Rating Curve

downright beautiful, that robot part makes me feel things

might write more later

Not sure how to put this into words but playing this level makes me feel like I'm 7 years old again. It reminds me of a time where I was more outgoing and willing to learn about the unknown, from anything I could get my hands on. The cartographical aspect of space is something I vividly remember being really excited by, rekindled somewhat recently with the incredible data we've been getting from the JWST. Planispheres dared to be nerdier and (ironically) more grounded than most levels from the past year, much less for a gauntlet contest about literal outer space. The gauntlet just kind of felt like a Who Can Make The Best Black Hole Contest when levels started coming out for it but Planispheres has remained really close to me.

I honestly have no idea what I've wanted to say about this level for the time it's been out but it's easily one of my favorite unrated extremes. The beginning is obviously hard to talk about since it's pretty much just there to fit the song (supposedly, it could be more coherent to other people) but it does a great job to set up the meat of the level. To fit a hard rock progression, Hemzy decided to go with a raw and cluttered artstyle, and it looks AMAZING. I'm not one for levels where the details are hard to appreciate, "screenshot levels" as I call them, but Level is just so perfectly messy and absurd that it works. It's not as if the artstyle is completely untouched - Devin and Kiriia come to mind - but combined with how the song flows from moment to moment it's probably my favorite part of any level with a rock song. The gameplay is equally rough and high-octane as the visuals, and I'd love to learn and beat it at some point. I tried a couple years ago but the click speed was too high for me at the time. I would love for more people to review this level!!!!

idk what compelled me to review this but I had to get another 10 on this level. It's really the perfect sequel to an already great level and it's up there as one of the XL levels that is most enhanced by its length. It's not overbearing, but it really sells the idea of this "final voyage" to represent Nasgubb finally stepping out of design. Honestly no notes one of the best and most fun extremes in the game

I'm well aware that the face of this level is well over halfway in but it's not as if the other parts anywhere near obsolete in the discussion. This level is probably the closest I've seen to the community's idealized notion of 2.0, where the vibes are especially grounded and nostalgic and the gameplay is just experimental enough to be fun to figure out. Personally I think any 2.0 level with a clear creative spirit is worthy of praise or even nostalgia, but ForeverBound's effects and song choice have remained so blatantly timeless that I still revisit it this year. The rainbow robot part is definitely the highlight, I might even consider it my favorite part in any 2.0 level, but it would be nothing without the carefree aesthetic joy nearly bleeding out of every other part around it.

my favorite lever

Have you ever seen a level that was clearly made by an amateur creator yet they've put a disproportionate amount of effort into it? That's one of my favorite categories of levels, and Cosmogony falls under it. This is purity in GD form.

I know Rhomboveil was meant to bring back a classic style but it really feels like it does more than that, something between the backgrounds and the song choice really sell the feeling that it could have existed a while ago but couldn't now. And despite that, Rhomboveil feels super clean and up to date, with a few parts even incorporating 2.2 triggers front and center. Saturated rainbow with black is also a legitimately perfect color scheme and I don't think anyone has ever messed it up. Overall probably Zhenaxel's best, it's just so effortlessly good in a way that I hope more people come to acknowledge as well.

By far the most fun I've had with a platformer I love when levels have little side quests

I've had trouble putting into words why I like Nubivagant so much since it came out almost a year ago. I guess it's worth noting that Kiinoe and I are IRL friends and I've directly witnessed her entire creative evolution of the last three years. I'm not sure if I would like her levels as much if that weren't the case, especially some of her older stuff, but Nubivagant in particular is obviously beautiful in a way that I hope is apparent to anyone who does as much as watch a video of it a single time. The concept of a "slow burn level" is often nebulously thrown around among more indie GD critics, but this is one of two levels I would argue exemplify the term so well any further discussion of such levels would stand in their shadow. The other is Death by Zeptrus/Alexxhey, a level that actually reaches the same heights as Nubivagant at times, but falls a bit short in my opinion. This is the part I had trouble vocalizing all this time: Nubivagant is RAW AS FUCK.

There's a Twitter account I'm pretty sure everyone is familiar with at this point dedicated to posting raw GD levels. There's two main issues that caused me to finally unfollow and mute it not too long ago: the posts are limited to rated levels, and the admins equate bizarre old levels to being raw just as much as newer shit that just uses the lightning object a lot. Like many words (soulless, polished, energetic, etc) "raw" has gone largely without definition because no one can agree on what it means. Personally, taking "raw" as a desirable quality, I would take it to describe a level that takes no restraint in its execution. This might not even always result in a better product, I would argue that if often doesn't, but it's never anything less than admirable.

Nubivagant bleeds rawness; most of the effects are made from rapidly scintillating particle objects, even when they look far messier than something like gradient triggers or discrete backgrounds would to accomplish similar effects. By that token, even with a shorter runtime and arguably worse song than Death, Nubivagant offers a far more explosive and earned climax than I feel any other level manages to. I thought the gameplay was just okay personally, maybe even being the thing that kept this from being higher in my favorite levels, but the awkward balancing towards the ship part only elevates the stress for me. In general I would say Kiinoe is one of very few creators who managed to really harness 2.2 in a way that felt natural; going from 2.1's animated objects to particles and shaders just felt right in a way that made me wish a similar evolution took place with my favorite 2.1 creators on the same turn. Creators like her are very few nowadays, and I wholeheartedly encourage anyone who likes this kind of level to give it a shot!!