Rating Curve

How did zobros make this level so broken? I've seen this gimmick work much better in the past.

While I don't think this level is too impressive or the message is that profound, I think SGameT has a lot of credibility to preach a message like this because their other levels share a similar ethos. Not caring about anyone's sensibilities to an extent breeds creativity which is how creators develop building styles. I can confidently say SGameT has a style and it is unlike anything I've seen before. Brainwave is peak.

Ohhhhhh... Nope... Nuh uh...

I think this level's main strength is how it pushes back against the most common tropes of top extreme demons. It was made by a single person, it is quite long, the color palette is bright, the song is fun, the gameplay is well-paced, and it doesn't look like a lifeless blob. Most of those qualities fall a bit flat when taken out of the context it exists in, but I can still appreciate it regardless. My biggest complaint is how overdecorated it is.

This level is really awesome. I've loved playing it since I saw it on top of the level rankings yesterday. SoDaZ has a knack for making some of the best gameplay of this difficulty range. It's like if Codex made more levels this hard. The entire experience playing Mint Candy is super smooth despite the level being so fast and hectic. It takes real skill to do something like that. The visuals also accentuate the gameplay brilliantly and makes you feel like you are on a sugar high while playing.

One of the standout levels from the end of 2.1. Boxing Boxes stands out in my mind primarily for its use of game design principles in its level design. It is still one of the only levels I know that excels at making gameplay that would normally be confusing and frustrating and turns it into something that is predictable and visually clear.

This level introduces gimmicks, something I'm not usually a fan of, in such an intuitive way and it builds on them throughout the level. The first gimmick you come across is the giant square that alternates between slamming the ground and the ceiling. You are introduced to these blocks by observing how they work in the first ship part, and then transitioning into a ball challenge where you have to puzzle your way around using your knowledge of how these blocks work. Unlike moving obstacles in most levels, these blocks move in such a predictable pattern that you can always rely on for the entire runtime of the level. On top of that, they are instantly recognizable with their visually distinct white design and arrow that indicates where the block will move next. This communicates to the player exactly what this object will do, something that almost every video game should be able to do when introducing a new mechanic.

After that, the player is introduced to these spring pads which launch you in the air. Once again, they are represented with a visually distinct design, this time being light blue. You are first shoved into one to demonstrate how the trajectory works, and then you are given a couple more to play with. After a couple of these, you are confronted with a pad that has a spike ceiling directly overhead. This interaction feels quite similar to the part from Back on Track with the jump pads and the spike ceiling. Since the player has almost certainly played Back on Track before, they are intuitively able to avoid this obstacle, or at least recognize it as an introduction to the fact that you can jump over these pads. This is genius level design where the creator is pulling from the player's knowledge of how the game works to make their otherwise confusing level more intuitive and fair which just tickles my brain the right way.

After this, the two mechanics are combined to make just the right amount of chaos. There are a couple more things this level does to spice things up such as the green floating platforms and the ability to fly in the middle of a moving white box, but this review is already getting too long. To wrap things up though, even after all the chaos, this level stands being incredibly fun to pull off. The gameplay is so intuitive despite the amount of moving stuff on the screen and I love it.

Definitely a level I've come to appreciate more with time especially when compared with Acheron. For being a hell level, some parts are actually quite colorful and have some pretty crazy structures. Others fall pretty flat though.

This level is a frankensteined mess, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't interesting. Pretty bad still but it does get some funny points.

Yup. 7. I'm really not in awe of this level as most people seem to be. While I definitely played the game in the 1.9 era, I wasn't exactly conscious of the community and what conventions were in place. Perhaps that explains some of my gripes with this level such as the purely red color palette and some of the messy designs that just haven't aged that well. These gripes really break the immersion for me at certain points. Two things that have stood the test of time, however, are the gameplay and the grandeur. Death Moon has fantastic gameplay that functions quite well as a major challenge for people in this skill range. On top of that, it feels climatic to play, but I imagine more so for people in this skill range. Now that I'm writing this, I may feel neutral toward this level because I decided to beat it after advancing beyond its intended skill range. It's fun to theorize how my thoughts would change if I experienced this level in a different context.

This is a level that portrays nuclear disaster in such an abstract way that fits the GD medium quite well. Most of the level feels like pretty standard MCres style, but there are a few standout moments that I want to highlight. The explosion at the beginning of the level is visible in the background far before there is any music change which results in a proper "oh shit" moment as if you are helplessly witnessing your imminent doom. MCres specializes in moments of pure spectacle like this that just contrast so well with the more mundane aspects of their levels. Additionally, I like to think the de-synced dual part is the result of a nuclear mutation caused by this disaster. It feels unnatural especially since the other icon is trailing so far behind. Very cool stuff