Rating Curve

Having an established oldhead creator hate your level so much that they flat out quit the game is a badge that Codex should wear with honor. The gameplay of this is obviously pretty unorthodox (well, as unorthodox as you can get with just plain cube jumps), though this simplistic gameplay style only raises the question of why the level still needs jump indicators. It's really not that hard to just look at where you need to go, and in fact, the very last part of the level completely abandons the jump indicators as part of its turn to invisible structuring, which, naturally, makes the part look so much better, because there aren't any bright white triangles sticking out like a sore thumb amidst the subdued colors that Codex is so well-known for. The one-block-gap jumps are not marked, which I assume is because the arrow would not look good in such a narrow space, except that's not actually true, because there is exactly 1 (one) such jump marked in the entire level. The reason for this discrepancy is beyond me. And sure, perhaps removing the jump indicators would make certain jumps blind, but that feels more like a flaw with the gameplay itself to me (as it is with almost every instance of jump indicators). I suppose I shouldn't expect too much from a level purportedly made in just a few hours.

Which genius had the bright idea to recommend this as an entry insane?

Cool visuals that are drowned out by the copious usage of shaders.

A part-by-part review from when I beat this.

Dudex: There is a certain expectation you have to fill when making the first part in a level, and Dudex accomplishes it perfectly. It's fun, expressive, and despite being early 2.1, the decoration wouldn't really look that out of place in a modern level. 10/10

Serponge: What are you even doing? 4/10

Manix: This part reeks of early 2.1, and plays accordingly as well. There are many inconsistent parts, but it's by no means horrible. 6/10

Rustam: You don't even need his name to immediately recognize his style, and his habit of putting detailed setpieces in his parts; here, the awesome skull, which is sadly very inconsistent to pass. The rest of the part is also very easy for an extreme demon. 6/10

nasgubb: For the part of the song that it's in, it serves as a perfect break and buildup into the second drop. Not much more to say here; his style is simple, yet effective. 10/10

ZenthicAlpha: The dual and the rest of the part can get decently consistent, but the movement is still very janky. For what it's worth, at least the spider spam isn't horrible to play. The decoration is also quite nice for early 2.1. 7/10

Viprin: 0/10

Pan: The dual is a massive chokepoint, the wave is inconsistent, and the cube is janky. Despite all of that, it's not completely atrocious, so it gets a positive score just for that. 5/10

Evasium: This part also reeks of early 2.1, even more so than Manix's part, but somehow, it's actually very fun to play, and the end, with the ship leading into the robot, which in turn leads to the wave, is a perfect leadup to the third (?) drop of the song. 9/10

Etzer: Just like his part in Digital Descent, it's clear that he really doesn't care anymore. It's shoddily made, and the gameplay is painfully easy. Why does the CPS get lower as the song gets more intense? 3/10

Terron: This part is just plain cool, which anyone can clearly see. This structuring, as far as I know, has not been tried after this, which is a real shame. A perfect finisher to the level. 10/10

The average score, then, rounds to a 6/10.

I find that these types of 2.0 levels often look best at the very beginning, when the creators haven't played all their cards yet, as this means they have to hold back and not throw everything they have at the player. The beginning of this level looks really nice, despite being quite old, but as more detail gets added, the datedness of the designs start to rear their ugly heads, and at the end of it all, it ends at the drop, which is, in my opinion, a cardinal sin.

Purple and green can be combined well, but not in this level.

S3rios and WHErwin both make an exception in their never-ceasing hatred of jump indicators for this level specifically, but I won't. The beginning is cool, but it all goes downhill when you start climbing up the tower. Yes, the visuals look pretty, and all the structures actually coil around the tower like they're supposed to, but you can't really appreciate that detail when the only thing in your mind is where the next jump indicator will be.

Dash and many other 2.2 levels have you finish at the very top of a tower, which makes sense—it's a very climactic place to end a level at. Still Life also has you climbing a tower, but when you reach the top, there's just more gameplay! Gameplay with annoying moving objects, may I add. This means that the level never truly reaches a suitable climax, even when a fitting one was sitting right there. Very disappointing.

First of all: what a name. Second of all, it's mostly a Blast Processing copy with a few neat bits.

I swear this must have been a map pack level, because I'd already beaten it when I was playing through all of Insendium's levels, but I can't find it in any of the packs. Being Insendium's last 1.8 level, you can see the beginnings of his famous 1.9 style; it's sadly very ending-heavy, which just isn't fun, and its decoration style jacks Clutterfunk's swag a bit too much. Also, its name, it's... no, I shan't say it...

Insendium's penchant for unorthodox structuring continues, yet this time, it's unfortunately undercut by the downright garish use of white as an accent color. Literally any other color would have looked better. It's also a 1.8 memory demon, with everything that entails. Did not enjoy beating this.