Rating Curve

Listen, this level has a special place in my heart just like many others, but I gotta look at this objectively, and the truth is, this level is a whole lotta honk shoo.

I ain't talking about the visuals - my nostalgic ass is a sucker for 1.9 hell themed stuff, and this right here is some primo stuff from the genre, topped only by a few levels, notably its predecessor Cataclysm. I mean the gameplay. Dear GOD. If I had to summarize in one sentence, this level is a "die to Michigun repeatedly and then fluke to 80%" simulator. There's no way around it, the balancing is straight up asscheeks. Can't be too mad, given the age of the level - when you're making the hardest thing that's been seen in the game, usually down the line as people become more skilled there will be some parts of your level that turn out to be way easier than you thought. It's hard to predict how the game and the skillsets of its players are going to evolve over the years. Still, the fact remains - Michigun (rest in peace) is a massive chokepoint, and everything else ranges from "even a toddler could do it" to "pretty easy but nerves might kill you".

As a result, and also considering the length of the level, playing from 0% is a miserable experience. I spent hours upon hours mindlessly passing the first few parts with ease, only to die to the gauntlet at 30%. The few attempts here and there where I made it past Michigun, I had an attempt going - oftentimes I would make it all the way to Etzer no problem. However, the last few parts are in that second category I mentioned, where there's still some precise inputs and your nerves can get the better of you. And boy was I nervous. Maybe I'm biased because of the fact that I died way too many times to Gboy's ball, and even fumbled the final triple spike, but I didn't even care that much - I knew I could do it eventually, it was making it past the first half of the level that was the problem.

So yeah. Honk shoo. Honk mimimi. Snore snore zzzzz- WAIT OH GOD I'M GETTING FAR oh I died to the Etzer straight fly like an idiot anyway mimimimi...

This level is kind of strange. The decoration is nothing we haven't seen from Metalface before, but I do think its 1.7 feel makes it pleasant enough. The gameplay, however... this level is one of the most unbalanced demons I've ever played. Seriously, that first ball part would be right at home in a 9*, and then you get to that absolutely disgusting wave - it comes out of nowhere, hits you with a difficulty spike that could kill your grandma of a heart attack, and then fucks off, and back to easy extreme gameplay we go. It's so weird. That being said, I can't say I hated my experience with this level, even after dying to the final jump. Most parts are rather fun to play, it's just that one wave part that kind of kills it for me.

If you're wave-carried but wanna practice timings, I guess the difficulty spike in the middle of the drop won't pose as much of a threat as it did for me. Otherwise, I wouldn't really recommend playing this.

Best extreme I've played personally. Bit weird to learn perhaps, but once you do it's such a fun and unique experience. The deco shows its age for sure, but still it is an interesting take on the all-red level with its body-horror-esque concept of being surrounded by blood and flesh. It ain't no peaceful, obviously, but it has its charm. Give this one a try if you're looking for an easier extreme to practice your timings and basic memory.