amount of faith you'll have at the start) to keep yourself going. It's hard to get used to it at first, but once you have a good idea as to how things work, that's where the real fun can begin.

Anyhow, I think it goes without saying that Dead God Cult is really solid. Has a lot of original ideas with some bits of inspiration and will definitely keep you hooked wanting to think about the next best move. I've started to realize that I'm finding myself really liking games where I have to consider the next possible move with the cards available at my hand, and this "level" (and Balatro to an extent) has very much solidified that. Also the visuals, for level under 60k objects, looks really good.

I've talked about what I think of Crush quite a bit. The narrative of the adventure building being simple, the artstyle feeling a lot GD like, and the gameplay being a lot fun to play. This level is mainly 1x speed though, so if you don't like levels that are of the more slower caliber, well... there's a good chance you'll probably get bored of playing this. Crush is without a doubt, a fantastic level. The atmosphere is great as it sets the tone with the kind of place that you are traversing through complimented pretty well with 1x speed gameplay. Quite simple to the newcomers who wish to try it.

I have seen previews of this, and my first impressions on that, I thought the level looked pretty cool. With the level now released... yeah ok, what the fuck? This level is insane dude.

The use of keyframes is this level's main vocal point. Every animation in this level is incredibly smooth, and it makes it very lively and oddly intense in a way. I'm sure the intensity comes from the song, which also compliments this level incredibly well.

The bossfight really sells it for me too. Aside from the animations, what makes it interesting is that there's no set pattern of attacks. The only pattern is the order of what attack comes first. The attacks themselves are player position based, which makes the boss feel a lot more alive in a way. Nothing feels static.

I could go on, but to keep it brief, this level quicky became one of my favorite levels in the game. Smooth animations, insane visuals, really fun gameplay, incredibly lively bossfight, it's just peak.

God this level is so cool.

I'm not at the proper skill range for it, but just looking at the level, the gameplay has a lot of incredibly satisfying parts to pull off from it's duals and it's deco, while all over the place, it makes a rather interesting use of a purely monochrome theme, and the changes of the backgrounds blend pretty well with the parts too.

Take in the atmosphere of the glowing neon city that is Metropolis.

It was quite the surprise for me to consider Metropolis one of my favorite Easy Demons if I'm being honest with you. Back then I had like... no background knowledge of the level, and then I played it once, and I liked almost everything about the level. I say almost everything cause the gameplay at the 1st drop definitely needed some more balancing. Not to say that it's hard... I mean. Well ok, it is hard, but it's not around the same range as it wants it to be with the rest of the parts, in which the balancing of those parts are quite fair. Aside from that small nitpick though, the gameplay is indeed fun, and hey, I may have complaints about the gameplay at the 1st drop, but it's quite satisfying when you actually pull it off. The decoration in this level is also extremely satisfying to look at and it's definitely visually appealing without having everything being thrown at your face.

This is a level I really do enjoy playing and from a visual standpoint.

I question as to why I never have gotten around to seeing this level when it initially released. Incredibly creative and accurately represents the original music video incredibly well.

My favorite Auto Level in the game tbh

(5/29/2025: Pardon me, I just changed this review)

I didn't think I'd be at a point where a level would peak my interest to the maximum. Not even Well Rested or CastleMania (Mind you, two of my favorite levels in the game) has managed to do that. This level... this had succeeded in doing so. Like, I could watch/play this level for days, weeks, months even, and every single one of those times, I would never get tired of it. Admittingly, I had to give it some more time before fully articulating my thoughts, and after some time had passed... yeah, safe to say that this is my new favorite level in the game, and one that I personally consider to be the best level in the game bar none.

I'm probably going a bit overboard with this. I should probably explain as to why I love this level so much.

It's a lot of things really, but mainly the overall execution of it is what sells it for me. The ideas in this level are interesting and unique, and the execution of it all is done incredibly well. From the many instances of parallaxes in some parts, to the orbiting spider part, to the camera film (that people we're reminded of Lonely Travel) in the UFO/Ship, to the 3D Rotating Observatory at the Robot, and of course the main highlight of the level: The 3D Z-Axis part at the drop and the wave. Each and every part on it's own stand out, but combined together make a very unique experience that, at least in my opinion, stands out from any other GD level. And the fact that the gameplay is functional, and fun to play. I thought it'd be rough at first considering the 3D Z-Axis part, but after playing it, it was incredibly readable and honestly... easy to tell where you're supposed to click. It's not gonna be that easy in the first playthrough, but trust me, you'd be surprised as to how functional it actually is.

It's narrative is also what interests me as well, despite it being vauge due to how unclear it is (deadlines for cc's be damned). But from my own interpretation and analysis from other people, I think I have a good idea as to what it's about. Sorami, the girl that you see in the level, seeks out to study astronomy, but ultimately struggles in doing so. Not entirely sure as to what, but it could be the complications of it all, or a lack of interest. You may have seen in the cube after the film part the words: "When was the last moment that sparked your interest towards astronomy?" I'd like to imagine she started taking interest in it because she has a fascination towards photographing the stars. It's show through the many drawings, pictures, and a video (the film part) she took herself. Someone in Reunomi's video mentioned that those represent her most cherished memories, and now that I look at it... the level itself is a look back to those moments... the reasons as to why she took the approach to study astronomy. Again, pretty vauge due to how unclear it is, but it's rather a nice and interesting story to see, view, and interact with.

I could yap about this forever, but I don't wanna take up too much of your reading time, so to give you a tl;dr... I love this level. I love the ideas, the attempt in story, the visuals, the gameplay, all of it really. It's one of the best experiences that I've ever had in the 9 years of me playing this game, and that is an incredibly high compliment.