Rating Curve

The first level of the very renowned Element series hosted by GW, and a pretty damn good way to start it if I would say so myself! Element 1 H was released during the first week of 1.6, and for being so early, I feel it uses its features quite nicely. The level is heavily memory focused, filled with tons of fakes and blind orbs, which was pretty standard for levels of this difficulty back then. However, it stands out nicely from other demons from this time period due to it's very interesting gameplay, theming, and decoration.

Element 1 H uses super interesting structuring and gameplay choices to keep the level interesting the entire way through, with some notable parts being the first ship where you fly up and down through a tunnel utilizing ship portals to move the camera up and down, as well as the mini cube which repeats the same staircase over and over again, yet each time you get to it you have to do something different. Gameplay was very limited back then due to the much lesser amount of objects to use, but I feel that Element 1 H is able to use them in a super intriguing way that keeps the level both difficult and fun!

Now the decoration is what I want to talk about mostly in this level. It's SUPER cool for being this early into 1.6, with one of the main style choices being these really interesting block designs with 4 rotated bush objects on each other. It creates a very cool square spiral pattern and is something I've only seen used in this level. Element 1 H has so many creative decoration choices that just makes it stand out to any other level at this time, such as the pulsing exclamation parts in the first ship part. Arco used two exclamation marks and rotated them horizontally over each other to create a super interesting pulsing object that looks SUPER cool for being such an old level, this level is genuinely the only time I've ever seen this used. The other decoration choice I really like is the pathway that you follow in the ship parts later in the level. There's a line of blocks that you have to follow which when combined with the fading and entering on the sides, makes this super cool effect that I absolutely love. I'm also a very big fan of the cloud part where the gameplay consists of only orbs. It feels very open and is very fun gameplay wise!

Element 1 H is overall just an extremely cool level for being made so early into 1.6, and absolutely would stand out even if it wasn't the first level in the Element series. Very cool!! :D

I learned about Edictz as a creator very recently due to their very....... interesting 2.2 levels to say the least. I was surprised to find out that they had some rated levels, with KURSK being one of them. KURSK was a level released in 2018 and was relatively uninteresting as a random minute and a half long 3 star. However, over the past couple of years, it has recieved MANY updates and now stands at a staggering 6 MINUTES LONG. It has about 200,000 objects and feels just as surreal as their recent levels.

KURSK is extremely strange visual wise, with every part seemingly changing to a completely different style, going from completely empty, to having TONS of objects on the screen at once. What I will say however, is that it fits the song extremely well. When the song is slow, the level is much more slow paced and empty, but when the song speeds up, the screen is flashed blinding white and really shows it's intensity. The level is overall just a complete mess of cohesion, with many parts utilizing 1.0 blocks for block design for one part and then being completely early 2.1 for the next.

There isn't much to say that I haven't already said about the level. KURSK is an anomaly of a level and has some of the strangest level design choices I've ever seen. It is extremely unoptimized and feels like a magic tab level, but in a way, I kinda love it LOL. It feels like True Values of Life if it was a solo level, every part is an enigma and completely different to the last and keeps the level as an interesting experience despite it being a six minute long 3 star. I think it's very cool and I enjoy it a lot :)

Cherry Coloured Funk is an extremely warm and inviting level that uses the first song off of Heaven or Las Vegas by Cocteau Twins. The level seems to be based after the album cover with its very warm color scheme and open background, and I really like that :)

Cherry Coloured Funk is just under a minute long and does a very good job during its short runtime. (Although I wish it would’ve been longer LOL) The level just seems to envelop you as you play, with pink and red shining everywhere you look. I especially love the background in this level, it never changes, it’s just a row of clouds at the bottom of the level with a bunch of open air above it. The background steadily changes colors and pulses throughout the level which gives it a sense of motion, despite nothing moving in the background. I think this works really well with the atmospheric vibe of the song, and it makes it feel like you’re floating above the clouds.

The blocks in the level tend to contrast this given color scheme, usually going for a black and white or rainbow feel. They’re somehow both super fitting and look really pretty against the background, especially the rainbow. If anything, I wish the rainbow was used more LOL

I’m also a very big fan of the lamp posts that are scattered across the level. Despite when blocks change, colors change, where you go changes, the lampposts will always be there, which gives a sense of stability within the level. It’s quite nice and adds to the vibes this level already gives off :D

The gameplay, while not the most special, has quite a few memorable parts in my eyes. Specifically in the first section with the repeating buffer UFO clicks. They’re pretty easy but they sync SUPER well with the song and help with the floaty atmosphere I mentioned before! The rest of the gameplay is good but nothing to write home about. I’d probably remember it more if the level was longer personally.

This is also the first part of the series that Zeo is seeming to make, where they make a level for every song off of this album. I’m very inclined to check out the others and I’m very excited to see it finished if it’s planned to be :)

An experience that takes you through the mind of the creator and crushes you to your very core.

I would be hesitant to call high expectations a level, as it seems to go against every idea of being one. There is no winning in this level, you will always die no matter what you try. No matter how hard you try and escape, the walls will always close in onto you and crush you. The world will always go against you and never succumb to your wishes, that’s what this level portrays itself to you as. A level with no winning. A life with no end goal.

I think that’s what PAHC was thinking when they made high expectations. It’s not a level meant to be played, it’s a showcase of the inner workings of their mind. A dark, raging chasm of expectations that crush you no matter what. There’s no way to escape these expectations, there’s no way to suddenly find a way out that wasn’t already there, there’s no way to complete this.

Except death.

high expectations showcases PAHC’s mind at this point. Their most popular level SAVE AS had been released a year ago, and was still their most popular by far. Every new level they released always came with some people disappointed that it wasn’t the next SAVE AS. There’s no way that wouldn’t weigh on somebody’s mind, every level they released that they put effort into, always came with that same couple of people disappointed it wasn’t the masterpiece they had all hoped for.

That’s what this level represents, a constant surge of expectations, crushing this creator from the outside no matter what they tried to make. It signifies the lowest portion of their life, a time where perhaps all they could see as an escape from these expectations, is death. A silent end to the ravaging red around them. If these expectations will crush them to their death in the future, what’s the purpose of living through this hell just to see it happen?

A death in this level makes the level go silent, everything stops moving. It doesn’t matter where you die, whether you jump and hit the walls before they crush you, or sit there as it inevitably crushes you to death on its own. It’s a trap where you’re the victim, with no possible way of winning.

high expectations is haunting. It is an experience which shows a creator breaking from all the expectations surrounding them, putting you in their place as the walls crush you to death as it is to them. It is a showcase of everything difficult PAHC was going through at this point in time, and should be treated as such.

I’m glad they’re still here with us. They are an amazing creator and I’m glad they were able to move past this as an individual. This level serves as a reminder of how overbearing life can get, and is a showcase that even when you’re falling into the darkest pits of your mind, there will always be a way out to the surface.

I would give no rating if I could, but since I'm forced I'll give it an 8 for the visuals.

CARTI COLLAB is a collab hosted by Vortrox and Doops using an old Playboi Carti song he uploaded about 12 years ago on Newgrounds. It's a very interesting level which is quite simple for the first half, but becomes SUPER COOL when Ivashka's part hits.

The first 25 seconds of Carti Collab is honestly pretty cool! It's nothing stand out in my opinion decoration wise, but the gameplay is REALLY fun! It's extremely satisfying and syncs very well to the song, it feels very floaty which I personally really like. I also REALLY LIKE the matrix style switch when he mentions the Matrix, a little detail but I think it's really cool. The static lyrics that you move past to the song is also a really nice touch even atop the cool decoration!

Then the level picks up VERY FAST. Ivashka's part hits like a BOMB and has such an insanely cool vibe that only Ivashka could pull off. Everything is moving, it's super colorful, blocks open up and EAT you, things are happening at the same time as Carti is saying them !! like holy shit !! It goes into this really cool rainbow masking ball part with a spiral in the background (I love masking effects so much even if they're simple...) and it just keeps on getting cooler, the realistic eyes, the clouds when he says he's flying, THE CARTI CLUBSTEP MONSTER, the WLR logo when he says sky... There's so much to take in in this part and I don't think it would be wrong to say that this is absolutely the standout part of the level. The gameplay is also REALLY fun!!!

The next transition is also pretty damn sick and leads to a REALLY PRETTY rainbow on black part with really cool and nicely used glow, it feels just minimalistic enough to not be hard on the eyes and also just enough for it to look REALLY COOL. (i also really like the butterflies), the entire part just feels like its radiating joy? in a way? i guess??? LOL

This level is just an overall joy and I really love the idea of making a level to an EXTREMELY old Carti song LOLLLL and in a way this is the perfect time to review this after Carti FINALLY DROPPED? Is it good?

...

anyway next review!

One of the strangest rated levels to ever appear in this game. A Mixed of Colors is the only rated level by creator 'xexeelpro' (or 'xexel pro' as it says in the level). It is a nine circles level with some of the most questionable design choices I've EVER seen.

And that's what makes it so funny!

This level is one of the most hilarious rated levels in the entire game, mostly because of its batshit insane song. It's completely taken off Newgrounds, but I highly recommend you play/watch this level with the song so you can see how much of a fever dream this is.

I've genuinely never seen a level devolve SO much before, the decoration starts off fine and tricks you into thinking "hey! this might be cool!" before throwing you into one of the worst executed nine circles effects I've ever seen. There is one background pulse in the entire wave. ONE!!!!! THE WAVE PART GOES ON A MINUTE BTW!!!! The background is just completely black the rest of the time. It's beautiful to say the least.

It then throws you into the next part which is just, I don't even know. It's just floating grass slopes that are bouncing around and you can tell its copy pasted because IT KEEPS REPEATING HIS NAME LOLLL and then the wave ends and you go through another build up with these weird spike jumps, and then....

IT PUTS YOU IN THE SAME EXACT WAVE BUT IT MOVES TO THE RIGHT NOW!!! xexeelpro is a goddamn creative genius. BUT WAIT, NOW ITS MOVING LEFT !!! I love this level so much I genuinely don't know how it's real

Then you go into this weird invisible mirror portal CORRIDOR where you just do nothing... then it's more spike jumps, but wait, there's a buildup? maybe the last drop is like actually cool!

I want you to go look and see what it says at the end for yourself, this level is incredible.

I might've seemed like I hate this level's quality, but these are all compliments! A Mixed of Colors is a hilarious enigma of a level and I LOVE it for that, no other level comes even CLOSE to the sheer aura this level gives off. Thank you xexeelpro for making this beautiful level.

And remember to ask yourself the daily question,

"Do your chain hang low?"