Rating Curve

This level has ideas and a vision, I just think they weren’t executed nicely.

The gameplay is easily the weakest aspect of this level sadly. It really doesn’t look bad at all and at first glance, it might even look fun. The issue is that it has so many flaws that it becomes very annoying to play. Second-half heavy, many chokepoints, super inconsistent and awkward to play, blind clicks and more. It genuinely had potential but sadly there’s a lot to improve before it reaches that potential.

The decoration is fine, but also inconsistent in quality. The second half looks way better than the first but still doesn’t look that great and the first half’s deco doesn’t look convincing. I don’t really like the structures or the effects used there especially in the build-up, which I think looks quite empty. So yeah, good ideas but definitely could be improved.

The strongest asset this level has is definitely the song representation I would say. Starting the level with the mountain part with that part if the song was a nice idea and the drop does feel climactic and some clicks there do match the energy of the song which is always good to see. There’s still some stuff that bugs me but I think Somie did a good job in that aspect.

Overall, this level has many flaws that keeps it way from being a good good level in my opinion. However, the issues it has can definitely be improved and I think it’s still a step in the right direction for Somie.

Almost good level.

A more polished version of Speed of Light. However, it doesn't mean I prefer it to the original, they are doing two different things and I like both versions

This level is pretty straightforward and goes in a lot of direction, but it works here bc the level becomes fun

some parts are a bit over the top but that's probably bc 2.2 creators decorated a layout from 2.1 but I really like how this level flows and also how energetic it is.

Post-completion thoughts:

The gameplay is good but not amazing as I expected it to be. The predrop is not a fun part to go through every single attempts bc it's just way easier than the 2nd half. Some clicks in the drop feel unintuitive to pull off especially in those two last parts. It gets consistent somewhat but they still play weirdly.

The decoration is a bit inconsistent and you can easily tell by looking at the predrop. The quality of these parts varies a lot. The two first parts look great, not amazing but they still look pretty good. The next two though are a let-down to me. They don't carry the energy that the first two parts brought to the table.

And now ofc, the worst thing this level has are the shards. I'm ok with them as long as the level tells you properly to get them, but it doesn't for some reason. I knew already going in that I had to get them but that was through external resources. I know damn well I wouldn't have known that I had to collect them had I not looked a completion of the level beforehand because these shards are almost impossible to notice. These shards blends so well with the background and because of all the effects and other crazy visual stuff that happens in those part as well, I basically didn't even notice their existence, AND I HAVE TO COLLECT ALL OF THEM TO ACTUALLY COMPLETE THE LEVEL? AND THE WORST PART IS: YOU DONT EVEN FUCKING KNOW YOU HAVE TO GET THEM BECAUSE THE LEVEL DOESN'T TELL YOU THAT YOU NEED TO UNTIL YOU DIE AT 93. The level disables the endscreen (which contains the shards cutscene) from anything that is not from 0 so IF YOU PRACTICE THE LEVEL, AND YOU DIDNT LOOK A VIDEO OF THE LEVEL, AND IF YOU DID, YOU DIDNT PAY ATTENTION TO THOSE UNNOTICABLE SHARDS, YOU FUCKING FIND OUT THE HARD WAY.

This is an absolute disgrace in level design.

Also, the way the layout did it was way better. I don't know why they changed it like that.

(update: the endscreen now appears in practice mode which makes this rant somewhat obsolete now. however, I would still say the shards’s design needs to be improved so it’s more noticeable. At least you know that you have to look for them)

Thankfully the level's still good