Rating Curve

visually, reset your mind is a beautiful depiction of chaos. but i think watching a video is maybe not even 1.9% of the way to experiencing it

initially, the level seems hostile towards the player. your mind has been corrupted beyond recognition, and the rapidly flashing lights and overlapping visual elements are huge hurdles to developing an initial understanding a level. but all of this just makes the overall playing experience so much more satisfying, because there's no better feeling than acclimating your mind to the chaos. what looks like randomly spammed portal and orb placements turn out to be meticulous bits of level design. there is a deliberately carved path throughout it all, a path that opens up through the chaos more and more until you can cut through the level with an eagle eye, focusing on the one remaining functional neural channel amidst the broken brain

i've always thought the best levels in the game are ones where the gameplay and the visuals don't feel separate but are instead packaged together into this one entity that grants the level its full identity, with the song being the wrapping paper of this package. reset your mind feels exactly like this. each orb/portal clusterin the level serves a dual purpose: they give the level a more chaotic visual appearance, but also add an additional layer to the puzzle that the player has to parse in order to find the correct way. I suppose this is something that can be applied to any memory level, but it feels especially potent for this level given how well memory gameplay befits its overall theming of psychic corruption. i mean holy shit it just feels kinda awesome when you approach this giant, messy conglomeration of orbs and you can laser focus the right ones

similar to what 1kb said in their review, i can't help but draw parallels between this level and neurostasis, because almost all of the things i've said in this review can apply to neurostasis as well. despite the similarities in theming the identities of each level feel very distinct, with reset your mind's chaos being very abrupt and neurostasis' chaos being a more gradual development. perhaps i have a soft spot for memory levels with heavy cerebral/psychological elements, but to me these levels just get to the core of what makes memory gameplay so special.