Rating Curve

This level is super weird. It struggles to really know what it wants to do. It throws in so many ideas, but fails to execute them properly because of course, they don’t have enough time to develop themselves. The 1st half is your neuro-typical pixel block level which yeah, it is well made but like, it looking like 76% of all the 2.2 levels feels safe and underwhelming, especially for the finale of the NCS event and also for a « mythic » level. The 2nd part I guess is where they try to make you escape the arcade and uhm… yeah it’s cool but it falls into the problem that 21% of all the 2.2 levels have, which is giving more attention to be as visually impressive as possible, at the cost of consistency, progression and even gameplay. The worst part of this level has to be the part where you play those « mini-games ». Bruh, I don’t think you can even call them QTEs bc you literally just need to spam the button and also, why are there not mini-games for each of the levels??? Like why only these 3 ??? AND WHY DO WE ONLY NEED TO SPAM TO PASS ALL OF THEM??? WHAT’S THE POINT??????

Yeah, this level is very average, it is well made for sure, props to the creators, they definitely know one thing or two about the editor, but I thought that after all this experience they would deliver something way more interesting than pixel blocks and "free 1 million views on YT"-type level

This level is just Clubstep but with invisible blocks. It’s hilarious guys !

Somehow, it also felt like so much easier than regular Clubstep, I genuinely don’t know why

A classic for sure. It deserves to be regarded as one of the best level in the game for sure. The theme is immaculate and well executed. The visuals are definitely ahead of its time, the fact that this level was made in 1.9 is very impressive. Now why do I only gave it an 8? Personal preference, I’m more of a Reanimation fan (Reanimation clears imo). But still, one of the greatest of all time

Yeah this level is super cool. I really like the progression here where the 1st half takes time to set itself up and then that iconic falling cube is easily my favorite part in the level. After that, you get the drop which is pretty solid overall. The ending is also great, it is a callback of the beginning part and is a fitting ending to this level. My only issue is I think this level would be better if it was more intense. The optimization of this level is awesome, but at the cost of cool things that could’ve happened and break the repetitiveness of this level.

Pretty solid.

Crossroads.

Wow, what a fantastic map. The decoration is so charming, the invisible gameplay really do work with the vibes and atmosphere, and it represents the song representation so well. The last dash orb also feels like a climactic end to the level, it’s such a cool way to represent the key chance that leads to the end of the song. Despite how repetitive this level may feels, you really get to feel emotions in this one which all lead to the final click where you feel relieved and yeah, this level is beatiful. So much charm, so much energy, peak vibes

I was the first victor of this fun fact.

That aside, this is a fun silly map. It’s very modest with its ideas but it doesn’t matter because it’s just THIS FUN. The first memory part is fun to navigate through and is a nice build up to the drop. The drop is super enjoyable to play, you can tell lexycat knows how to make fun and quirky silly gameplay. The last part is a nice conclusion to this level as well. I guess the visuals is like the only part of this level that is not as consistent as the rest but for me, it works, I don’t mind it.

Yeah no, very sick level, one of the most popular memory extremes for a reason.

troll level two is way better though

Peak memory demon right here, it is massive, it is unique, it is very well executed, it has a bunch of interesting gimmicks throughout the entire thing so it doesn’t feel redundant, it is super nerve-racking with all of these unique memory gameplay and of course because of the last part. It’s a great memory megacollab that will be remembered forever as long as this community is still alive

Grebeworld is an open-world classic level, which is a genius concept for a map. I can’t really think of a level that did it as well as this one did. You can tell the creator had fun making this, they didn’t go for something incredible, they just enjoyed themselves and put whatever gameplay they had in mind and put it in, which resulted in a chill and relaxing experience that you can pick up whenever thanks to how accessible this level is being an 8 star. The decoration can also vary a lot in styles which is appreciated for a level like that. And the song is definitely one of the highlights here, it is absolutely a perfect choice for this level as it fits the vibe very well.

I do have some issues with it though. First of all, I think the first ship section drags a bit, I know it was necessary to introduce the level with something but I don’t know if a level like this should have 30% of its runtime as an introduction and also, for a level that lasts for about a minute. I guess that the trigger orb at the beginning helps, but I don’t think it has enough variations for me to justify this part. It would’ve been way better if this section was randomized, but I don’t think the creator wanted to make something too complex. The second issue I have with this level is the open section itself. It is greatly executed for a 2.1 level and I think it did it’s absolute best to be enjoyable. However, reading this section is quite difficult. More often than not, I don’t really explore the level but I guess randomly where to go and it will lead to a random area. It’s definitely possible to do that but I think it’s less satisfying than just exploring the level yourself, where you have full control of where you go. This level being made in 2.1, so where camera controls didn’t exist definitely doesn’t help because the natural camera isn’t wide enough to fully enjoy how massive this level is, and it also hurts the readability. I can definitely think that nowadays, this concept can be improved a lot thanks to the addition of camera controls and free mode but you know what, this is a 2.1 level and honestly, I think grebe made a fantastic job to make this work this smoothly.

This level is pure vibes, it’s not the most amazing level in the world for sure, but it’s definitely a very relaxing experience that can be enjoyed by many. I hope someone makes something like this in the current update because it’s definitely a concept that could be improved on

Hollow.

Out of all the levels that I’ve played, I can’t really think of a level that did song representation better than this level. Every single details of the song are represented in a way or another in this map. QuazeryIceCube really did an outstanding job crafting this.

I’m gonna try to review every section in this level because I think that it is the best way to understand what the level was going for.

Before that though, I didn’t even explain what kind of level this is. This is a « memory » XL level that has a very unique approach to memory. Basically, you have to navigate through blocks that are seemingly placed randomly. That makes the level open with many ways to beat the level and many areas to explore. The decoration compliments the gameplay and the song very well. It is very simple but it also has a lot of charm. It sacrifices complicated visuals for song representation and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t think this level would work better if it did have a different visual style.

Anyway, now let’s talk about each sections.

The Introduction:

The first part is a great introduction to the level. It is a robot part with bunch of blocks and you need to find a way out. Already, you can already experiment with the open environment as there isn’t really a clear way to pass this section. Just like the song, the part starts very simply, with just regular blocks but once you get used to that, more and more elements starts to appear. All of those elements are colored differently, it’s like a group of instruments that have different functions but serve the same role but instead, it’s with different blocks. I really do like this first part, it introduces the concept in a very simple but effective way and the song representation is so clever and well executed. Though I guess there was one complaint I had, which is obviously the length of that section. It is by far the longest in the level and since it feels very similar throughout the entire part, it does drag from 0. It didn’t really matter to me though because honestly, playing this part is super fun and I also really love the song so yeah, it could affect some, but not me. Last thing I wanna talk about this part is the choice of the gamemode. Yeah no, there was absolutely no other way this level could open. Cube is generally more versatile than robot however in this context, robot is definitely the better option. It makes exploring the section way more fun and allows for more pathways to be used and found. Even with orbs and pads, robot would be the better option here and of course, this level doesn’t have any orbs or pads until way later in the level.

The Build-up:

This part is so cool. Again, very simple in ideas but well it works a lot. You start this section with a few more blocks to avoid as the robot. The twist here is that these appear with the song, meaning you have to memorize where the blocks are to avoid them. Then, what follows is pretty much an extension of what I just said. You enter a mini-ship section with blocks that switch back and forth with the music. This time, there is less emphasis on the exploration aspect, and more on memory. You have to know where those blocks are, not to use them like previously, but to avoid them. It’s a simple but effective way to build tension which is emphasized by the more closed area (the ship is not on free mode which limits the area). My favorite part here is definitely the later part of this section where you switch from ship to robot in order to convey represent the vocals which just appeared. And then guess what! When it says « it is hollow », you have to go through holograms, which are pretty much just hollow blocks. So I guess you can call them « hollowgrams », wait that’s the name of the song! That’s so clever. Jokes aside, this part is super cool, it definitely work as a build-up as there more and more things happening overtime which builds tension really well.

The Climax:

This is obviously the highlight of the level and one of the best memory gameplay part I’ve ever played. This section is a combination of the spirits of the two previous sections. You’ll have to explore this open maze made of randomly placed objects of bunch of kinds in order to escape this landscape of mini blocks like the 1st section and also to avoid all the obstacles that are in your way, like the 2nd. The addition of portals and pads makes this section feels like it is not meant to be played, that you are facing a confusing puzzle that you have no idea how to solve and where to even start, which definitely adds to the atmosphere of the part. It also makes this area very confusing in an « elegant way », without relying on fakes or other fancy tricks of the kind. And of course the best part about this section is the fact that there are like pretty much an infinite amount of way to tackle it. It makes the section like SUPER HARD TO LEARN but figuring it all is so satisfying. You have to explore as much you can, because you need to know which way will kill you and which way will lead to the end, but you also need to do that after learning because maybe you will find a more confortable way to go through the part. You have to make it work for yourself. Figuring it out is already a very difficult process and doing it from 0 is even more nerve-racking. Going through the robot part from 0 is like a long journey and once you get to the ship, your nerves are already up because you know what awaits at the end of the section. It gets progressively more tense as the gameplay and song introduce those vocals and then it all explodes at the drop. A lot can go wrong in this part, you could forget where to go, couldn’t get the setup that you’ve found or simply you could let the nerves get over you and lose your focus. It doesn’t help that the part actually gets harder as you approach the end because of those pads that force you to go to specific locations and finally you get to the two last pillars and if you managed to go through them, the level is finally over. This is why this climax works so well. It definitely didn’t happen out of nowhere, it is the natural conclusion of what happened before. Getting there is no easy task and getting out of there is even harder. I didn’t really mention it before but aside of song representation, I also think it has one of the best progression in a level ever. The process of learning this level is a huge task but a task that gets rewarded after you pass those two pillars and in my opinion, all of that makes this truly a great conclusion to this great map.

Overall, this is easily one of my favorite levels of all time. From the song representation, to the progression, to the experience, everything about this level is absolutely fantastic. The fact that I got so much of something with such a minimalistic approach really amazes me. You can easily tell QuazeryIceCube did their absolute best with what they were working with, I can definitely see the effort and care that went into this level. I really hope this map will be remembered because wow was it incredible (and i also hope robtop stops being hollowophobic and rate this already it’s been 8 months 😭)

anyway, yeah this map bangs, good job 👍

Quazery do be the DORABAE of today

knot.

Where do I even begin…

I originally beat this on April 2021 and wow, it was genuinely one of the greatest experiences if not THE BEST experience I’ve ever had in this game. Even today, it still remains as my favorite level ever made despite not being that known and despite the numbers of masterpieces that were made before and after it.

If you don’t know what this level is about, it’s a memory insane demon that takes a lot of inspiration from Crohn44. It’s not really your typical memory demon with bunch of random fakes here and there, it’s a memory level that uses repeated structures as its base so figuring out the way is very trick.

This is exactly for this reason that I enjoyed this map so much. Learning the level is very hard, even harder than some memory extremes I’ve played. But once you figure it out, it is such a satisfying feeling to have. The learning process is easily one of the best part of this level.

Next I wanna talk about the gameplay. The gameplay, as I said, takes a very long time to learn, not due to difficulty though, but because of how it is structured. But once that is done, the gameplay is pretty satisfying to pull off and sticks in your brain (literally beat this level about a hundred times and never got bored once). There is not a single unfair chokepoint or anything like it. It may seem a bit unbalanced at first but that’s only bc some parts take way longer to learn. It being an insane demon definitely helps as well, it is not easy enough where the gameplay could become boring and the memory uninteresting, but it is also not hard enough where the difficulty could become more annoying than just confusing. At the end of the day though, this level is very consistent and very fun to pull off.

The structures in this level are very simple but it works perfectly with what the creator had in mind. It makes the level very confusing despite not having any visuals that obstruct you way, which is something that I appreciate a lot with this level. Don’t get me wrong, memory levels with a lot of visual clutters are also great imo but I really appreciate how modest the memory aspect of this level presents itself.

And finally the decoration. Well, obviously it is not the most impressive thing in the world. I don’t really mind though as long as it compliments the gp and the song well, which it definitely does. It’s simple again, but very effective and matches the vibe of the song (which is great btw 👍). I think it was the best way those structures could’ve been decorated and plus, I like the decoration.

In conclusion, this is the best level I’ve ever played (this is obviously a subjective opinion), ofc it’s not flawless, however, I can’t see those aforementioned flaws. This is the level that gave me the best experience in this game and it is not even close.

i love knot.