Rating Curve

If I'm being completely honest i've never been as big on this level as most people are. I've always hated this song, the decoration is fine but outside of the one vaporwave part it really doesn't do anything interesting at all. And the gameplay is a spam-filled mess, which makes sense considering who verified it.

Simply put, if you want me to love your level make it space themed. But in all seriousness this level is sick, the atmosphere is like controlled chaos in a way with how it feels like there's so much and so little going on at the same time; and the song fits this kind of vibe perfectly. The gameplay is just your standard high cps farm gameplay but its executed well and from what I've played its super fun to do.

On one hand its hard to really praise this level because of how blatantly simplistic it is, but there's something really cool about a level THIS hard being just cube jumps for 7 straight minutes. Also I really like the background effect, adds a lot of depth to a seemingly barren level. Can't say its a super ambitious level but I like it for what it is.

The concept of this level is really cool in theory but it was executed really badly. It tries going for an extremely claustrophobic atmosphere but only accomplishes this feat by severely limiting the visibility of the level and the player. The first half isn't as bad of an offender, with the drop-ship being by far the best part. The headlight put on the player as the only way to see whats in front of you works pretty well. Unfortunately it only goes downhill from here. The second half of the level is FILLED with an abundance of fog that not only makes the gameplay impossible to see, but the entirety of the decoration is shadowed as well. I get that its trying to fulfill that suffocating atmosphere but personally I think just limiting visibility is a cheap and lame way to make memory. And to top it off we have akunakun's signature joke name which throws what ever seriousness the level had out the window.

There's not a lot that differentiates this from its predecessor, Shardscapes, but I gotta say im really just a sucker for the enhanced atmosphere that this level brings. The song works incredibly well and the level getting progressively foggier in the predrop builds up the climax of the level perfectly. The gameplay also feels incredibly satisfying to pull off with its spaced-out but extremely narrow corner jumps.

In a vacuum there might not be a lot that sticks out about this level, but when you put in comparison with the usual structure of previous top 1's it completely stands out among the pack. The designs themselves aren't much to write home about but the theming and progression of the level works really well. It starts out with a more dark and desaturated palette in the first half, as if you're underwater. But once the second half hits its a complete tone shift, with much brighter visuals and more of a beach vibe. The gameplay is also a nice switch-up from other top 1's with it being nearly 3 minutes long, something we havent had at the top since Zodiac. Although its a wave level it doesn't have that challenge level vibe to it's gameplay, with it being mostly lower cps gameplay for top level standards. There's nothing about the gameplay itself that's inherently unique but it doesn't shoot itself in the foot which is pretty rare nowadays. Overall not a crazy standout level but a nice change to what's usually at the top.