Rating Curve

If you're not intimately familiar with a song and you still notice that the song rep is not fantastic is that valid or not. I don't really like how literally MaxxoRMeN took the theming of the song and translated to the level- it’s kind of like when you really like a song but you can’t really articulate what you like about it if that makes sense.

Otherwise this level is pretty good, I think the decoration looks very pretty and I admire being a bit uncompromising by just having one really long part in the middle, but idk I just don't feel very strongly about this one similar to how I didn't really latch onto CITYFADE that strongly. I'd definitely love to see perspectives from more die-hard fans of the song though

Freeed is a creator who I associate more with megacollabs than solo levels so I was really shocked to see that not only has Freeed made a few solos, but this level is pretty damn good. I really like how expansive and creative it gets with the Manix style, breathing a lot of life into it at a time where it was starting to decline. There are a lot of freeflying sections which I really like in the context of this style, especially since I never really saw other creators like Manix or Lazerblitz doing that despite it fitting in really well with the general tone/atmosphere. I also really appreciate the clarity which is something that The Badland also excelled at compared to its contemporaries- I think it dips a bit during the second half of the drop, where there's a dolphin flying at you for some reason? But I think for the most part this is really good. Probably the best Manix styled level since The Badland.

Bordering on a ten. I feel like a fucking fraud watching this. This is the type of level that I wish I was able to make in GD.

Very polarizing for me. I love the concept and how vast and grand this level feels, but the execution is just not there. A lot of the decoration is hit-or-miss, and everything is moving and too hard to follow. It frustrates me a lot since I think beneath a lot of its problems it's an awesome concept and I think it gets the song rep down, but it suffers from a lack of clarity. It reminds me a lot of that one part in Chasm by TheDevon where everything is moving around and shaking for some reason and it is impossible to follow and play.

THE WHEEL OF FATE IS TURNING

This level marks the start of a transitional period for Jayuff, starting to incorporate more general design sensibilities rather than the more flat/modern approach that they were taking in levels like Odd or Amarillo that predominated early 2.1. And I think this experimentation is really cool because unlike those other levels, the individual parts here feel much more cohesive and whole compared to parts in their older work, where there's a very stark disconnect between the background and foreground that brings down the vibe.

This level also experiments with a lot of different styles, and you can see some shades of older creators in some parts (kind of like how the first part feels very nasgubb inspired), but then you see Jayuff blazing a new trail for level design, and a motif that'll probably catch your eye- these multicolored glow structures. You can tell they were feeling themselves with this idea because not only is this iterated on in later parts, but also in future levels, and I think these designs are decently innovative for the time- a lot of Jayuff's work in this period and later on is very reminiscent of the much playful and colorful designs we would be seeing in the late 2.1 era- where a new generation of creators would take these types of elements and sentiments towards level design to usher in what I would consider to be GD's renaissance.

Sadly, this level itself is not something I find too interesting nowadays, as I think it hasn't aged perfectly, as well as having a few hit-or-miss parts, but I think it serves as a pretty important springboard to Jayuff's creating journey and what would lead them succeeding so much more in the future.

This is probably the logical conclusion of the impact remake culture has had on this game- why don’t we remake the best extreme demon ever made in representational style? Surely, this level must be just as good by proxy.

This level is very funny unintentionally but I also find it a bit sweet.