Rating Curve

Would've given this a 0 if the larger portion of this world werent such sour pussies about optimistic nihilism as a concept, it's seriously impressive how even the most amateurish philosophy can still be misunderstood and creep into people's insecurities. Absolute waste of 7 minutes for anyone who is decently well read, the messaging is not unique nor particularly thought provoking, but if this level of all things has the ability to put real existential dread in people then I must say it's doing an astounding job and giving these timid chickens a reality check. I hope the creator knows they did nothing wrong, you're undeniably more righteous than your enemies

Pretty terrible in every way imaginable, its purpose feels almost commercial where it takes the lowest possible budget to act like a carbon copy of waboo's winning contest entries, but in a way I find its complete lack of authenticity more entertaining if anything. If there were any deniers that levels like rage quit are unapologetic sell-outs, this level clears up all the doubt, it's really close to being an actual parody on the genre when all its recurring tropes are so redundant and yet so familiar. It's a pretty good and harmless exemplary piece of how brainrotted the creating scene has gotten, nothing more to be said here

Phenomenal art, dverry has always been known to be way ahead of their time and sleepless night is in my eyes easily the biggest contributor to that belief. I love all the ornate designs and icy colors, they're beautifully composed and capture the vibes of the song perfectly. The only thing that really drags this level down for me is its innate quality as a 2.0 effect/art level, a lot of the gameplay is completely linear and the transitions dont really make sense and feel unsmooth overall. As much as I want to consider this to be an all time classic I dont think it quite earns itself that reputation, but were dverry to ever return we would more likely than not see magic unfold

Could’ve been fine with this level if it settled with its initial mediocrity, but the boss sequence really is that bad. Most of it feels like a direct clone from xender’s ultra violence/eschaton bossfights, which I already don’t look too favourable towards, this time made even more blinding and poorly rendered to the point i can barely make out anything. Especially the concept of this girl being captured inside the mech robot is some of the more ludicrous stuff I’ve ever seen, not only is this some insanely offset storytelling to begin with, but am I supposed to feel heroic avoiding some missiles only for her capsule to magically explode? Even all of that aside, this song is absolutely unbearable to listen to, it sounds like a heavy edm version of Alan Walker’s most oversatured tracks. There’s still so much more to criticise the level for, like how hilariously disproportionate the anatomy in the endscreen is or the typography lacking any sort of appeal, but none of it is any more relevant to the inner flaws this level holds

I always saw this level as a bit of a fancy extension, it's difficult to feel insulted by it with zobros' own involvement in the project. Out of all nine circles remakes out there I consider this to be the most faithful one, it doesnt follow the standard formula of "these rigid boxes is what defines the genre" and instead opts to give a semi-unique take on the original level's theme, which supposedly resembles some kind of Asian dungeon. There are some neat designs, the drop was made a lot less repetitive and the overall structuring was changed up to feel sharper and more threatening, the level seems to know what it's doing and yet it feels so underwhelming in the end. Aside from the random Chinese pop up windows at the wave there's very little effort made to communicate the intended aesthetic properly, the designs are about as cryptic as its predecessor, they're modernized just enough to look fresh but it never strictly improves upon anything. Especially the wave, intended to be the level's biggest spectacle, misses its mark in the remake, all its trippy feel is lost to a bunch of static pulses and bland bg elements. I respect what the level was going for, in the sea of meaningless parodies nine circles has received a solid remake could've highlighted its earnest qualities a bit more, but I believe this was a rather weak attempt at doing so

I got so easily hooked the entire 15 minutes through, not a single second goes by without something interesting happening, the level feels unreal in that sense. The path is aimless, all sense of familiarity is gone travelling through these absurd obstacles, there isn’t any real interpretation to be made out of it all and yet it’s so soothing to explore the wastes of this little world. The song feels like it’s in complete dissonance with the environment but it doesn’t distract from the ambience in any way, it’s there to do nothing but set a tone and for the rest of the level to play out in solemn silence. You won’t like the experience if you’re expecting some larger takeaway from it all, it’s simply an interval to be enjoyed for what it is