Rating Curve

DISCLAIMER: bli's a chill dude he's awesome this is just my opinion bli if you see this please stop reading now for your own sake lol

first 1 I'm giving, I got a lot on my mind with this one

gonna preface a couple things, I'm already not a fan of bli's visual aesthetic, this is not gonna be a significant part of why I gave a 1 but can and will be a reason for this, second of all for context this was made for waboo's $1k creator contest which I'll get into in a bit

so, why the 1? Well, this level is [insert specifically 3 vague and apparently very umbrella critique terms here that people somehow like to bash on]. Long version, I'll save that for the end so this review gets read and I don't get dogged on for apparently being irritable and a bitch and a hater (I'm a hater but I got my reasons)

let's start with the completely biased and personal stuff: I'm just not a fan of bli's aesthetic of sometimes really thick outlines and very soft color blends and sharp flashes on top of a ton of contrast, coupled with how he usually optimizes his levels to the point where it compromises level integrity (as in like...durability and cohesion, this is the closest word I could think of), to me it's just something that I don't really fuck with, and that's okay. What's not okay for me, was the level being born as a waboo contest entry, lived as a waboo contest entry, then died and promptly buried as a waboo contest entry with the shovel dripping its own blood (you can see how quick I can turn this into a rant about contests and I swear I'll get there)

this is not to assume the level's made solely for the waboo contest, but to me it sure as hell feels like it since I've tried and was still unable to look at this level from any other perspective than that, so much of the level itself reflects on my choice of perspective as well

the level's about the icon gone metaphysical on its disgruntled 40 something-year old player with anger issues and a LOT of money judging by all the phones and ipads and monitors he wrecks throughout the level (yes I know all the angry caveman sounds for the guy from the fx library's just in a super low pitch on default just lemme finish the joke), and I'm aware that not every level has to mean something, it can just have some kind of an amusement factor for the audience, but what is it trying to say? Usually with aesthetics aiming for such a high visual fidelity and without much personalized abstraction I expect quite a literal presentation, so it theoretically wouldn't be too hard for me to find anything the creator's trying to bring forth, but I've yet to find any. Maybe there's none? Maybe it really is just a tech flex and nothing else?

then came the point of it being a waboo contest entry of all things. I don't think I need to emphasize how much a thousand dollars is, and when you put a tech flex of an entry in there, I think it makes plenty sense that it's there for the win, and I'm all for people flexing their skills and flaunting their expressions, and this is yet again pretty personal: this ain't it for me. I'd rather enjoy stuff that amuse me and or mean something, but for a tech flex of a thousand-dollar contest entry to just be there to be cool, on top of my dislike for bli's aesthetics, just...nope

as for the theming, any of you remember back in the day when we muttered the phrase "gamers don't die, they respawn"?

(it's ok I physically shriveled typing that)

turns out, that making a level ABOUT the game you're making the level in, and waving one of its most prominent features like a parade flag, wasn't so much of a good idea. It's corny, it's like Jeff Keighley mentioning the "please wrap it up" sign in his TGA script the year after it happened, or if chick-fil-A sold a lesbian taco on pride month with the slogan "eat her taco out" (don't ask me how I know this)

so with all 3 of these things combined, we get a level born as a thousand-dollar contest entry, lived gloriously as a thousand-dollar contest entry (got first in the waboo cc in fact), and will now die and haphazardly get buried with an arm sticking out by me as a thousand-dollar contest entry with the shovel that just killed it

I'm not mad that stuff like this is being made, I'm mad instead about the contests that birthed conditioned creators to make these kinds of levels. A prize alone already incentivizes competition, let alone a monetary prize which pretty much always turns everything hostile, both for the creators and the audience, and the host up on their pedestal gets to make a video about it and farm views and repeat it over and over (yes waboo, you)

creation shouldn't be capitalistic, creation should be a celebrated biproduct of culture, because this is the stuff we leave behind when the aliens find our bones. Do you want it to be about how you won a thousand that you immediately spent on a new battle pass? I mean it's your money and I wouldn't judge you for it, maybe you're using it on new video editing software to do cooler stuff in the future, good for you, but I personally wouldn't stoop this low to let culture get leeched on by this all-devouring capitalism and condemn anything that supports it

short version, it's soulless corporate slop. Long version, it's a dystopian landmark of capitalism preying on culture

and I still didn't like the level

here's the 1

talked to faust before writing this and I considered an 8, and I think I'll keep it there lol (that said this is a pretty high 8, you'll see why)

love the song rep, the static and the rotating stars like panning a spinning camera straight up into the pitch black with every barely noticeable low hum, and then it roars to life with almost no warning after flashing and deforming the title as it blasts you for the rest of the minute with white and everything distorted and barely tangible objects slowly showing up on the screen, and as the drums slowly creeping up from behind and you start jumping to it, what a tone-setter

buildup to the drop has us climbing the blocks with eyes occasionally dotting the screen (same eyes that show up on the thumbnail of faust's own vid) with a broken black border and keeping up behind us with flashing objects lodged inside, ending with a fall all the way back to the ground as the drop enters with even more of that chaos back from the intro (no fluff here, just writing down what I see, I'll explain later)

drop ensues with a steady melody and drums from the chaotic buildup earlier, and I'm definitely left a bit desired for gameplay since the only indicator was the player hitting a speed change (very noticeably out of place among the jumble of stuff), but at the same time pretty fun just watching everything fall apart, I like to think it's deliberate with the fade effects for the foreground elements and the fact that motion blur was off specifically for the player to emphasize its presence among the still super chaotic visuals

and then the drums very slowly fade, still audible, the piano starts showing up, everything is still chaotic as ever, the bagpipes feel like they're louder now, and eventually the drum break comes and everything starts fading and as all the sounds go away the visuals crawl away as well out of the screen and we're left with the end credits

...then a near-minute of nothing.

levels like these I often can't judge its visuals purely because this is a process of feeling the material on hand way more than looking at visual composition and whatnot, it's also why I gave this such a high 8, you can feel that chaos and everything rumbling throughout the level with some pretty clever details sneaked in there as well, like the motion blur being off for the player near the drop with no gameplay so we're forced to watch everything crumble and have nothing to do about it as the melancholic track goes on, then that near-minute of death-quiet before the endscreen (the song talks about struggling towards a better future with marching band drum patterns and bagpipes as a metaphor to motivation, then the chaos throughout as pain and suffering, the main instruments come back near the end with the piano again as motivation before everything's cut down for good)

it's usually not my thing to look for this much research and info when reviewing levels like these since review site unga bunga caveman brain pretty thing give big number, but faust specifically asked for a review from me, and I wanna honor this the best I can, and I can confidently say I really truly loved what I experienced

and I know trying to feel a level just goes into really subjective territory hence why most people don't feel like looking at these at all, but hey, give it a try, if it's not your cup of tea fine by me and most other people, if it is then I'm happy for you finding out a new way to enjoy stuff

my first 10 here, and I'm not gonna regret it

there's a special place in my heart for this level, jayuff's one of my fav creators of all time, and the vibe here is just immaculate as fuck

mid to late-2.1's a time where I got extremely burned out and just hated mostly anything anyone made outside of a really small circle of people that surprised me along with a few people being a constant on my favs list, jayuff's been on there for a while for a couple other drops in the past, but I think this takes the cake alongside hidden creation (gonna review that eventually)

what I love about this is how comfortable the level makes itself in its own time period: the really rough line art, the song choice back when sampling laws weren't complete dogshit, jayuff's own aesthetic that pulls this cocktail together to make me so drunk and dance like there's no tomorrow in the middle of the street and trip on my own foot and admire the stars when I hit the ground, it's smth so magical that I don't think I've experienced with almost any other level

it's not the most detailed line art of a cocktail cup or a dolphin, but it matches the neon lights the nightclubs hang on their walls, and that's enough, on top of how jayuff handles object density and pulses with how much louder the song gets throughout, and the whole thing just feels insanely cohesive. Most of the time levels try to wow you with sheer complexity, but this to me feels so much more fulfilling from an emotional aspect, all while actually decluttering and stripping stuff away

granted it's not a level that I'd be wanting to play every single day to relive the experience the same way you wouldn't wanna hang around in a nightclub daily, but on a day where you really want it, it not only gives it, it's consistent in the feeling it gives me when I play it. Every piece of glow on a block and spike, all the glitter from the dolphin leaping out of the waves, all the pulses and gameplay synced up to make you move along, and at the very end of it, you find yourself humming the lyrics of the song

and like any other drug, you go back in for another taste of it

god I wish sex was real

despite my absolute disappointment of having no space horror at all in any of the space gauntlet entries I think this is the closest I'll get to cope with the fact, and it's a damn good one

love the aesthetics here, from simply roaming a planet and having this outer wilds-esque feeling of wanderlust to literal mechanical hell calling back to the alien franchise (specifically the sevastopol station from alien isolation, minus the aliens and the biological mess they make) before throwing you into wormhole after wormhole then spitting you out into the void, it's one hell of a trip, and I wish it was longer despite it already being 3 minutes

space doesn't have to be all future tech jargon and laser lightshows, and with how the level plays with megalophobia both at the second part and the very end and the only remotely tech thing being the occasional UI flash, this gave the dose of space horror I genuinely wanted from this contest

gameplay's great, parts I remembered the most are the second part into the mechanical complex and the spider part (for very different reasons, may include complaints about a slightly botched buildup), but that aside I loved it overall, especially audieo's part (still amazed at how seamless it felt despite the gravity spam)

(bit unrelated from this point on, this is the part where I blow up about horror and people sticking the game's pg rating up people's asses whenever they try anything like this, absolutely up to you if you wanna read what's below)

why are we not trying anymore after peaceful by small and red room by devin2003? Collab level by mindcap??

I get horror's hard to make, but we have people doing it before already, and it's like people are intentionally avoiding it and it's a trend I've been noticing since the community got careful after peaceful's release (which I get, it's straight up trypophobia in a kids game dressed up as a mascot-y level)

I also get all the examples I listed are more or less body horror, but not everything horror has to be that, this is perfect for a non-body horror example, even something like save as by PAHC potentially being psychological horror

PLEASE please please just try horror, it's such an underappreciated and underdeveloped genre and element in the creating scene, and we don't need people on moral high horses yelling about the kids grouping the genre into one giant disgusting thing when it simply isn't

still one of my all-time 2.2 favs, I find it very visually cohesive and varied to give a sense of steady progression that I enjoyed a ton throughout watching

love the surrealist aesthetic it goes for, especially the fake script the level has in place for the song's vocals and other moving elements providing ambiance, not much visual clutter as well which I'm very biased towards (what's the point otherwise if it's all visual noise in the end)

watching the gameplay as a viewer (I'm not good enough to beat it myself at this point in time) verticality's a worthy mention especially in the early parts, I don't think I've seen a lot of levels even after the release of this having so much height difference in gameplay

theme-wise I loved how the player goes from just strolling on the streets at the start to the city slowly crumbling while the song goes on, and it fills the progression with an uncanny feeling, the world's ending and you're still just running through it like you do every other level

but it's still just a level at the end of the day, right?