Rating Curve

I feel very conflicted about this level, on one hand this is an amazing tribute to the wide variety of creators that influenced s3rios to be the creator they are today, on the other hand it’s quite glaring how rushed the final product is and it drags the level down a good bit. Some parts are of much higher quality than others, done in such a way that hinders the overall pacing, and combined with how so little cohesion is held between parts already it makes the level feel rather awkward and unbalanced. Some nitpick I have with the gameplay is that I despise double clicks, so obviously making an entire level revolving around this mechanic will put me off from ever giving it my own attempt. As much as this level has truly fascinating ideas, I would’ve preferred if more time was taken to refine a thing or 2, I hate to say I don’t believe this was an improvement over new bloom despite the ambition behind it.

Nothing needs to be said about the song representation, this way of level creating was quite unheard of at the time of release and inspired many creators to visualize songs in a completely different manner. I love how the gameplay constantly takes you all sorts of altitudes and how smooth everything falls together, it's absolutely agonizing to play but I've always considered to be an almost rebellious quality of the level. Everything also looks very pretty for how little it does, from the bizarre shapes of the structures, to the way the level opens up into a bursting flow of energy with color starting to reveal itself, even the little transition into the drop adds so much. I sincerely believe this entire level is a perfect example of how minimalism should be done, the vibes are just off the chart.

As inside’s biggest fan I’ll confidently state that this level doesnt come without its flaws. While the concept itself is one of the most brilliant things I’ve ever seen in this game, I feel like anything but the gameplay misses the mark for me quite a bit. The story isn’t illustrated very clearly, at least to my interpretation that is, and just leaves me with a lot to be desired from it. The shift in designs also feels very half intentional, it gets an idea across quite nicely but ultimately it doesn’t really set a good undertone and can feel pretty bland to look at overall. The progression in this level is stunning however, and combined with how the gameplay functions I still think of this level as a work of art, but with how deeply I crave for its potential to fully shine I must lower it on my hype meter.

The 2.0 parts kinda ruined this level from being perfect but still a great map all around

In concept this is one of my favourite deffie levels, the only 2 things holding me back from rating it higher is its short length and uninteresting gameplay. I love the style the level goes for, there is so much character to every little design and despite doing so little compared to deffie’s other recent work it feels so much more lively. The open ended structuring and little art pieces immerse me in a world I can end up drowning in, they fill me with a sense of nostalgia even though I can’t quite grasp the origin of these feelings. It’s a cozy experience and overall a nice change of pace, that’s as much as I need to appreciate a level sometimes