Rating Curve

This level is so good that it makes my chest feel heavy. I am not sure if that's even a physical response to something that anybody else can visualize. Maybe a better way to put it is that it makes my heart full, or that it leaves me breathless... either of those work.

If it wasn't for a handful of certain creators, Wik especially, I don't think that 'modern' would be my favorite style of GD level. I've been watching creators try to take surface level themes and build upon them in tasteful ways for much too long to no avail. I've done it myself. I'm not saying that the vast majority of modern creators are bad at building, I'm just trying to emphasize how obscenely difficult it is to accomplish in the editor.

Wik, naturally, knocks it out of the park. Whenever I think of the word "space" now, moments from this level almost always pop up in my head. The way the blocks slowly turn a desaturated shade of blue to emulate a handmade and almost mechanical setting that overlays the prior softer, floatier, and more natural sky-scape... The way the ghost-like shapes in the final wave overlay the jagged structures that are silhouetted against the background animations that serve as a final reminder from whence you started... The way the title card is... you know. My first time playing the level and seeing the level name gradually show up to transition out of the first part is personally unforgettable and one of my favorite memories of this game as a whole.

I miss Wik a lot. I'm yearning for more levels to obsess over.

I am 100% certain that nothing will ever top this level.

Crop Circles, as it seems, was grown in a laboratory from teeny-tiny samples of all my favorite artistic influences; those being sound, color, texture, pace, subject matter, emotion (if that qualifies)... the list could go on and ever-on.

I did not know it was even possible for me to have a definitive favorite anything, even outside of GD. Take music, for example. Music is such a broad thing. There are so many songs. Too many songs. Many songs are splendid and dear to me. Even so, I feel like they can only be so good. It is impossible to pick one that shoves itself above the others in terms of just how it feels in my head. Sure, how a song resonates with me and sticks in my brain could potentially prod around that choice for me, but my tastes will inevitably change and I'll grow to love something new. I trust that, because... I've experienced it before? IDK.

So naturally, prior to Crop Circles releasing, I assumed the same thing would happen with GD. I didn't have a favorite level. There was a LOT of beautiful artwork that was being put out onto the servers, but there was nothing coming out that I thought was non-replicable.

When Crop Circles (I'm going to call it CC now, for the sake of my fingers) came out, it didn't blow me away. I thankfully was able to recognize its beauty right away though, and I really appreciated Michael's more mellow and personal approach stemming off of what he had done with "Sculptures."

Something strange happened after that, though. It is still kind-of happening to this day ever on since that point. With every revisitation of the level, I realized more and more how inhumanly perfect every individual little piece fit together. Things that I mentioned earlier like textures, colors, sound representation, etcetera, seemed so meticulously crafted that it was almost unnerving to me, especially given how timid the level presented itself. There was not a single flaw in the level. I still cannot find one. I am terrified of Michael. Maybe the name of the level speaks for itself, and an alien flew down and implanted perfection onto his account overnight. I wouldn't doubt it.

If I could gush over every single asset in CC that makes me melt in my chair in awe and appreciation, I would, but I cannot. Writing for that long uninterrupted would probably make me die of starvation. Just know there is not a single visual moment in the level that I haven't put on repeat to smile stupidly at.