Rating Curve

Button Masher is the final level of the NCS Event. It has some quite unbalanced gameplay that ranges from stupidly easy to pretty tricky to figure out with all the objects covering your view. I don't think the camera trigger usage is bad, but I don't think they really add anything for the most part apart from a couple neat moments, like when you break out of the arcade machine. Despite the level's pretty wonky balancing, I do think playing it is pretty fun once you figure out what you have to do. Visually I think Button Masher excels, bringing a blend of a Robtop-esque style and elements from all the previous NCS Event levels. I think my favorite part from a visual standpoint is the final part, where you switch through some arcade games, again from NCS Event levels. Definitely not perfect, but a pretty good sendoff to the NCS Event!

Upon revisiting Retrospective, I liked it a lot more than I remember! I think the sleek tech-y look of the levels looks nice, and I really like the flow of the level! ...For the most part. Despite some really strong moments during the drop, the start and end feel pretty clunky and the camera controls really dampen the feel of the level. I'm not an expert, so I wouldn't know exactly how to make the camera movements feel more fair and allow the level to telegraph what's coming up more clearly, but I feel like that's an aspect of the level that could be improved, and I'm not a big fan of the UFO near the beginning with the sudden gravity change. However, I do think this level pulls though and manages to be solid, in spite of some strange moments with it's gameplay.

A pretty solid demon entry to Event Levels. Admittedly when I first played this, I was not a fan, finding the flow of the level to be super clunky and visually hard to separate what is and isn't an obstacle. However, a repeat playthrough of Citadel is a much nicer experience, also allowing you to bask in the stellar art direction and theme. I still think many obstacles are visually hard to tell if they're harmful, and I don't think using particle effects to guide the player is a particularly good solution, but once you do learn the way this level plays, it's decently fun, apart from some strange moments during the drop. I suppose the main takeaway from this is despite it not being the greatest experience to learn and practice, once you get it all down, it's a pretty good level with some inspiring ideas, especially the split-screen part and the overall haunted castle theme of the level.

The atmosphere in this level is really nice! I love the nighttime city theme, and the overall details in the background. I do think the gameplay towards the middle and especially the end can be pretty wonky and unsatisfying to play. I'm also not a huge fan of the first and third coins, and feels pretty awkward to get. Despite the awkwardness that does plague a decent chunk of Geometry, I do think this level's strengths outweigh it's weaknesses, and is overall a pretty good level!