Rating Curve

Lit Fuse is one of the most iconic 2.0 levels in the game, and it has aged very well considering it came out 9 YEARS AGO. It's honestly quite surprising to see what KrmaL was able to do in the editor, especially when you compare to it to his previous levels (I'm looking at you, Invisible Deadlocked). So yeah, seeing this level for the first time was definitely a breath of fresh air.

When it comes to song representation, Lit Fuse absolutely knocks it out of the park. The first 10% starts off slow and dark as the song begins, then it suddenly bursts into bright and colourful visuals as the music picks up. The drop, however, is where this level truly shines. The background grid effect was jaw-dropping to me as a kid, and even now, I still have no idea how KrmaL pulled it off. The way the colourful waves clash into each other in sync with the drums -- it's just so well put together. I also like how the gameplay structures are sacrificed in this part; it gives off the feeling of soaring through the sky with all that empty space. Overall, the atmosphere in Lit Fuse is just top-tier, and I gotta give KrmaL props for absolutely nailing it.

If I had one major gripe with the level, it would be the gameplay. Keep in mind that this is an Insane Demon, and making slow gameplay fun at that difficulty is already a huge challenge. Unfortunately, this level suffers from that problem—especially since 40% of it is just slow, excruciating gameplay. As someone with terrible ship control, the first ship segment is easily the least enjoyable part for me. It’s tight, it’s in 0.5x speed, and it just drags on forever. Then we get to the dual, and I gotta say… yeah, this is the worst part of the level. Not only is it the least visually appealing, but it’s also just spam To me, that kinda breaks the atmosphere of the song, but at least it’s only that section and nothing more. Honestly, one of the main reasons I refuse to beat this level is because of the first 40%, which is a shame because I actually find the drop really fun.

So, to sum it all up, I absolutely adore the visuals and atmosphere in Lit Fuse, but it sucks that most of the gameplay is just pain.