Junior Member
I'm not entirely sure where the myth that the "majority" of this level is constructed from assets ripped directly from Celeste originates from, cause that's firstly: cynical in a way no one really appreciates, and secondly: unobservant in a way that makes the 0s here look pretty silly. Notably, everything in this level was built by hand with no img2gd or pixel art converter to speak of, and only a handful of the parts even directly recreate assets anyways. I oppose plagiarism even more than the next person, but blind hatred for inspiration and disregard for the creator's intentions doesn't sit right with me. I see this level, more than anything, as a very flawed love letter to Celeste, not something that defiles or plagiarizes the game. I'd like to highlight both the chapters 1, 4 and 8 parts especially for capturing the feeling of the levels with original designs.
My primary issue with the level lies in the pacing of the decoration parts. It rushes through chapters 1-6 (hanging on 5 for a slight bit longer) to reach Summit for the drop, then spends the majority of the drop in Summit before tagging on Core to the drop and treating Farewell as little more than a footnote. I think it would have been so much better to push forward both Core and Farewell, so that Summit didn't take up the entire first part of the drop and so Farewell could start where Core was placed initially to make it the climax of the level and treat it with the respect it deserves. Now, as it stands, most of my appreciation for this level comes from the experience of beating it; it utilizes the progression of Celeste to emulate the feeling you get when climbing through the game, with an extended predrop (the bane of many) preceding the airy rush of Summit. Beyond Summit, the experience of the level entirely rests on the gameplay rather than the decoration, which Is pretty unfortunate, because the dual is one of my favorite gameplay parts in any extreme demon.
If I took this level entirely at face value, I could easily consider it great, but I empathize with a lot of the frustrations expressed by other people here about game recreations in general and of course my own issues with the structure of the decoration. Plus, I have to recognize my own bias in favor of the level not only as someone who had an incredible experience beating it but also as someone who was following it as it was being built, and reluctantly reduce my score to match the feelings of my critical eye.
so I avoid reiterating myself, most of the points from my "from her eyes flow" review apply here. The reason I figured this was relevant enough to comment on is because while that level only works because it matches the song, this level almost serves to enhance its song. On its own, the song is plainly lovely and bizarre vaporware, but in conjunction with the level it feels genuinely otherworldly. Outside of a few parts where the scaled up objects ruin the immersion, this level is a totally unreal experience that I think is worth watching regardless of how much you end up liking it.
Imagine a world in which a level of this scope and ingenuity was designed with an entirely unique artstyle befitting the quality of the playing experience. The lightning segment and final boss are some of the best designed platformer gameplay that currently exists--they make you feel fuckin awesome as a player, despite not really being very difficult or even unreadable--and if it weren't for the somewhat tedious trek through the castle I might be inclined to call it the most fun platformer in its difficulty range. Imagine a world in which it was the most beautiful and fantastical platformer in its difficulty range, too.
This is a world in which thejshadow and MoistenedEgg are much too powerful.
On exclusivity, obscurity, and anonymity
Levels like this are exactly the reason I wish there was an option to leave a review without rating, because I think work like this is the perfect opener for a discussion about what people pursue in art. Believe me, once I can remove my rating, I will--I do like this level, sorta, but--we'll get to it.
The pursuit of obscurity is incredibly enticing to some artists. Not obscurity in the sense that no one cares about your work, but rather that only the RIGHT group of people cares. On this site, this level has found its audience, which I am totally thrilled by. If this resonates with you, I respect that entirely! What doesn't quite sit right with me is how this desire for an ingroup becomes alienating and can separate the humanity from the work. To me, this level feels cold. It's almost impossible to decipher what person could create this level; to some people, the appeal becomes the alien feeling that this level appeared without a creator.
Art is a human urge, or, that's the way I see it (I'm sorry, please bear with me). The throughline of society has been the urge to immortalize said societies through works of art, works that survive on a greater timescale or capture a greater meaning than the people who made it. Passion for art spawns from connection between people, and while obscuring the origin of creation might spark intrigue or fleeting fascination, it means I can't ever love this level the same way I can some intricately woven set of designs or clever use of the game as a medium.
That brings me to my actual issues with the level, which is that in all its effort in capturing a mood, presenting an experience, or however you might call it, the visuals plainly lack the level of creativity in fields of color and design that I would expect from something truly affecting (again with the understanding that this might not be the same metrics others value in levels). Same goes for the actual level-ness of the level, which is entirely secondary--often I tend to be upset by works similar to this because they are designed almost exclusively for a viewing experience. While they might be visually enticing, the medium allows for SO much freedom in the playing experience that is almost entirely ignored by the level.
This level is unique, in ways, but it also falters in so many familiar fashions. I fear that its immediate status as a cult classic is more notable than any of the features of the level itself.
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sorry about this gang