Rating Curve

I have always wanted there to be a level that didn’t waste any time on the predrop and exclusively took place in the drop of the song. I discovered this level yesterday whilst in the process of making a new list, and it is basically everything I ever wanted.

Not only does this level take place exclusively during the drop of the song it uses, Underground by NightKilla, but all the gameplay is in 4x speed. Those two factors alone make this such an intense level to play.

The visuals definitely aren’t the best, but I’ll cut the creator some slack as this was their first 2.2 level and a lot of us were still experimenting with the new features. Besides, the decoration doesn’t do much to take away from the experience, and in some cases, it makes it more intense with the new shaders and camera triggers.

I recommend this level to anyone good enough to beat it. This isn’t gameplay you see very often, and you feel cool asf when playing it.

I, and I assume many other people, were first introduced to Petal Dance through one of AeonAir’s videos in which he played through some of the hardest levels of each difficulty. The reaction he had to this level in particular was priceless, as this level essentially hides a Hard Demon behind a beautiful scenery filled with grass, tree, and flowers.

Have you ever looked at a level showcase on YouTube and thought to yourself, “That doesn’t seem so hard” but when you go try the level for yourself, you realize the level is actually way more difficult than you imagined? This is one of those levels. What Petal Dance is infamous for is just how hard it is to distinguish obstacles from decoration, whether it’s green spikes blending in with the grass, or just straight up invisible saws. Knowing this, many people, including myself, never thought to even give this level a chance after hearing Aeon proclaim that this was harder than Tartarus.

However, with 2.2, we are now given the ability to view hitboxes while in practice mode, and I believe no level benefited from this update more than Petal Dance. It’s safe to assume WinterKeru underrated their level because they knew where all the obstacles were as the creator. While it doesn’t stop the gameplay from feeling jank in certain places like in the duals, the ability to view hitboxes allows for a much easier and effective way to learn this level, letting us know what exactly to avoid (with the exception of the mirrored part). I was able to beat this level in 628 attempts, which is definitely a lot more than a lot of Medium Demons I’ve completed, but I imagine it is way less than what it would’ve been without being able to see hitboxes, if I even beat it at all.

As for how I feel about the level, the vibe I get from it is honestly like no other. Everything about the decoration in combination with the song is just so serene, but playing it, you know everything around you is a lot more dangerous than it looks. It’s almost as if all the spikes and saws were made invisible as to not scare people away. I recommend you try this level for yourself, it’s just an interesting experience that you don’t really get often.