Rating Curve

Good concept. But misses the mark.

The thought of a version of the Ultimate Demon Mix using 2.1 levels to end off the 2.1 update is a pretty cool idea, and a perfect way to end off such a big update.

Unfortunately, this level seemed to completely miss those intentions.

The level is held back by many aspects. I will try to dissect them one at a time.

First things first. The length. The length of the level is just... way too short. Way too short to represent the massive scale of 2.1, and because of it, the level feels like it ends way too fast. In the original Ultimate Demon Mix by Zobros used the ENTIRE song, which not only helped the level feel cohesive, but also made room for plenty levels, and show the creative diversity of levels at the time!! However, because this level is literally just a minute long, there is not that much levels in its catalog, and thus, feels unfinished.

Where is Digital Descent? Where is Hypersonic? Where is Black Blizzard? Where is Sedulous, Tartarus, xo, Glide, and many other iconic demons from this period? There could've been room for so much iconic and monumental demons that perfectly represent the creativity of a long reigning update, but instead, we just have a measly 8 levels, with one of them being Bloodbath, a 1.9 demon verified in 2.0 being one of the levels included for some reason. I do understand that pretty much mimicking a lot of different styles of levels is very hard work, so I partly let it slide. But even then, it still kinda sucks because it could've been something much more

And finally, the gameplay. To be fair, I do respect the original gameplay rehauls in each part, as this also pretty much avoids straight up copying whole parts from another level. However, it really does take away from the feeling that you are truly going through different levels. Revisiting worlds you have conquered before for one last time. Some of the gameplay changes are so jarring that it really took a while to realize what level was actually being represented (ex. Silent Clubstep).

This level is just okay. Its just really is a bummer that circumstances can drag down such a cool idea.

I am AshleyButSix and this is my message.

I am the biggest hater of this level. I never liked this level since day 1. It just looked like a generic level but its an extreme demon. Contrary to popular belief, it was never impressive even when it came out all the way back in 2017. When this level came out it made me really concerned for the future of extreme demons. Fortunately levels have since move past looking this bad ever since. Song is awesome tho.

I am AshleyButSix and this is my message.

THE LEVEL THAT INSPIRED ME TO CREATE LEVELS.

There will be a lot of bias going into this review, but even then, I will try my best to keep this review as fair as possible as I am also trying to beat this level too!!

This level is probably the greatest memory level ever made I think, and is one of my most favorite levels... EVER.

I will skip talking about the decoration, which is a fusion of pure 1.9 style with some 2.0 aspects that seemingly fit the aesthetic of the level. There isn't really that much to talk about the decoration, and is nice anyways. I will go straight into the gameplay!!

I know people have a HUGE hate over memory levels. But if there is a memory level I could recommend to (almost) ANYBODY, it would be this level!! Every part of this level is so iconic and well executed that their gimmicks will just fry into your brain, and it makes it so much easier to memorize the parts!!

The gimmicks are extremely creative too!! Keep in mind, this was made in the time when the infamous "block maze" in memory levels was the only defining thing about memory levels

You have gimmicks like "Switches" where you have to go through hidden, and sometimes invisible passages to collect switches that will help you escape and beat the level!!

The wave and ship part at 19% is an extremely creative portal memorizing part!! You have to remember which portal will, and won't work, and it is very easy to remember!! This part specifically actually inspired the wave part of MikuMikuMikuMiku!!! :D I just loved this part so much!!!

The ball part with the big shadow, and a small shadow foreshadowing what will happen ahead is such a nerve-wracking part where the gameplay itself is very easy, but it is very easy to mess up if you are nervous!!

The ship part takes the shadow gimmick from the previous ball part, and plays with your nerves even more with a barrage of portals, and makes you figure out which portal will make you change gravity and which ones will simply apply nothing to you. If you learn it enough, this part is kinda easy, you just have to REALLY control your nerves in this part!! This part also inspired the ship part of MikuMikuMikuMiku!!

Alright. Now the most infamous part of the level. The cube maze. T_T

I really don't like cube mazes. They pretty much ruin the flow of any memory level, and this level unfortunately no exception. I can appreciate them at an intimidation standpoint, but from a gameplay standpoint, I feel like it is the worst part of the level as it goes against everything the level was going for.

Rather than trial and error memorization like every other part of the level, this part sticks to the old archaic "try to guess which path is correct, which path will kill you, and which path simply leads you to the wrong direction and THEN kills you, forcing you to delete all those practice mode checkpoints from earlier" type of memorization that was everywhere in memory levels. If you want to beat this level like me, you REALLY need a third party to make this part even remotely playable. A skilled friend who has already beaten this level telling you the inputs, or maybe a level that shows all the paths you have to take. Both of these options have really worked for me!!

By the way, this applies to IF you even manage to enter this part correctly. If you enter the teleportation portal the wrong way in the ship part, you will either mis a click, or fall into nothingness. It is just really unfortunate the level had to take a nosedive like this Q_Q

After all that nonsense, the level suddenly becomes PEAK again, and a very simple, but yet deceiving UFO teleportation puzzle part happens. Some platforms are go-through, some platforms are invisible, and some teleportation portals are not where they truly seem to be. This part is really simple to learn, as with the part after this

The tunnel part. The last memory part in the level, and the perfect last memory part. It is extremely easy, but if you were at this part from 0%, you better pray that you remember the game mode pattern!! I'm certain you will, but this part will definitely make you nervous!!

After that is the ending. Another easy ship part. Better pray you collected all of those switches!! You need all of them to even beat this level!! If you miss even one, goodbye to all that sweet progress!!

Despite the ending sounding pretty evil, is is pretty easy to remember where every switch is!! (the cube part not so much).

I feel like if the level replaced the cube part with something else, this level would've been a MASTERPIECE!!

oh yeah and also the song is AWESOME!!!!!!

I am AshleyButSix and this is my message

IT WAS ALMOST PERFECT......

Easily my favorite level WOOGI has ever made!! Made in the middle of 2.0, this level still holds up both decoration and gameplay wise! The structuring of the decoration and platforms is the expected style from the extremely skilled WOOGI, but in this level, it really feels like he had mastered his own style here!! Moving objects in this level are also implemented in his style very smoothly!!

Speaking of smooth, the gameplay, more specifically, the movements, is just. Absolutely perfect!! Every gamemode moves in a way where it feels like the song specifically made them move in that way!! It was as if the song itself was made for this level to exist!! The movements, transitions, speeds, gamemodes... It just.... matches the vibe of the song!! There are many more levels with this song out there, but this level is where I think the song truly belongs.

It is one of my favorite extreme demons, and is one of the greatest levels ever made!!

And because of that, it hurts me to say that despite my love for almost EVERYTHING in this level, there is ONE part of the level that just drags... EVERYTHING down as well.

I think you guys know exactly what I am talking about.

that click.

that specific click at 62%.

that click is a 3-frame perfect, and that is just on 240 hz.

Good luck to the unfortunate souls who've played this on 60 hz. I genuinely have no idea how you guys beat the level like this.

This click is by far the hardest timing in the level (and probably the hardest part). And it really didn't have to be this way, which is the most unfortunate part about this.

Because of this chokepoint, rather than seemingly easing into the second part of the level, where difficulty already ramps up, instead you WILL die alot to this one click by either misclicking or missing the click entirely due to how specific the click is. I don't play that much hard demons, but his click is the most demotivating thing I have ever experienced so far while playing a hard demon level (2nd being the pre-drop of Lit Fuse). Fortunately, I freaking LOVE unbalanced levels. Flow gameplay is harder for me to learn compared to unbalanced levels. Even with this bias, this click can still be pretty infuriating, which is why I have made this the very first level I have reviewed to not be a perfect 10/10

I am AshleyButSix and this is my message.

8 years later. STILL MY FAVORITE LEVEL EVER

In all these 8 years, I still haven't seen a level that is just... so... CUTE!!!!!! This is just the cutest level EVER!!!!!!

The decoration is so simple and bubbly!! The unique 2d sidescrolling style is really cool and the puzzles are simple and great!! The difficulty also progressively gets harder, and it reflects extremely well with the theme of the song, which is LOVE!!!!!!

There is a big place in my heart for levels about love (etc. Miss You by Zoroa), because I don't think there is nothing more adorable than love!!

I also like how this level is a reference to a flash game from my childhood!! (I Saw Her Standing There). It gives me a bit of nostalgia!!

Despite many levels, and most of my favorite levels in general having the most well thought out decoration, executions, graphics, gameplay, and etc, this incredibly simple level will forever stay on top as my most favorite level EVER simply because it is so freaking CUTE!!!!!!

I am AshleyButSix and this is my message

[Sorry for bad English]

This is my first review!! I am so HAPPY this website exist because that means I can now talk levels like this one!!

This is quite possibly the best impossible level layout to ever be made in the whole entire game. There is nothing that matches the immense atmosphere and vibe this layout does. An atmosphere so immersive and chilling that I actually think that decorating this layout would take much less from it. The level is perfect the way it is because of it

The gameplay is humanly impossible, and it really works well in this level's favor. The thought that someone can theoretically beat this, but no one has yet (and possibly never) feels so existential, a theme that I think this layout was purely going for.

Gameplay is also not like most impossible levels either, as the style of Thycket's impossible layouts are usually like. They are both intimidating and unorthodox. Sometimes uncanny in a way that the gameplay shouldn't even seem possible to pull off. (https://imgur.com/a/dCmxknU)

Structures also move around sometimes, as if the level is alive and sentient, and out to kill you. The difficulty and structuring also becomes more difficult and intimidating the more the volume of the song increases.

That leads me to the next aspect I want to cover. The song. This level is extremely carried by the song, and I mean it in a good way. This song is the reason why I think this level should stay as nothing but a layout. The song has this really specific eeriness to it that conveys both dread, isolation, and coldness. I feel this way even more strongly about the song, especially because of a dream I had when I was only a little kid. Like 3 or smth idk.

Back when I was little, I used to have nightmares all the time. I never knew why. Looking back, they were pretty intense for that age. One of these dreams, I was in my neighborhood. Everything was the same except for the fact that it was night with no stars or Moon showing, and there was nobody around except for me. The only light were the streetlights. I never felt like I was being watched, but it did feel that I was purely alone in the dream.

To make it easier to imagine, much of the neighborhood looked almost exactly like these pictures:

• https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VqZEfqoTA7M/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEXCK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAwkIARUAAIhCGAE=&rs=AOn4CLDPlY-Vu9UXuoF4iOZWp7mBzTM7PQ

• https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fi-have-a-liminal-space-outside-my-window-v0-8ru00r9fghsb1.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1080%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D4b0329be9440c8e3006e0ed8a2a5b3e34c9ac373

• https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/899a4212-c027-4a53-8c46-9d3758a9ac68/dejyv62-fa970096-aeac-45d7-bc34-143fe70eb247.jpg/v1/fill/w_1280,h_960,q_75,strp/liminal_space_at_night_by_nohopenofear420_dejyv62-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9OTYwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvODk5YTQyMTItYzAyNy00YTUzLThjNDYtOWQzNzU4YTlhYzY4XC9kZWp5djYyLWZhOTcwMDk2LWFlYWMtNDVkNy1iYzM0LTE0M2ZlNzBlYjI0Ny5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.GMRV2SCTaO5Et4yGoNxPd_77PyiXVh-D9232lzhSOeY

This song purely reminds me of this dream whenever I listen to it. It just sounds... right!!

Thycket is extremely good with finding really unconventional bangers on Newgrounds!! I wish I could be able to pull off how he does it!!

The song is perfect, the song representation is perfect, the gameplay is perfect, and the lack of decoration is perfect. I am dead honest when I say I dont think we will have another level like this ever again. A lightning in a bottle type of event. It is one of the reasons why Thycket is one of my favorite creators ever, and also why I think this is the best impossible layout ever made!!

I am AshleyButSix and this is my message