Rating Curve

It’s memorable, it’s kind of insane how the sea1997 video had a complete opposite effect on me because I know for a fact I wouldn’t have been as interested to look into the level without his input. I don’t exactly see this as the pinnacle of level creating but I can admit this is most likely the only case an impossible level actually feels as chilling as its difficulty should suggest.

Design megacollabs at their absolute finest, not only is this beast packaged with a bunch of notable names but the song and sharp gameplay give this level the aura it has

Beautiful satirical piece that cant really be fully appreciated without understanding the context surrounding it, from start to finish the groundwork of the level is tasteless and embarassing and in a way it symbolizes the space gauntlet contest perfectly. The level released right after the results came in, which makes the chance of it not having any ties to the contest pretty much implausible, not to forget the entire theme matching a majority of submissions to their very core. The climax is obviously the main selling point of this level, the dramatic buildup leading to its quick and humorous ending is something pretty much everyone got a laugh out of. It becomes pretty clear how the narrative of the level might imply how much of a catastrophe the space gauntlet results were to everyone, for all the hype the contest built up there was basically unanimous disappointment for the way things ended up going. But what makes this level as funny as it is is how Mindcap doesnt elaborate on any of his intentions behind the hosting of it, there really is no telling whether this level was meant to be anything more than another meaningless joke level despite all the odds suggesting it had to have been an intentional jab at something. The lingering thought of whether the countless of hours put into this project were either completely wasted or instead went towards a brilliant sentiment is something that cant be evoked through any other level, and the wonder it leaves me with warrants my applause.

The rowdy visuals here are presented as that of an amateur creator, the color mixing is peculiar and some designs seem to messily overlap or just look disjointed overall. But don’t judge a book by it’s cover, the elated atmosphere and carefree designs complement the cheery essence of the layout perfectly, it’s almost child-like in its appearance and it truly nails that vibe. It also needs to be said how cleverly the progression is done, needing no real transitions to make parts that are still very separable from each other, it’s quite like the ethereal charm of bob ratchet levels suddenly turning into open world

Really love the concept of this one, this level takes the most primitive aspects of the editor to its avail and pushes it to its absolute limits. Without having a single orb, pad, portal, nor the use of any feature from after the game’s debut (ignoring the background for now), not a single second feels inessential throughout the entirety of its 7 minute lifespan. There’s something so dreadful looking about its gameplay despite seeming deceptively accessible for a list demon, the difficulty feels intrinsic to the level’s overall vibe and it’s rare to see the current hardest levels own up to their premise this well. Also the amount of gimmicks and smaller details to pick up on and find a moment of brilliancy in is astounding, combined with the mesmerising background effect it becomes surprisingly challenging to get bored of anything. For how little this level can possibly with, it essentially did everything right in my eyes, the concept itself isn’t perfect but the results here are certainly admirable

Alike most event levels, I wasnt particularly too fond of it at first, but over time I grew surprisingly fond of this one in particular. I've never been the biggest fan of knots' art style to begin with, and while gethappier was a nice change of pace I think this one goes back to having designs that both look too flat and intricate for its own good. The level also just ends very abruptly, and while I can excuse that part since it was made with a clear deadline in mind I still think the level suffers quite a bit from it. But despite all these issues, I find this level to be really enjoyable and charming, in fact this is the only event level I actually bothered rebeating outside of the event tab. The song does happen to be fairly annoying but it kinda works in this case? I like the weird character the theme gives off and how it tries to build its own sorta kurzgesagt inspired civilisation, it doesnt feel too excessive in its execution and is just a pretty unique concept overall. But the thing I like about this level the most gotta be the incredibly strange design decisions for the gp, it looks a bit unprofessional the way a lot of the ideas are just randomly thrown at you, but it feels fitting for a level that tries to be satirical to begin with. You have these hittable orbs scattered around in this one part that spell "quack", and teleport pads that replace gravity portals to sync with the hard beats of the song, I think it has good humour to it and it puts a smile on my face. Overall it's a very joyous level, despite all its flaws, and I think thats an impressive feat to accomplish.

One of the better event levels we've gotten, not too surprising since subwoofer is quite a consistent creator overall. I see a lot of people having gripes with the gameplay, but despite the level being rather unclear to follow at times I found it to be very fun in the end. The split screen gimmick is pretty unique and done subtly enough for me to think around it and get consistent at the part, the end is a bit of a chokepoint as well but I never died once to it in a real attempt so I guess it's balanced enough? I'm also a big fan of the music representation of this level, especially with the song itself being quite addicting to listen to. The gameplay is a huge factor as to why the energy of the song is matched so well, which is quite rare to see for an art level of this caliber, and is something I can have some extra appreciation for. Overall this isnt subwoofer's strongest work, the art style has stagnated over time and I dont think I fit the target audience for what event levels are trying to cater to. But I still wish to see the level be given some credit where it's due, because it really isnt as bad as people make it out to be.

Notoriously overhated, not only did I very much enjoy my time playing this level but I also never found the difficulty of this level to be deceiving in any way. Regardless of that, I have a lot of respect for the simplicity of this level and I think works exceptionally well to set a tense atmosphere. At no point in the level would I call the designs particularly outstanding but every part has something remarkable to it and it makes every passing part memorable in its own way, the song is also fantastic and I think the level does it justice with the way it progresses. It's such a drill to play through this level and feel the threat of the environment and it's an experience unlike any other level in the gauntlets.