Rating Curve

Written on November 29th, 2024.

1.0-style levels have always had a special place in my heart thanks to unique ideas people can implement with newer features. Because of this, I was excited to see GRINDZONE by RAPIDZZZ. This level uses traditional features as well as a couple of new 2.2 features to enhance the 1.0-style.

Rapid keeps GRINDZONE simple by adding pulses, movements, shaders, gradients, and enter effects. Colorful pulses and dynamic movements are always excellent additions to 1.0-style levels, and they are pulled off very nicely in this level. Neither aspects are overused or over the top, adding energy and colorfulness to the level. I also like the usage of shaders in the level, being used to highlight very specific notes in the song, rather than being overused for every note.

Unfortunately, the other features create problems with the level. I believe the gradients are an unnecessary inclusion, as there is nothing interesting done with them. They are also very bright, which often leads to haziness in the level. Additionally, the enter effects are an issue because of the intensity. The effects that act on the objects are too strong, creating very jarring movements. On top of the look, the enter effects have a long duration, making sightreading difficult. These effects can easily be limited to one aspect of the blocks, instead of placement, rotation, and scaling altogether. This creates a more pleasant look and improves sightreadability. One final weakness that can be improved on are the designs. Rapid made some elevated designs in their level, but a lot of the other designs are basic. I believe if unique designs were made for every part in the level, then GRINDZONE would be very special.

Overall, GRINDZONE is a good attempt at a 1.0-style level, as it has some favorable qualities and some flaws to improve on. I do not think this level is worthy of a rate. However, I believe Rapid is very close to getting a rate with another try at this style, assuming these flaws are fixed.