Rating Curve

This level resonates with me a lot about my experience with 1.9, Twenty One Pilots (21p) included, it feels like a whole ode to the mid-2010s. This is a sort of level I could appreciate if it wasn't well executed, but it is also just really good on its own. It's part of the 21p theme obviously, but the washed out gray and red coloring of levels that used to be more colorful helps connect the level and the time past, realizing some of these, I don't even recall the original color palettes immediately anymore. All memories have this melancholic feeling that's well captured in the sort of drab desaturated atmosphere throughout the level. That color pulse progression from a deep red, followed by a grayer desaturated red, to plain gray that follows the entire level, reversing in the more upbeat parts where Tyler's mood seems less miserable, is so subtle, but I love it so much. The 21p references littered throughout are nice to see as a big fan of the duo. I'm pretty sure this was rated the day the Blurryface tribute album and Breach were announced, which is sort of insane timing, too.

This level is absolutely stunning to me. Some of the effects used in this have been used in other places (that grainy effect especially), but it is utilized so well here I can forgive it completely, and it works so well with the insanely good song. I hope this can get rated despite its unique gameplay choices (there are in-level checkpoints that are really impressively implemented, but I honestly wish they didn't have them). I will say that the first time I respawned at a checkpoint, a massive chill entered my spine. I was NOT expecting that

If you want to watch a video instead of playing it for whatever reason (YOU SHOULD REALLY PLAY IT YOURSELF THOUGH), I have an upload in 2k that's hopefully less grainy than the other ones since this level is a bitrate killer

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The intro is easy to skip, which is good and should be standard for levels w/ intros. I don't care for the intro. The actual start of the level is just weak. There is a vague click sync that is harder to follow than just buffering, and it lacks the obfuscation of gameplay to put you on edge even in your first attempt. You're zoomed in for this entire predrop, and I argue it makes the level worse with how much worse the later cluttering feels due to it. The actual decoration here is just sort of alright, but there's so much BLUR everywhere you can't appreciate any of the detail. The only service of this extreme level of blur on what would be a pretty strong background is to keep focus on the foreground/playing space and midground, which is, unfortunately, incredibly bland. I can't help but wonder what the planning was here, because it's too cluttered in various ways to try and portray the "emptiness of space" with how asteroids/debris fly over the player and how the ship's debris is in the background, but there's also not enough to look at in the foreground for the entire part to be interesting. It's not lonely, it's not stunning either, but it feels like that's what Bli wanted to go for. The next part starts switching the background to various landscapes, much too quickly for you to appreciate anything, intermittent with blue constellations with an empty space background that also feels cluttered at the same time. The structuring here is just as empty as before. Some of these flashes are incredibly incohesive between the playing space and the background (the ocean and the bedroom, especially), where there's either very little structuring gameplay made of thematically related floating objects. It's incredible how cluttered the level feels when you focus on the background, but how empty it feels when you look at the foreground here. Then you go into the backwards floating time vortex thing, which looks Okay and lasts way too long. Short cutscene (actually looks cool) and a few unnecessary flashes to match the drums and you get to the drop.

The predrop doesn't produce any emotion here, even though it's clearly trying to; the background paired with these large structures overlayed on top (it does not help at all that you are zoomed in by the way) only serves to make the level feel cluttered. There's nothing interesting going on in the layer you play on, either. The gameplay feels like an afterthought.

Now the drop is actually decent with a few large pitfalls, but otherwise shows potential for a cinematic style like this to be good, and is why I refuse to call anything similar "slop" or whatever pejorative with no specific meaning people put instead of actually providing input on what's causing a level to falter. First, there's actual gameplay that, while not really too unique, isn't boring. More importantly, the gameplay works well with the background here, and the camera positioning lets you appreciate the genuinely good backgrounds and block design together. The decoration of the bottom half really feels like you're at a location and doesn't feel like structures stamped onto a background. You follow along the ground and see a lot of different things in those first two landscape parts. The upper half of the screen is just boring, though, presumably to keep you looking at the background. It feels like a layout was just adapted to fit the creating style without proper planning. The ending is pretty sudden, I'm not gonna jelq an endscreen over actual level that could be happening instead but its a cool animation regardless.

The whole level feels like it just wasn't thought through well enough, and suffers greatly in execution. The beginning parts drag it down too much for me to consider it a good level, but it certainly has some good points, but unfortunately it isn't that memorable regardless. 4/10

This level hits different when you play from zero btw
Main gameplay complaint is always about the initial drop but it works fine for a level of 5* difficulty. My actual only grievance with it is an annoying robot click at the last part that just doesnt work sometimes but its serviceable. The level has good development throughout with a nice difficulty ramp upwards.
Every part is visually stunning with my least favorite part visually being the initial drop because i dislike that color choice but otherwise its a very nice level.

this was my favorite level when i was like Nine or something.
Cool structuring that really lets it stand out and designs that still look nice today, has a cool dual but is otherwise uninteresting gameplay-wise, neon lights that still look Yummy, but there are a lot of parts that sort of lack substance visually. Otherwise great level

Childish, melancholic, and uplifting. This level gave me goosebumps so strong I teared up when the gameplay looped after the catharsis. Its gameplay is slow and repetitive, but necessary. The decoration progresses perfectly while always matching the throbbing chord progression that remains constant throughout the entire level.
When I was a kid, I would get so engrossed with movies I saw in theaters that there was a choking emptiness when the movie finished and I left, yet also so comforted. As if I'd just been transported to another lifetime and back. This is the only geometry dash level that captured that feeling.

Probably my standard for a 10/10
The level's music representation is on point, with its ominous prelude and DnB throughout the drop, matching gameplay and tone. The initial drop is striking with its sudden shift and the second drop is just as complex visually as the song that backs it up. The last section of the level diminishes in intensity slightly until the very end but doesn't let up.

The second drop (#kill bot flashing Scary part) in its full detail form (that you have to edit the level to enable for some reason?) is an absolute clusterfuck visually (in a good way) with enough effects over the arts to keep that distorted look that matches with the tone perfectly. It's one of the best parts ever made in a level if I'm being honest.

The break right before the drop makes you feel cool to play, has cool skeletons, and breaks up the primary red visual by making it the secondary color, preventing monotony Please do this more often in break parts creators it adds so much to level identity.

As for my gameplay judgment, it's an extreme demon I actually had the patience to beat (albeit for a bit video) which says a lot. I usually give up on a level after I learn the parts enough to do them semi consistently, but the level works so much better as a whole that it makes playing from zero rewarding and fun. Every part gets consistent but with how the gameplay is set up never feels fully "secure". Every click in the drop has you on edge with how close you can get to dying, and the last section is by far the least consistent and easiest to fuck up part of the entire level, which is actually the perfect way to end a level like this.

Overall one of the most visually satisfying and fun levels I've ever played.

One of my favorite levels of all time that is almost entirely carried by the drop gameplay
Visually isn't anything interesting, some parts are disjointed and movement triggers break any sense of cohesion by splitting objects in half.
The gameplay isn't notable at all until the drop, nor 66%+, but the drop gameplay is such a marvel I cant help but appreciate the level as a whole.
The robot gameplay is extremely satisfying, utilizing verticality and structuring in a way that I just don't see anywhere else creating intensity in a unique way. Immediately following is the best part of the level with maybe my favorite dual of all time that is so satisfying to pull off and matches with the music change almost flawlessly, maintaining the intensity that the drop set up perfectly. The best praise I can give to the rest of the gameplay is that it manages to lower intensity gradually, but isn't nearly as interesting as the previous parts.
5/10

Well
The visuals are definitely the focus of the level. There are some very good-looking parts and the very beginning and some parts of the middle of the level is where the visuals shine brightest in my opinion. The ending title card auto is one of my favorite sceneries in a level period. But as a whole work, it's just so inconsistent I can't give it beyond a medium-high score. The backgrounds are very bland, and sometimes feel nonexistent. Some parts of the level use a shit ton of low visibility objects to emulate glow / low transparency blocks that tank the framerate and are barely noticeable unless you are paused or die. I often wonder how a level supposedly famous for a million objects can just feel empty in parts.
The gameplay is awkward and frustrating. I sort of get the impression you aren't actually meant to play the level based on how it is more of a tool to assist the visuals, but a lot of the gameplay just lacks the intensity to convey the highs of the song and is super uninteresting. To illustrate, much of the beginning is chaining orbs together in annoying patterns that are unintuitive and often buggy. The most fun part is the part where you spam a bunch, but not the yellow part where you spam a bunch in between inconsistent transitions and buffers I mean the orange one where you just spam as a UFO.
I can't tell if this level just hasn't aged well or if it was never that interesting because I don't think I ever cared for it when It first surfaced other than joking about how no one could run it.
Hota does fix a lot of these problems though in his sequel, "Devoreur De Dieux", which is one of my favorite levels of all time and a visual marvel. I just find this work to be a particular disappointment.