Rating Curve

I liked the level a lot less when I found out that the title wasn't wonderfully braggadocious hyperbole, but rather just the name of the song. This level did "meant to be watched, not played" before everyone else.

My first finished level, at least the first one on my current account. This was made for a creating jam, which I think forced me to get off my ass and actually finish something for once. It certainly has potential: you explore an almost abstract landscape with a storm looming in the background, it gets progressively rainier, until lightning strikes and you're thrust directly into a whirlwind of chaos, having to weave your way through the very same objects you were calmly passing just a bit ago. Would have probably worked a bit better if the drop wasn't somehow more static than the predrop. Shame, but perhaps I can remedy this missed potential with a remake in the future. The "abstract landscape" was mainly due to the fact that I did not know how to decorate back then, but it definitely could work as intentional theming.

I'm not the metaphysical type, so unlike #​CertainPeople, I won't immediately deride it just for being made by the Soulless™ group, and will criticize the level on its own merits. With that, this is probably one of Cherry Team's better levels, alongside Void Wave and Belladonna. The latter two derive their quality from a (sorta) minimalist style of glow, but both have pitfalls that keep them from being great in my eyes: inconsistent style for Void Wave, and, weirdly enough, the exact opposite for Belladonna, with its constant pulses that really don't change with the song at all. KOCMOC is the exact opposite of this, and unfortunately, it still has the inconsistent style that plagues most megacollabs. In addition, I feel that in their strong attempts to make the decoration feel as intense as possible, they ultimately failed to rival the intensity of Slaughterhouse, because that level derives its intensity from the structuring: you can see, nay, feel how difficult the level is, just by looking at the gaps the player has to make their way through. It doesn't need many more pulses, since its main goal is already accomplished. If Cherry Team wanted to achieve the same intensity via decoration alone, then they should have gone even further, although funnily enough, toning down the decoration and allowing the viewer to actually see how damn difficult the level truly is would have resulted in the same effect. To sum it all up: I see immense potential in Russian glow, and I wish to see someone utilize the style to its full potential. That someone probably won't be Cherry Team though.