Rating Curve

Thinktastophe is what I would call an underrated masterpiece. The fact that I had somehow never heard of this level before @seefourset mentioned it is a CRIME. This level's gameplay, design, colors, just everything about it is completely unmatched with anything else. Every part of this level feels like a different part of the creator's mind, spread across a 3 minute long level.

The design choices in this level are absolutely brilliant, every new part brings in some sort of new structuring that hadn't been seen at all prior to it. Albeit, this might lead to some inconsistency, but I think that works in favor of this level. It's not meant to be cohesive, it's not meant to be a one and done experience, its an explosion of different ideas splattered across a canvas. This is one of those levels where I feel that every single object placed has some sort of significance to the part, and this level uses it's objects to their absolute limits.

If a newer player were to see this level, they would most likely call it "empty". So many people have been taught that emptiness is bad, and that more and more should be added if you want your level to be good, but I think this level rivals that way of thinking. It only uses what is necessary, it uses what it needs to to get the point across. Where there's lack of objects, the level makes up for in beautiful colors and unique structuring.

However, what I truly think pulls this level altogether into the masterpiece that it is, is the song. 'All the Other Birds Flew Up' by KingBastard is a relatively simple song, just like the level. There are points where it is calm and reclusive, and parts where it extends it's reach out to you, just like the level. The level is able to match the energy of this perfectly, it feels like it's something you'd imagine in your head while listening to the song.

Thinktastophe takes you on a journey through the mind and makes you appreciate everything you have, and that one of the most enjoyable moments could be due to less of something.

Thank you seefourset for showing me this.

I first found this level from @gdtransitions on twitter and I was INSTANTLY hooked. This level's messy and industrial style fit perfectly with the song and it makes me so happy to watch. JoacoPe is such an underrated creator and I'm happy PRINTER NOISES became so popular, because their style is super unique and they always have really cool ideas !!

This level starts off relatively normal, already seeming slightly abstract compared to most rated levels at least. It doesn't seem like it'll be TOO interesting at least, and then you enter the cube portal hits and the level literally FOLDS IN ON ITSELF. I remember watching this transition for the first time and my jaw actually DROPPED, I genuinely didn't expect it. The level takes a complete 180 and turns into an abstract mess of a level (compliment). The structures are all copy pasted on each other, there's like 20 pads on top of each other, the pulses feel like they're overwhelming you just like how the song is, it's SO good. The colors also work so well for this part, you might think yellow, green, blue, red, and pink wouldn't work together, but this level somehow combines them into this batshit insane color scheme that somehow works perfectly. The pulses and movements when the song extends out a note is PERFECT and I think it's the best way you could represent this song.

You then enter this weird pink and green ship part where the blocks kinda look like flesh, and then this weird darkness clouds over everything just like how it does with the song, and something seems to be brewing in the background, rotating, and spiraling. You then fly out in what seems to be a factory, you think there'll be a part up ahead but NOPE. The camera zooms INTO the background factory in an extremely smooth transition. You now enter the factory full of gears, electricity, conveyers, its the perfect atmosphere. Everything is breaking, the machines are sparking, it's all falling apart. You enter a weird electricity tunnel and your wave LITERALLY GETS SHOCKED, which looks so insanely cool. You then get a box dropped on your head and you plunge deeper into the ground as a UFO, seemingly entering some sort of sewer area. The structuring never lets up for a second, the background seemingly like your vision is literally getting flooded, the pulses and colors working AMAZINGLY to fit this atmosphere. You then go deeper once again, the sound is drowned out, you can barely see, and then you break out for the final time. You've seemingly stepped face first into some sort of disaster, a tornado? a hurricane? something of the sort that's causing cars to fly around. The colors in this part work SO WELL. The contrasted purple, green, and red hills in the back make some sort of cartoony contrast to the disaster ravaging right above it. The structures staying just as insane as before. Explosions seem to be coming from behind you as lightning flashes through the clouds.

And then you break free.

Tranquilont is an insanely stylistic level and I have NO IDEA how it's only star rated. JoacoPe probably has one of my favorite styles ever, and I'm so glad I was able to know about him from this level. I hope he makes more insanely cool levels soon :)

Crossroads by mbed is an extremely unique, and dare I say, revolutionary level. This level takes the daring idea of making every single bit of gameplay invisible and makes you play entirely based on sync or repetition. Yet, somehow, it is one of the most fun experiences you could have playing a level. The aesthetic this level gives off is absolutely unheard of, even with levels that try to mimic this style, none I've seen have come anywhere close to what crossroads is able to do.

The decoration is extremely unique and interesting, which it has to be since the gameplay is completely invisible. It uses super pretty colors, frame-by-frame animation, this certain art style which I couldn't name for my life, but it uses it! The first part is quite simple, involving essentially no moving objects/animation at all. You simply go up and up, passing by lamps which look like optical illusions next to broken down roads on a background which resembles The Game of Life. Despite literally being the same thing over and over again for about 50 seconds, it somehow keeps your attention and keeps you interested.

The next part uses a really nice blue and red color scheme, with grid spaces popping out of a white abyss with red points. There's also these animated balloons that pop and reverse, pop and reverse, pop and reverse. This part is completely auto, and yet it still interests me. This level is an enigma.... The next part is one of my favorites by far. It is a yellow faucet which slowly drips down water and slowly fills up the area. The water moves at a low fps and makes it feel like you're in some stop motion animation, I love the style of this part SO MUCH. You also click to the sync here, and it is super fun. Not many levels require you to click to the music this literally.

The dual ship and ufo up next are absolutely reminiscent of Lit Fuse by KrmaL, but with it's wn take! It incorporates it into it's style and keeps it simple, yet endearing. I really like it even if it's quite simple. The next cube part is a simple black background with pencil drawn styled road signs. I know I say it a lot, but the aesthetic of this part is other-worldly. I don't know what it is about the way things are drawn in this level, but it's like literally no other level I've seen in this game.

The next part uses probably my favorite colors in the whole level. The animation is simply entering doors over and over again, as doors fill the background. It's very repetitive, in a good way! And at the end, all the doors close and you leave them all once more. The colors in this part are SO good and they fit so well with each other.

The next robot part is themed around a railroad, with a train coming closer and farther away syncing with the song, and you click at the end of every measure. It's a really simply decorated part, a completely blue background with one animation and the occasional railroad crossing sign. It's barebones, but it WORKS. As I've said before, simple ideas can make for an extremely memorable execution.

The final dual of the level comes up next and almost feels like a final climax and a look on all the parts you've went through. You are shrouded in these rapidly color changing and moving pulsing stars that just sweep around your screen. You're completely invisible apart from your trail, and you have to fly as you watch every memorable object from your journey build up. It's cathartic to say the least.

The final cube is the last part of the level, with a rapidly moving and color changing background covered by these rainbow stripes which you must navigate through. Every orb here is invisible and you must KNOW what you're doing. This part genuinely feels like a dream, and I don't mean that lightly. I could see myself genuinely dreaming this!

Then you hit the final dash orb.

The song goes higher pitched, and slowly starts to fade out as a random assortment of lines and art seems to mash together near the end. You keep holding. The background starts to flash red and orange, and it slowly starts to get darker. It looks like you escaped wherever you were. Just blocks of white surround you, you don't know what's there, you don't want to know what's there. The song performs its last notes, and the level ends.

The song representation in this level might be the best I've seen in any level ever. Apricot Special by rkz is a surreal masterpiece of a song, and every note feels like it became a detail in this level. You went on a journey and this song accompanied you the entire way through. It almost feels like the song is a stop motion animation in itself, if that makes sense. (Probably not LOL) Anyways.

One of the most surreal levels of all time. My biggest recommendation by far.

it back by HangyKing made waves when it was released and rated, both positively and negatively. This level is the EPITOME of charm. There's so many interesting design choices that make this level unique to itself. Nothing feels rehashed, nothing feels out of place, it feels like a true product of passion. It reminds me of KrmaL's levels in its throw something at the wall and make it work approach, and it actually has the KrmaL approval!

This level, as you might've guessed by the name, uses Say It Back by TV Room. You might know this song from the VERY popular SayItBack by X1RON, and I think it back is the polar opposite of it. Now I'm in no way insulting SayItBack, I think it's a great level and it absolutely deserves it's epic rating and popularity. I just think 'it back' hits closer for me. Every gameplay choice, design choice, color, just feels UNINTUITIVE. And yet, it all works together perfectly to create an extremely memorable level.

Let's be a bit more specific. The gameplay in this level is STRANGE, and I mean that in a good way. Just from the beginning cube alone, you can already tell it's going to be a learny/interesting level to play through. The KrmaL comparison definitely shines in this level's gameplay, it varies so much and has many really cool gimmicks which feels like what you would see in a KrmaL level! Some of my personal favorites are where every structure in one of the cube parts is literally just, 'it back'. The gameplay is somehow extremely unique and fun to play despite every structure being exactly the same, just different sizes. I also really like the build up before the last drop, the waves here feel extremely weird with the rapidly changing speed and the awkward gaps, and yet, it's extremely fitting! It fits the wavy nature of the song and I think it's the perfect gameplay for a song like this. The last ship is also SO COOL even if the gameplay is quite simple, I just really like how you have to big long sweeps with the ship, you can't just straight fly or balance yourself out, you have to sweep around all the gears, and I really like that!

The decoration is where most of this level's praise and criticism comes from. Lots of people say it feels empty, that it's not rateworthy, that THEY could make this (I hate this argument so much), and a lot of other arguments. However, I love the decoration style used in this level. Everything's moving, it's really upbeat, I love the reoccuring pixel arts in the background (they're so groovy!!) and I love how simple the block design can be! A level doesn't need to be complicated to look good, this level takes simple ideas and runs them through into your head. I think that especially runs true for the last ship. All this part contains is a rotating star background that syncs to the song, very groovy rainbow blocks and saws, and a little dancing guy! If you look closely and analyze the part, there's really not that much going on with it, and yet every element works perfectly with each other to create a fulfilling and EXTREMELY memorable part. That's why I love this level so much, simple design choices can create extremely memorable levels. (I also really like the 88% at the end LOL, thinking space REPRESENT)

HangyKing is an incredibly unique creator and I'm glad 'it back' was able to introduce them to me, I really hope I can beat this soon :)

Metalepsis is a level that came seemingly out of nowhere for this creator. Excellent567 up to this point had made pretty cool 5-7*, but nothing too notable. They were just levels you would find on a featured tab and think, "huh, that was pretty fun."

Metalepsis, however, it not that.

Metalepsis is a nonsenical, visually unbearable, impossible to play, mess of a level, that ticks all the right boxes for me. It is based off the music video of the same name, and highly references it, but gives it it's own touch. The level starts off very abnormally, with a sepia background that keeps changing with a seemingly random assortment of words that changes every couple seconds. You might think there to be a story there? Nope. It's just word after word, and honestly? I kind of dig it.

The level then transitions into a mini wave part where you traverse through this very odd blocky tunnel which seems to build itself as you make your way through it. The entire time you seem to be in front of some sort of spiraling cloud mass centered on something. I'm not quite sure what. The sun? A star? A black hole? Who knows. There's also a strange little white trail in the bottom left that follows you throughout this part. It's overall extremely odd, yet extremely intriguing. The song representation is perfect and literally makes it feel like something is wrong. The same text as before is also there on screen, however it is extremely zoomed out and makes it essentially unintelligible.

The level then EXPLODES into a black and white mess, nothing is intelligible anymore, it throws everything at you. It feels like TV static in a way, the gameplay is almost completely invisible, the backgrounds from the first part are used again, however they seem to be manipulated to this static feel. It also uses assets from other levels I noticed, specifically the one I noticed being the spiral from ABEL. I really like this as it seems to genuinely feel like the level is BREAKING, and is taking other parts from other levels. It's an extremely well made part is all I can say.

Then, it pauses.

More random words fill the screen as you see static from what seems to be an actual television screen. The mini wave from the beginning comes back, however you can't do anything, the camera slowly moves up as your mini wave flows above the previous part. Symbols fill the screen, more and more, as more unintelligible words appear in your vision. They then break apart, and then break apart, and then break apart,

Then you enter the last part, a mini wave which seems to be the final act of what has broken. You must traverse through a static filled world, faint words fill the background which you cant read. What seems to be a loading circle appears on your screen, as if it's trying to reset the world.

And then, it does.

You end up on a floating pathway covered in greenery and waterfalls floating downwards. Names flash on the screen from what I can assume is creators that assets were used from, and then it ends.

An overall, extremely cool level from an essentially unknown creator. I would love if more people knew about this, because it is completely insane to watch and try and understand! I just wish the gameplay wasn't as obscured as it was though.

When I think of "robbed of epic", this is the first level that comes to mind. The Descension is a 4 and a half minute long masterpiece, utilizing simple yet effect designs, as well as an incredible progression the entire way through. This level can be separated into two parts, the predrop and the drop, which take about half the level each. The predrop starts with very abstract colors, design, structures, and feels like you're exploring some sort of dreamscape realm. The vibes are off the chart, and I absolutely adore it. The borders to shrink the POV does wonders to help that effect as well. There's so many beautiful design choices in this first part that if I were to list them all, we would be here all day. The colors, pulses, everything is just perfect and makes you feel extremely immersed within the level.

After about a minute of exploring this night-esque dreamscape realm, there is an EXPLOSION of light and you are now racing through a barrage of red and blue. It then slowly transitions into a bluish sky where you're now above the clouds. This part is honestly just beautiful, I have no other words to describe it. It fits the song perfectly. You then hit one final dash orb and end up on an invisible platform as the lyrics stand above you in a rainbow colorbanding circle. Stars in the sky.

"flame is gone, the fire remains. the flame, is gone. the fire remains."

And on that last word, you are thrown head first into a barrage of flashing colors against a white background, every sense of cohesion this level had going out the window in an instant. It feels like you entered somewhere where you shouldn't. Structures flying everywhere, colors flying past the screen, the gameplay feels like its breaking as you fly through it. It's an experience I have genuinely seen no other level come even close to hitting. The colors in this part are genuinely beautiful, despite just being rapidly flashing CMYK, the way they're used in the drop give it a sense of self. The decoration as well is incredibly well made, the rotating glow blocks, the blurry foreground covering your vision, the pitch black appearing from the ground, the arcs of glow that come from the ground. It is a climax to be sure. You assume this part comes to an end as you enter a gravity portal and fall into the white abyss, until.

It starts breaking even more, you enter a fast wave part, the colors switch to green, blue, and magenta and start flashing even faster than before. The level seems to be nearing its limits, faces start appearing in the foreground, certain objects start going black, a rotating spiral follows you as you make your way through portal after portal. You finally enter the last ship, as you literally watch it corrupt into darkness. It keeps going, and going, and then.

Black.

You sit there, floating in the air, colorbanding lights float in the air and grow and shrink slowly. The same stars from before the drop stay there, and then, the level ends.

Fin.

This level is an absolute MASTERPIECE, and forgive me if this review seems extremely corny, but I absolutely love this level with all my heart. It is a surreal experience and the song representation is genuinely out of this world. It feels like this song was MADE for this level, and that's a compliment. I'm genuinely shocked this level didn't get epic, and I highly recommend beating this, as it is an experience no other level will provide.

Burning Churches by 7ak is one of those levels that if you showed any sane person it, they'd be like "what the actual hell is this", but that's what I'm here for! This level is an experience to say the least, definitely brought up by the use of one of my favorite Cacola songs ever. Speaking of that, the song representation in this level is on POINT.

The ship part in the beginning of this level goes through three phases I would say. The first part is completely open, which you would think would be boring, but surprisingly it helps the atmosphere IMMENSELY. It makes it feel more like journey than a level. Then you enter the actual gameplay part, this is where you enter the actual church. I love the structuring in this part, the connecting blocks makes it feel like a maze to get through, while also being sightreadable at that. It's SUPER cool gameplay wise. During it you also have these white glow bars that flash on screen to the synths in the music, which I personally really like. The blocks turn red later on and flash to the electronic noises in the music. It's overall a super cool part. However, about two minutes in, the gameplay ceases and the glow overpowers the screen. The ship part then seems to break apart, even though you're still in the church, there is now a rotating kaleidoscopic effect with tons of rainbow decoration which only serves to mesmerize you. The gameplay also breaks down, instead of the blocks from before it, it simply transforms into bushes that you must fly around. Already from here you can tell that the level is only going to break down further, and I love that.

Then the windows flash a bright white, and you are taken to the beginning. Not the beginning of the level, but the beginning. You are taken to a platform made out of 1.0 slabs with differing gravity portals above you, where you must sit and wait. However, if you take notice, the portals are actually synced to each word of the song. It's one of my favorite parts about the level personally. But then, as it's nearing its end-

Flames.

The entire level gets surrounded in a moving flaming abyss, covering everything you can see. You can barely even make out your icon in the mask of flames. Even though this part simply is moving 2.0 fire, I can't help but love this part with all my heart. The level genuinely feels like it's burning to the ground, both your icon and the gameplay is barely visible at points, and you have to try and save yourself. It's extremely good. You slowly go deeper and deeper into the fiery pit until a bright sun like glow appears right behind you, and then the level completely breaks for good. Any semblance of gameplay and visuals is thrown out the window and you are put face-first into this abstract mess of objects. It doesn't even feel like it should be functional, and yet, you make your way through it. You make your way through the burning mess, and eventually, you escape.

You end up back in the church, slowly burning, and you pass by two burning flags which have moderator badges and the creator points logo on them, and then, the level ends.

Now, I'm pretty sure 7ak doesn't exactly like this level as much anymore, or at least they don't agree with the message as much (I think), but I still like the message the level gives off. Even if it's an extreme way of saying "fuck you" to rate standards, I think it's something that should be said. Nobody should feel trapped by creator points, or feel that they're a bad creator simply because their level isn't rated, because that's the exact opposite of what makes creating fun! You can definitely build for creator points (ex. Split and YunHaSeu", but if you feel that you can't create simply because a single developer won't give your level a rate? That's a fundamentally flawed way of thinking and I'm glad that people have started to realize that creating can just be for fun. Lots of levels are getting recognition nowadays, not because they look good, but because they have really cool ideas! Take Mandel's RLIF series for example, that has a whole community of people who love random levels with extremely cool ideas, even if the level isn't polished. There will always be someone that will like what you create, and even if it isn't the best thing in the world, even if there's flaws, even if you don't like it yourself. Creating is a medium and everyone has different tastes. So create, for yourself, and inspire other people to make what they like as well.

Thank you for reading.

(This review is very long, so be prepared. Also I'm not the best at writing so keep that in mind, I just really really like this level LOL)

At first, these ratings might seem strange. Overall rating 10/10? Gameplay 6/10? Visuals 7/10? How does that add up in the slightest? Allow me to explain.

Sakupen End is the final level of the Sakupen Circles series by Nick24(0). The original level came out 9 years ago, and blew up thanks to ToshDeluxe mistakenly showcasing it instead of Zimnoir12's Sakupen Circles. Since then, Nick24 has come back a few times to release new levels in the series, and about a year ago, he released the finale to it. Sakupen End.

This series has never been known for good gameplay, good visuals, good anything for that matter. It's very likely Nick24 was probably 12 years old when Sakupen Circles was released, so it's no surprise that these levels aren't exactly the best looking, but I think that's why I enjoy them so much. Every level that gets added to this series is just whatever ideas he had being thrown into a concoction of a level. He doesn't care about standards, he doesn't keep up with the community, he just makes what he wants to make, and that is what I live for in a level.

Sakupen End is probably my favorite example of this in any level ever. Every level in the series prior to this was under a minute long, but Sakupen End is 6 MINUTES IN LENGTH. It has many insanely unique parts, random 2.2 decoration, the classic wave spam, it has everything. It also has one of my favorite songs I've ever heard in this game. I love it so much.

Now, I would talk about every part in this level individually, but this review would be FAR too long, so I'll talk about some standout parts to me.

53% - This part always stood out to me. The gameplay is completely invisible and all you see is this frame by frame animation in the background of what I've always assumed is some sort of heartrate monitor? It most likely isn't, but I've always really liked it because it feels like an effect you would see in an old 1.9 level.

58% - The part right after that is this slow glowing gray ship part, this has to be one of my favorite parts of the whole level. The decoration is such a weird choice, and yet it fits so well. It fits the song perfectly and I LOVE the use of block clipping to get through some of the gaps. It's extremely memorable to me.

83% - I couldn't go in this review without talking about SOL GRYN. This is this level's wave spam part, and I couldn't think of a better way to import it into this level. If you are unaware, Nick24 is quite a big IWBTG (I Wanna Be The Guy) player, and this is a reference to I Wanna Be The Boshy. I think it's a really good way of mixing his current interest into this final level. (Also yeah look at some of the robot parts if you couldn't tell he was an IWBTG player LOL)

100%? - This might seem strange, but this is serious. 2.2 changed the way percentages work, so since the level has a secret way, the percentage actually ends slightly faster than it should. However, I feel that it changes to 100% at the PERFECT time, because as soon as it hits 100% you enter the "Final Stretch". This is where he brings back the 66% gimmick from the original Sakupen Circles, where you go through the wave structures, and it works really well with the song. Now after this we have probably my favorite finale to any level ever. At this point, it goes through a bunch of different gamemodes (ship, UFO, robot) and makes gameplay with the usual circles effects, but changes the colors to match the gamemode, which I REALLY like. I thinks it's extremely fitting. However, as soon as that part ends we get to my favorite part.

The Finale - The level ends with a mini wave where you go up and down extremely tight gaps through varying different nine circles effects, all using different blocks. Every block is somehow DIFFERENT and this is probably one of the hypest endings in any level ever, and I am completely serious. I think it might be how hype the end of the song is, but the way the mini wave syncs with the song perfectly genuinely makes it feel like I'm watching the end of one of the most popular levels in the game. The level then ends with a corridor where random spikes jut out and try and kill you. The corridor closes further and further in as the spikes keep coming out to try and kill you, as the song nears it end. Then you transform into a mini ship and you're now doing the last mini straightfly from Sakupen Circles.

And then it ends. You get caught in between the spikes at the very end. And the level ends.

I don't know what it is about this level that I just love so incredibly much, but I hope I was able to put it into words here. Sakupen End is the ultimate finale to Nick24's Sakupen Circles series, and shows that with enough passion, you can make it. This level isn't rateworthy in the slightest, it's essentially humanly impossible, the decoration is just early 2.2 stuff and classic nine circles effects, and yet, it all was what Nick24 wanted in the level. He doesn't care about rate standards, he doesn't care if people will hate his level for being "ugly", he just wanted to finalize the level and the series that for some reason blew up all those years ago.

If you got this far, thank you for reading.

Neural Pathways was my first introduction to SGameT, and I found them through the Underrated amazing GD creators Twitter account. They had simply posted about two levels of their's, Neural Pathways, and H2. I watched Neural Pathways and I was INSTANTLY hooked. SGameT's use of shaders in this level is absolutely PERFECT, and the song representation is just as good. I highly implore you to play this level for yourself if you haven't, it's only seven stars and yet it's an experience you won't forget.