Rating Curve

This level feels a lot older than it actually is at some points. This feels like top tier early/mid 2.1 work where it is very ambitious but doesn't have the polish to properly do its concept justice, which makes it really cool since unlike other levels that people like to fit into the restrictive box of neodesign, this I feel defies that strict classification by means of its lack of technical ability, which is something I really admire!

No matter how you slice it though this song rep is just not good. It is way too all over the place for a song that I feel is very focused and progressive, and to do an XXL level like this but not use the whole song feels a bit off to me. It makes the level feel like it's going through the motions more than anything, a lot of spectacle but without the emotion or polish to really sell it.

quarter notes. it is a pretty level tho

Bordering on a 6. This is a 1.9 classic to me, and unlike a lot of fanart type levels that we see today, older levels like Five Nights Pollapo or Strongest Stage or Mekaku City Actors benefit a lot from the abstraction that came from how limited the editor was. But I think this is a pretty unique case because in retrospect, is this not how FNAF 4’s menus look? Like the level gives a lot of similar vibes to the images of the house in that game, with the wash of dirty red and the clouds, BEFORE that game came out. Was Pollapo ahead of their time? The world may never know.

The actual level itself is pretty good for what it is. It’s not a very consistent level in terms of quality but there are some highlights (the first dual, mini ball). It definitely ends way before it should though- putting it right before the kind-of-iconic drop of this song makes it pretty unsatisfying to play, even if I do like the final fake where Pollapo’s name is. I think this is overall a bit unfairly hated- this is not bad whatsoever.

(This is talking about KrmaL CC3) I do have problems with this level's decoration and coherency, but Crohn was absolutely right for giving RealDemonChaser an honorable mention and the rest of you judges look like complete bums for not agreeing with him /j

This is a pretty good tribute to older styles, and it feels authentic in ways that other levels that have tried to capture this feeling (think Turbulent Valley or Next Yesterday) have failed at. And the gameplay here? It fucks. Hard. It's like if SimilarAMZ took a stab at this genre of level.

This level gives a similar feeling to thinking about an animatic in my head so it probably makes sense that I really love this despite how much the decoration and camerawork peeve me at some points.

One detail that I think would’ve been so goated and this is like a minor nitpick but instead of the text at 70% satying “LERTS GO” it should’ve said “LET’S GO”. I think the insincerity of a phrase like that clashes a lot with the general mood at that point in the level.

Edit: Lowering this to a six for the same reason as commatose. See my thoughts on that level if you want to know more, but the tldr is that it makes a ton of mistakes but the emotional through-line is too good for me to hate.