Demented
Sigma (Original Audio)
updated
Attempts - 3,146 (about half of these are years old)
Estimated Playtime - ~3 hours, 10 minutes (new playtime only)
Worst Fail - 59%
Hardest Parts - IZhar, 59-72% (1:10-1:26)
Easiest Part - predrop (0:02-0:38)
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Very Hard
Personal Tier - Hard
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 1/10
Experience - 7/10
Overall Level Rating - F
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=ITRMhU_X4dw
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Underworld" by Spaze
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=zJRR2X8yIKo
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
I actually can't believe these experiences I'm having lately. I pulled off such an insane fluke on this at first, beating it with only 2 drop deaths, only for my recording of it to wind up entirely frozen. This was the first time I've ever had this happen with shadowplay, and I dreaded what I thought was coming. I fully expected my playtime to double if I was just a little bit less lucky with the drop, but that isn't what happened. I managed to get away AGAIN with just an additional 2 drop deaths, and an even crazier percentage fluke. I couldn't be more grateful about it, as I feel it easily could've turned into an unbearable situation fast.
That being said, I did find this level somewhat fun. My favorite thing about it is how pure the difficulty of its gameplay is. It's a very well executed level of just nothing but slow-coming timings for 3 minutes, meaning it's highly accessible and very simple to pick up. I didn't have a good impression of it when I first tried it in 2022, as it just seemed too hard for its own good at the time. Coming back to it, runs came together so much more quickly and it challenge felt just right to me. It is pretty unbalanced, however. It might at first seem like the kind of level in which you're mainly just struggling to get past the beginning parts, but that wasn't really the case for me. Most of my problems turned out to be much later on in the predrop (1:08-1:35), as well as the drop cube, which were by far the 2 hardest parts of the level for me. It's essentially a very middle carried level disguised as a first half heavy level, due to how skewed the percentages are due to it still using the 2.1 percentage system. I didn't think this was the worst thing ever, but it did make it pretty frustrating to play from 0 much of the time, as I would either just be dying to the first few jumps over and over, or a couple of spots early on in the mini ball (0:36-0:39), or getting near the end of the predrop and just begging I got a chance at the drop. Again, despite how lucky I got, the drop cube is so brutal to get through and made the level so much more stressful, as I just couldn't ever insure myself getting much further when I got there. The robot is equally stressful feeling but a lot less difficult, though it is so, SO easy to die just about anywhere within it. Fortunately, the ending cube doesn't have any notable chokepoints in it, and serves as a good nerve test to send the level off. I didn't find it as something that could be a blast by any means, but I think it's the perfect kind of level to challenge yourself with. It's just so simple and fair, and I appreciate it for that. Enough said.
Attempts - 7,779 (3,806 new attempts, 3,973 from 2022) + 356 (rebeat)
Estimated Playtime - ~8 hours, 35 minutes (first, doesn't include the 2022 playtime) + ~1 hour, 30 minutes (rebeat)
Worst Fail - 63% (first completion), 46% (rebeat)
Hardest Parts - 28-40% (1:08-1:35), drop cube (1:40)
Easiest Part - ending cube (2:31)
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Catastrophic
Personal Tier - Terrifying or Catastrophic
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 6/10
Experience - 7/10
Overall Level Rating - C
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=oSo3lXk-S4U
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Purgatori" by KORAII
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=ALrIL3kBvNw
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 2,474* (might've had a few lost copy attempts from when the level dropped, but I'm not sure)
Estimated Playtime - ~4 hours, 35 minutes
Worst Fail - five.
Hardest Parts - Rafer, Victor (0:17-0:37), F3lixsram, Angryboy (2:05-2:31)
Easiest Parts - DesTicY (0:49-0:59), Osiris GD (1:41-1:51)
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Very Hard
Personal Tier - Very Hard (dartboard opinion)
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 5.5/10
Experience - lol
Overall Level Rating - C
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=dua5I_gtx_A
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Native Faith - Suwako's Theme" by Xenogenocide
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=BmLZZtqB2mA
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Also, one funny thing as an afterthought. There's a secret message at the very start of the level that you activate by not jumping from the last platform in the first cube, and it also is what gives you the coins the level has to offer. I had always been taking that route up until today, when I started alternating back and forth between the normal way and the one with the message. I had no idea until after I beat it that the secret way there is what gave you the coins, so I missed out on them unfortunately.
Attempts - 5,964 (Only 390 of these came after I enabled CBF, just to give an idea of how much worse it was to play otherwise)
Estimated Playtime - ~12 hours
Worst Fail - 78%
Hardest Parts - 17-20% (0:23-0:27), 71-79% (1:27-1:37)
Easiest Part - 8-17% (0:12-0:22)
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Pending...
Personal Tier - Remorseless
FPS Used: 240 (and CBF...)
Gameplay - 8/10
Experience - 7/10
Overall Level Rating - A
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=tMt9gimhW6s
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Shine" by Creo
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=KUrePkNVp0s
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 598
Estimated Playtime - ~1 hour, 50 minutes
Worst Fail - 66%
Hardest Part - don't know
Easiest Part - don't know
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Pending...
Personal Tier - Demote to Insane Demon
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay (and Experience) - 9.5/10
Overall Level Rating - S
Clicks - I swear I'll get to uploading these soon
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "icons." by kosu (EDM Mashup of Many Artists)
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=Y2EdvPMvhoo&list=RDY2EdvPMvhoo&index=2
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 2,569
Estimated Playtime - ~4 hours
Worst Fail - 78%
Hardest Part - 0-36% (0:02-0:38)
Easiest Part - 59-70% (1:02-1:13)
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Medium
Personal Tier - Hard
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay (and Experience) - 6/10
Overall Level Rating - C
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=3GGCGwOP4Pw
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Start Your Engines" by Creo
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/639981
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 1,252
Estimated Playtime - ~2 hours? (I deleted my copy before checking like an idiot)
Worst Fail - 97%
Hardest Part - 68-74% (0:56-1:01)
Easiest Part - 0-19% (0:02-0:17)
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Easy
Personal Tier - Beginner
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 9.5/10
Experience - 8/10
Overall Level Rating - S
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=0LrNVX8L9Wg
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Lumina" by XomuEDM and Wisp X
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/887400
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 1,261
Estimated Playtime - Unknown (old playtime went unrecorded)
Worst Fail - 59%
Hardest Part - 57-59% (2:10-2:13)
Easiest Parts - most of the level idk
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Beginner
Personal Tier - Demote to Insane Demon
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 7/10
Experience - 5/10
Overall Level Rating - B
Clicks - eventually...
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Idols" by Virtual Riot
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=vZyenjZseXA
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
July 20th: Stasis finally got rated. :)
Now, for the level itself... not the best experience. It's pretty enjoyable to start out on and go for runs on, but when the learning phase ended it got pretty bad. The level's difficulty is heavily concentrated into the last third, but the parts leading up to it are very inconsistent, in some or many cases, thanks to 2.2. The ship transition going into Panman's dual (0:17) just doesn't work a lot of the time. The end of Lucasyecla99's part up to the start of Shocksidian's part (0:43-0:54) was by far the hardest area in the first half for me and I died to it so many times from 0%. Xaro's part (1:02) is solely carried by the poor transitions littered throughout it. The first jump in the following part, Lexicon (1:10) is unpredictable and the bottom spike would kill me sometimes, when usually it's not supposed to be reachable. The mini cube dual at 46% (1:25) is very finicky and can break in a handful of ways. Last but perhaps most importantly, the 63% timing in Pennutoh's part (1:51) became a major chokepoint with the update. I got stuck on this for so long after getting 75% back in February. I ran out of patience with the lack of consistency I had with it and returned a few days ago. The time away helped me a lot, but still it felt very difficult to finish. I actually love Xender Game's bossfight (2:01), despite its difficulty and despite not normally liking them in levels I play, but here I think it's the best part of the level. The ending section that follows it though is so stressful, and made me pretty upset from 0%. The first few parts of it are full of dumb death syndrome, and ZephiroX's part (2:47) and knobbelboy's ship (2:54) make for a very difficult ending. I managed to get 94% on my first ending attempt, and it still took me another 2 days to beat the level. I racked up 4 ZephiroX deaths, and 7 deaths elsewhere in this section before finally reaching knobbelboy's ship, which I am very grateful to have not died to.
So, I'm not going to miss my experience with the level, and the level itself I don't think is very fun as it stands, but if it miraculously got another update to fix the 2.2 related things and a bit more, it would probably become okay. I still think it's a really cool level for its historical significance and the rush it gave me whenever I neared the ending. And again, I think as a "100th" extreme, as well as being the last knobbelboy extreme I had to beat, it was a pretty sick choice.
Attempts - 6,419
Estimated Playtime - Unknown (most of my old playtime went recorded)
Worst Fail - 94.51% (2:52)
Hardest Part - Xender Game, 90-100%
Easiest Part - 0-15% (0:02-0:31), first drop generally
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Relentless
Personal Tier - Terrifying
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 2.5/10
Experience - 1/10
Overall Level Rating - D
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=1i9MAnUowQo
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Corrosive" by Xtrullor
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/579560
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 1,205
Estimated Playtime - ~1 hour, 55 minutes
Worst Fail - 29%
Hardest Part - 36-42% (0:34-0:37)
Easiest Part - 25-35% (0:26-0:33)
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Pending
Personal Tier - Medium
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 8/10
Experience - 9.5/10
Overall Level Rating - A
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=bLH3B5svdSY
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Avalanche" by Creo
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/689315
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Also, similarly to Ocular Miracle, this level is unbelievable. I feel like I'm going crazy by having my favorite level change several times in the past 9 months or so, but when creators master the 2.2 editor, the results that come from it are astonishing. It might seem intimidating to go for due to the 7 minute runtime, but it's borderline flawless the whole way through. I never had a dull moment playing it, even with the slower sections it has. The gameplay is so well paced throughout, and utilizes some interesting ideas. Each good attempt I had, whether practicing or from 0, had a feeling of intensity to it that I've never felt on another level, in the best way possible. The peaks this level reaches to about halfway through and at the ending section was such a joy to experience, and it never got old to me. The level's visuals masterfully walk the line between a sense of realism and detail while also feeling like a GD level and not going overboard. Its thematic progression is so well done, it felt like I was ascending out of this world playing it and reaching the end. There's just so many things about the level I couldn't stop singing praises about, and though there are a couple of nitpicks I have with it, that won't stop this from being one of my favorite levels ever.
Speaking of those nitpicks, it is important to note when going for this that the level's difficulty is heavily concentrated towards the middle, with the 50s (3:42-4:22) being far and away the hardest part of the level. It wasn't a major problem for me with enough practice, but for anyone considering beating this as a new hardest, it might be different. The very first part of the level also has a handful of auto blue pads in it, which it's somewhat common to fall out of them or have one launch you into a spike which is unfortunate, but it's easy to adapt to them and sometimes they won't kill you anyway. Last thing I could mention is the orb at 65% (4:44). It randomizes between a black orb and a red orb, which threw me off a lot, including once from 0%. Neither scenario is hard enough to where it felt like a real issue, but just a creative choice that I don't think makes the level any better to play. But still, these things were super minor for my experience, and just something I thought I should bring up regardless.
So to wrap it up, this level deserves every bit of attention it's getting, and I look forward to when it's inevitably rated very soon. It's a stunning level in all aspects, and an experience that will stick with me for whatever time left that I spend playing this game. Whether it's to casually play through for the fun of it, or to go for a new completion, I could not recommend this enough to anybody. It's a masterpiece.
Attempts - 3,434
Estimated Playtime - ~10 hours, 5 minutes
Worst Fail - 65.47%
Hardest Part - 50-67% (3:42-4:53)
Easiest Part - 26-40% (1:54-3:05)
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - N/A (Currently Unrated)
Personal Tier - Relentless
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay (and Experience) - 11/10
Overall Level Rating - S+
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=lSPyerProy8
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "The Sailor" by Uprooted
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/547333
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 6,593 (close split between old and new)
Worst Fail - 66%
Hardest Part - first cube
Easiest Part - ending
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Extreme
Personal Tier - Extreme
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 6.5/10
Experience - 7.5/10
Overall Level Rating - B
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=aWclHRZonqk
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Dimension" by Creo
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/709578
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 1,470
Worst Fail - 85%
Hardest Parts - 47%, 82%
Easiest Part - predrop
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - N/A (Currently Unrated)
Personal Tier - Easy
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay (and Experience) - 11/10
Overall Level Rating - S
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=w29nn3cNyX0
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Stasis" by MannyHeffley
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1418115
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 1,657
Worst Fail - 39%
Hardest Parts - dual ship, dual cube
Easiest Parts - any non-dual ship part
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - N/A (Pending)
Personal Tier - Easy
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 9/10
Experience - 8/10
Overall Level Rating - A
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=t-vjDN4m1sU
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Stressed Out" by Twenty One Pilots
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=yizkt5BubGo&t=1s
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 2,760
Worst Fail - 77%
Hardest Parts - first dual, 24-31%
Easiest Parts - 52-61%, last ship
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Remorseless
Personal Tier - Remorseless
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 3/10
Experience - 1/10
Overall Level Rating - D
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=u_AtQGcBGdM
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Death" by Cacola
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/663338
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
But now the crazy part. Everything I just pointed out? That could just be thrown in the trash for me, because I managed to get the most absurd fluke I ever had on anything I've played. All I had to spend was 15 attempts from 0, and I managed to fluke from 25%, so not even a drop death. Furthermore, my second worst fail was 4% which is even more hilarious. I really am not allowed to complain about much with my experience on this. I did struggle on it more than I anticipated despite that fluke, but still I had a great time with this level and would highly recommend it to anyone. I'd say it's a little bit better than Endless Dream.
Attempts - 3,094
Worst Fail - 25%
Hardest Part - dual
Easiest Part - last part of the predrop
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Insane
Personal Tier - Extreme
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 9/10
Experience - 9.5/10
Overall Level Rating - A
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=ohW1YipvncM
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Wavelight" by Creo
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1034741
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Also this has nothing to do with April fools. Have a good day.
Attempts - 2,460
Worst Fail - 73%
Hardest Part - 50-60%
Easiest Parts - buildup and last cube
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Insane
Personal Tier - Insane
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 9/10
Experience - 9.5/10
Overall Level Rating - A
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=tB8zA12plm0
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Endless" by Creo
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/952053
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 2,060
Worst Fail - 98%
Hardest Part - second ufo
Easiest Part - first ship
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Hard
Personal Tier - Hard
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 6/10
Experience - 2/10
Overall Level Rating - B
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=beZi0T3M1EQ
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "burnouts in flying cars" by Xorberax
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1122932
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 3,021
Worst Fail - 94%
Hardest Part - the spider by a astronomical unit
Easiest Part - the predrop in its entirety
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Insane
Personal Tier - Insane
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 7.5/10
Experience - 7/10
Overall Level Rating - B
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=M005EmV69SM
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "do not go gentle into that goodnight" by chatteyy
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1131180
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 1,660
Worst Fail - 55%
Hardest Parts - 0-12%, 28-44%
Easiest Parts - 45-100% with exceptions for 55% and 78-81%
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Easy
Personal Tier - Beginner or Easy
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 9/10
Experience - 10/10
Overall Level Rating - A
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=KLq3F77qt_w
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Supercharge" by MDK and meganeko
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1018464
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Now, about the level. I have so much say about it. On paper, it should be very good. It's not difficult to learn and much of it got consistent very quickly. It is extremely consistent in contrast to what Deception Dive was; but honestly some aspects of that affect it negatively for me. Love or hate what Deception Dive's balancing was like, that was the defining thing that made it memorable to me. It was a new experience for me at the time playing a level with balancing that so heavily skews to parts near the end, and though that has its drawbacks, it felt so cool to play something I would get far on so frequently. This level had the potential to play somewhat similarly to that, but it's completely disrupted by how needlessly grindy the first part is, and because of that, anything that happened to me with the rest of the predrop hurt so much more. None of the base gameplay on its own here is bad either. It's just, why does that first part need to be so difficult? Moving to the drop, and again, I think the base gameplay is great. It all got very consistent and there wasn't any intended part of it that felt awful to get used to. But unfortunately, there's a bug at the transition into GrenadeofTacos's part, and a very significant one. I had to find a spot to start holding at in the end of the 58% ship, and even then the transition into the following wave would break around a third of the time. This was one thing that made me not have much fun from 0, and the other was my luck. In probably an hour after playing from 0 the first time, I got 86% and 92%. Then a long while later, I died at 91% in the most infuriating way possible, and then come the next morning, I died to the very last click. It took me less than 10 minutes to beat it after that, but still, my experience was worse than it needed to be. That's not to mention on the sitting I got 91% in, I went to Grenade's part 9 times from 0, and that 91% was my only time past it. So, it's really frustrating to me. If you were to take this level, fix the 59% bug, and nerf the first part to the point of it becoming easy, I would call it at least a 9/10 level without hesitation. It could've easily been so much better than what it ended up being. I also have to point out the decoration in the level, both to nitpick back to this level being consistent in a negative way, and also a genuine problem it causes. The level does look pretty decent and is, of course, a notable step up from Deception Dive, but it's so samey throughout to the point that it lacks the personality that Deception Dive had. I would say Grenade's part is the exception to that, though. I like that part a lot. But alongside the sameyness, there's also the issue of it relying way too much on glow. It doesn't make the parts drowning in it look much better, but more notably the level runs rather poorly because of it. So it's disappointing to me that it wasn't further taken into account.
Lastly, with the amount of stuff I criticized, this description could definitely be glanced at and written off as a negative take of this level, but that's not the case at all. If anything, I still like it a little bit. It's just so frustrating to me how easily the problems I did have with it could be fixed; at the very least the most significant ones. Overall, it's still decent enough that I could recommend giving it a try, but note that there's a lot of potential that the experience could get ruined for you just by playing from 0.
Attempts - 2,608
Worst Fail - 98%
Hardest Parts - Jakii, GrenadeofTacos
Easiest Parts - Poisonous Egg, JustAlf, XZ
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Extreme
Personal Tier - Insane
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 6.5/10
Experience - 3/10
Overall Level Rating - B
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=S7tLbfyJw7Y
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Earthquake" by Teminite
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/801275
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 1,026
Worst Fail - 72%x2
Hardest Part - 70-77%?
Easiest Part - 82-100%
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Beginner
Personal Tier - Beginner
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay (and Experience) - 8.5/10
Overall Level Rating - A
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=BKPn4dXzbiU
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Dimension" by Creo
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/709578
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Anyway, might be one of the more random choices for a level I've done. I've been playing the game quite a bit less lately, but just decided to play this for some reason. This being a remake of Cybernetic Crescent, my expectations were very low going into it, as I despised the original level when I beat it 4 years ago. And well, it's definitely better, but there are still some significant flaws that ruined my experience. The base gameplay at its core is actually an enormous improvement over the original. The early parts aren't anywhere near as boring to play and some of the parts around the middle of the level that were infamous on Cybernetic Crescent are much more consistent and well-made here. That being said, the balancing on this remains almost exactly the same, which is not good. All of the early parts remain the easiest section of the level, and now the nasgubb part is also quite easy, but the ViPriN part and the Vlacc part are far and away the two hardest parts of the level. There are also several things in the level that don't always work properly that also got on my nerves. The bottom spike that follows the spider portal in the remade Rustam part can kill you sometimes, which felt very cheap. The yellow pad near the start of the drop just straight up doesn't work sometimes, and I died to it from 0 several times. Lastly, the anti-skip in the robot in the 80s can still kill you sometimes even if you're not skipping the orb, just depending on when you hit it. So, I can't help but feel frustrated with how this turned out. It could be pretty enjoyable it was more properly playtested, and with how common some of this stuff happened to me, I'm really not sure how these things were missed. It's nowhere near the worst technology trilogy level remake I've played though, so there's that at least. But I would only suggest this if you like the original level.
Attempts - 1,277
Worst Fail - 90%
Hardest Parts - the ViPriN and Vlacc parts
Easiest Parts - everything before them
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Pending
Personal Tier - Easy
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 3.5/10
Experience - 2/10
Overall Level Rating - D
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=30XB7gl9HDY
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Never Make It" by Creo
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/889238
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Now, I still really disliked playing this level, but for how much I used to despise everything about it, it has softened up for me considerably. Practicing the later parts can honestly be a little fun, and the level in general is incredibly simple to pick up and play for how hard it is. The 1.0 aesthetic grew on me a lot too over how I used to feel about it. I can't imagine the level looking like anything else, and it's pretty well executed. There are certain things that just never change, however. The first third of the level, and ESPECIALLY the first 7%, remains an atrocity in my mind, and the whole level suffers dramatically because of it. The level in general is pretty chokepoint dependent, but from 0 it just felt like running head first into a brick wall over and over waiting for it to finally come down. The dash orb at 3% is probably the single worst click amongst anything I've beaten. There's many other bad spots that soon follow it, but just that one click was enough to make playing from 0 a snoozefest. The pink orbs in the mini ball at 6-7% is another thing that felt needlessly inconsistent. Not a hard part to do, but one that just felt like luck. The ship gap at 13% was something I was good with most of the time, but it was horrendous dealing with back in the day. And really, each of the ships throughout had something that annoyed me a lot. There are some other spots like the 30% jump, 58%, 67%, 77-78%, and each of the waves that annoyed me a bit, but the level generally gets better the farther you get. It's just a huge shame that most of the experience from 0 is with the worst parts of it, which is why I tend to have a disdain for front loaded levels like this one. I either get frustrated with them more easily, or they just feel hopeless if the level is too hard. And additionally, it just made it all the more frustrating when my 3 worst fails (61%, 67%, 78%) were all to spots I never once died to in practice since picking the level up again. Maybe it's something you can enjoy if you're more into that kind of balancing, but I'm not going to miss playing it. That being said, it's really cool to have finished it after so long, and I'm glad to have found it a little less bad than I once believed it was.
Attempts - 11,879 (only ~2,000 of this is recent)
Worst Fail - 78%
Hardest Part - 0-7%
Easiest Part - 79-100%
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Relentless
Personal Tier - Relentless
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 0.5/10
Experience - 2/10
Overall Level Rating - F
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=rXMaHqxwKYM
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "XO (Eden Cover & Remake)" by aaronmusslewhite
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/766165
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
This was something I wanted to do a long time ago. Just seeing what others experienced with this back in the day, with Mullsy's 99% bug death and some certain clips of it from a friend group, it drew my attention, albeit for the wrong reasons. I'm not sure why I couldn't pull through with it back then; I recall actually struggling with its gameplay and building up any consistency on it, and I only learned about 60% of the level or so before giving up. Granted, it has since received an update that fixed some of its bugs and supposedly buffed some spots, but I never noticed that. Fast forward to now, the gameplay felt like a total breeze, and practicing it was, to be honest, a little fun. That was NOT the case at all from 0, though. Unfortunately, it remains a dumb death inventor just as much as it did when it first came out. I got so frustrated with everything that killed me from 0, particularly when I only had a couple of attempts past the first drop. It was so tiresome playing through the minute long predrop, and before long I end up dying to basically anything in the first few drop parts because certain spots just wouldn't work the same way they did when I had initially learned them, or to the chokepoint waves in Decody's part, or the part near the end of the drop that is randomized and threw me off numerous times. Fortunately, that section would click eventually and I started reaching the later parts super often, but what I had to deal with near the end was beyond stupid. I almost fluked from 59%, only to die at 84% because I'm a moron and forgot to jump, then I died twice at 83% because the ship gaps there are mean, then to the very last click because that's also mean, and several times in both the second buildup and the second drops themselves. It's hard for me to say I really hate the level, but the inconsistencies it has were incredibly apparent when it came time to beat, so I can't say that it's really worth playing. It's not something I regret too much though, as it just makes for a funny achievement.
Attempts - 2,120 (844 new, 1,276 old)
Worst Fail - 87%
Hardest Parts - Decody, Realhaell (second part)
Easiest Parts - 0-13%, 49-60%
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Medium
Personal Tier - Easy or Medium
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 2.5/10
Experience - 1/10
Overall Level Rating - D
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=hmP0ez1OUBw
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Empower" by csx42gaming
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/756073
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 1,792
Worst Fail - 95%
Hardest Part - 42-62%
Easiest Parts - 0-32%, 63-77%, 92-100%
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Easy
Personal Tier - Medium
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 10/10
Experience - 8/10
Overall Level Rating - S
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=6V-vkTxk4LI
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Nhelv" by Silentroom
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=XtXRvEsWzQo
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 992
Worst Fail - 85%x3
Hardest Part - 85%
Easiest Parts - 0-50%, 69-84%, 86-100%
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Pending...
Personal Tier - Insane Demon or Beginner
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay (and Experience) - 10/10
Overall Level Rating - S
Clicks - I'm lazy
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Every Language Is Alive" mashup of Porter Robinson, Coldplay, Jason Derulo, and Krewella
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=PRqiUgXHCWA
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 2,100
Worst Fail - 84%
Hardest Parts - Genericqueso, Giron/Smokes
Easiest Parts - 0-27%, Uneskladovae, Ryder/Smokes, balli
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Easy
Personal Tier - Hard
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay (and Experience) - 8/10
Overall Level Rating - A
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=yiepni2hh2c
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "R.E.M. III" by Dimrain47
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/82572
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Anyway, about the level itself. It wasn't easy to get into at first. There aren't many difficult parts in the level but due to the nature of its 5 minute length, it plays a lot like a memory level. I had a hard time putting runs together just because of how easy it is to forget a spot here and there, which at times was pretty annoying. With enough time though, it clicked, and most of the level is quite fun. Due to its theme of using no triggers, the gameplay and its structuring is a little different from a traditional level, which I welcomed. It is hurt somewhat by 2.2, obviously regarding slopes which is unfortunate but most of these spots were easy to work around. Probably the only thing I would say is a significant problem is it can be a bit of a drag from 0. There's hardly any part that I would say is bad, but due to the much slower pace of the first half, it definitely could get boring with a bit of bad luck, which fortunately I didn't have to deal with this time. A couple of other things I would note is the second ball part is my least favorite gameplay in the level, and the robot transition at 33% is not good since for some reason there are invisible spikes above the orbs and you can't see the following gameplay very well. That's about it, though. Not something I would call a masterpiece but it made for a pretty good experience. I definitely would recommend if you can handle levels this long.
Attempts - 2,619
Worst Fail - 67%
Hardest Parts - 45%, 64%, 87%
Easiest Parts - most of the level
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Remorseless
Personal Tier - Extreme
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 7.5/10
Experience - 8/10
Overall Level Rating - B
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=7hbyPIsNxc0
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "In Faith" by Mexican-Dessert-Pie
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/758018
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 1,446
Worst Fail - 92%
Hardest Parts - 31-32%, 40-41%
Easiest Parts - 0-8%, 68-88%
Difficulty Tier (Non-List Worthy Spreadsheet) - Very Hard
Personal Tier - Easy
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 9/10
Experience - 8.5/10
Overall Level Rating - A
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=i-vdZuw9LjQ
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "rainState" by Alloud
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/513917
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 2,682 (old attempts included)
Worst Fail - 91%
Hardest Parts - 3-5%, 17-18%, 34-38%
Easiest Part - 41-57%, 60-75%
Difficulty Tier (Non-List Worthy Spreadsheet) - Medium
Personal Tier - Medium (?)
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 6.5/10
Experience - 4/10
Overall Level Rating - B
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=kwh7iW3WXUw
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Viper (Full)" by F-777
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/473413
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
So, positives first. It was very fun starting out. Some bits in the dual parts near the end were annoying, but everything else was a good experience learning and getting used to. Doing runs from the drop or 49% was highly satisfying, and, at least in practice, it generally got pretty consistent. The predrop isn't nearly as interesting to play, but there isn't any part of it I would actually say is really terrible. There are subtle things like the visuals that obscure you in Jenkins's part or the moving camera and spikes in Grax's ship, but the gameplay is easy enough to where this isn't that much of a problem. So, why didn't I like this in the end? Well, the predrop is a full minute long. Not that there aren't long predrops that I enjoy, but when it's all slow gameplay that isn't backed with some sort of level theming (example: Sunset Sandstorm), or buildup intensity (example: Ocular Miracle), it's bound to get boring. Now, take that, and combine it with the first drop part being by far one of the hardest parts of the level, and the result is not good. I had so much of my time wasted by the amount of times I would get through the long predrop, only to die almost immediately in the drop due to its difficulty spike and have to start all over. It was made even worse for me that I could've avoided pretty much all of it, for like the 4th time this month. It was only my third time reaching the 50s when I got to the duals for the first time, which is the other really hard part of the level. I managed to fluke them, only to then die at 86%, which the ending of this level is not hard at all. That was on my second day of playing and that choked fluke resulted in my experience of this being twice as long as it otherwise would've been, and I died 30+ more times to the second half before finally beating it. Alongside this was also well over 100 deaths at 37-47%, to give an idea of just how much of a brick wall that part played like from 0. So as much as I wanted to like the level, I ultimately can't ignore just how much less enjoyable it was from 0, particularly with how unlucky I got. It could still be enjoyable to play on and off as a warm up or side project to something else, but on its own it didn't feel worth it. I don't recommend this.
Attempts - 3,612
Worst Fail - 86%
Hardest Parts - 37-47%, duals
Easiest Part - predrop
Difficulty Tier (Non-List Worthy Spreadsheet) - Extreme
Personal Tier - Insane or Extreme
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 3/10
Experience - 1.5/10
Overall Level Rating - D
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=IRViLLrcFZw
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "-= Death From Above =-" by TheBiocide
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/715502
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 1,619
Worst Fail - 85%
Hardest Parts - legitimately no clue
Easiest Part - Koopazu
Difficulty Tier (Non-List Worthy Spreadsheet) - Easy
Personal Tier - Easy
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 7.5/10
Experience - 6/10
Overall Level Rating - B
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=oMLHWeoGJkg
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "2k9 battle jam" by meganeko
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/684823
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 1,264
Worst Fail - 72%
Hardest Parts - 35-38%, 53-56%
Easiest Part - 86-100%
Difficulty Tier (Non-List Worthy Spreadsheet) - Easy
Personal Tier - Beginner
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay (and Experience) - 9/10
Overall Level Rating - A
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=gQMNOTg6ATE
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Split the Skies" by ALSTRL
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1095525
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
To be blunt, this was hugely disappointing to me for what the original level is, and unfortunately this is one of my least favorite remakes I've ever played. I wouldn't say everything about it is worse, but probably like 95% of it is. As far as positives go, the green orb nerf in ViPriN's ball is really nice. Of course, the nerfs to Michigun's part were a big improvement (even if I still dislike the wave that replaced the blue orbs), and there are a couple of other, minor things that are better like the start of Zobros's dual ship, and the beginning of AbstractDark's part. Visually, it's certainly an update over the original level and does it justice, though some parts are showing their age now. And that's all the good things I have to say about this. Apart from the changes I already mentioned, everything else regarding the gameplay made it so much less enjoyable for me. It's not even due to its difficulty either; there are a lot of subtle nerfs throughout the level as well as some new gameplay that tends to be easier than what it was in Artificial Ascent, but despite that, much of the time the execution of it was not good and I found myself vastly preferring what it once was. Take ZenthicAlpha's part, for example. I wasn't a huge fan of it in the original level but it still worked and I never had much trouble with it. Most of its gameplay was remade entirely, and while replacing the ufo was a good thing, the ships are just terrible, particularly with the transitions out of them. You exit either of them too high and you'll either hit the side of a block from the first one or you can land on the spike following the second ship, and it's super annoying. The green orb halfway through Serponge's part is another example. It's probably an easier timing overall now, but now you have to worry about landing on the spikes for the next jump if you time it too late, which to me felt much more annoying. Now, of course, there are also a lot of subtle buffs throughout the level, and I hated pretty much all of them. The buffs made on Codex's part and the ships in Manix's part made playing from 0 much grindier and much more annoying to me. The mini ufo in Sanic's part is dramatically worse due to the changed structuring. Buffing Anthrax's part was just always going to be a disaster no matter what, and if anything I think that gameplay should've just been remade entirely. Loogiah's part, while it got fairly consistent, also not one I'm happy with the buffs on, particularly the wave and the last ship, which speaking of that, remember the quotation marks I brought up earlier for "bugfix"? This bug at 49% was not handled properly at all. All that needed to change was for the slope to be non-solid, and instead a teleport portal was added by the cube portal, which not only didn't completely fix the slope problem but also made it so you could die entering wamiq8's part just from clicking into the cube portal, which happened to me a few times from 0. The buffs in Nasgubb's part is infamous for being terrible, which rightly so. The latter half of AbstractDark's part is much more annoying, and with Terron's part I despise how it's possible to die as the ball now in the first dual. And lastly, I highly question why the gravity portal at 96% was rotated. It was much more consistent the way it was in the original level.
I haven't even mentioned yet how bad my luck was, too. I fluked from 45-83%, then proceeded to die twice at Terron's part, twice at Galvatron's part, and many times to the rest of the second half. Everything about this experience went wrong for me and I can't say I'll ever miss this level. Regardless if you've already done Artificial Ascent or not, I would never recommend this whatsoever.
Attempts - 4,309
Worst Fail - 96%
Hardest Parts - Anthrax/Drak, Nasgubb/Th04
Easiest Part - wamiq8/Failure
Difficulty Tier (Non-List Worthy Spreadsheet) - Relentless
Personal Tier - Remorseless
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay (and Experience) - 0/10
Overall Level Rating - F
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=r380hx17U-o
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Surface" by Dimrain47
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/63082
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Before any of that though, the level itself I don't think is actually that awful. The notable problems it has caused me to sour on it much more as I played it, but for a while it was pretty decent. Playing the drop section on its own, and, strictly on its own, was fun to learn and do runs on. The first 40% is also just not hard at all to learn and also got consistent extremely quickly. The big killer though of course is having to deal with the second half from 0. I always hated 52-61% regardless of where I played. You can get to it quite often but the majority of the time I reached 52% from 0 I would die before reaching the drop. 53-54% is full of horrible orb timings, and the sync part that follows is so, so easy to click just the slightest bit early to and it always felt terrible. The first drop part is jam packed with chokepoints that only ever got worse for me over time. 63% and 76% in particular are some of the worst red orbs I've had to deal with in any level and in between them there's still 70-71% which was also really hard and 74% was another one that was super easy to choke. The wave is basically fine, but the last 10%, what a nightmare. I was pretty decent with it the majority of the time I would practice, but from 0% it felt like the hardest ending ever out of any of my completions. Pretty much every click here is insanely hard, and having to put up with as much as I did before getting my chance at 98% made it so much more stressful.
So yeah, now to my luck. The fact I didn't die to 98% was just about the only thing that went right for me. I basically died everywhere else I could realistically think of. What made it even worse was that I had a good chance of avoiding all of it. My first drop attempt, I managed to fluke from 60% to 93%. That would've easily been my best luck on any level, but what I got instead was 9 deaths in the 90s, 58 deaths in the drop, and 137 deaths at 52%+ overall. It did not help at all that throughout much of that I would deal with so many unnecessary deaths in the 40s, which in practice it never seemed like too difficult of a section but from 0 I had more deaths to it than past it. I was getting very nearly burnt out on the level when I finally had my opportunity at the last jump, and I'm very grateful that I beat it then.
So lastly, could I suggest this level to anyone? For the most part I certainly wouldn't, but if you're devoted to memory levels and aren't afraid of the possibility of getting stuck very late into a level, I could see how this would be enjoyable in that scenario. As miserable as my experience was, this is highly satisfying to have beaten and I can always look back at it and think of just how cool it is to beat. So maybe it's at least worth a try. Just beware that it can go horribly, horribly wrong.
Attempts - 9,334
Worst Fail - 96%x2
Hardest Parts - 52-56%, 63%, 70-71%, 76%, 90-100%
Easiest Part - 0-30%
Difficulty Tier (Non-List Worthy Spreadsheet) - Relentless
Personal Tier - Terrifying, regrettably
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 3/10
Experience - 0/10
Overall Level Rating - D
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=esuvWS6mpw0
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Get smooshed!" by Cursedsnake
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/772439
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
This level is just so beautiful. I loved it immediately upon seeing it for the first time, but then seeing it in game it looked 100x better than it already had before. Every single bit of it is so well made and runs flawlessly. Without question it's one of my favorite levels to watch, and it makes me really look forward to what else could show up with 2.2. And the gameplay, SOMEHOW, manages to be just as good. It's the perfect difficulty in my opinion, it's a little bit learny yet is unbelievably satisfying to pull off, and for the most part, it's very well balanced. The first 3% or so could be a bit attempt grindy, but it's not really an issue. It could be a little chokepointy during parts of the buildup and earlier drop, but getting to the buildup was so consistent it really didn't matter to me. I loved every moment I had playing this, and as the cherry on top of my experience I got insanely lucky from 0, having only died in the drop 4 times. Need I also mention that MannyHeffley made the song on top of building and verifying this solo? My mind will just be forever blown to bits by what this level is and how it came to be. Now enough of my gushing, just do yourself a favor and go play it.
Attempts - 3,778
Worst Fail - 76%
Hardest Parts - 28%, 32-35%, 50-54%, 84-85%
Easiest Parts - 4-19%, 43-49%, 77-80%, 86-89%
Personal Difficulty - somewhere in the range of Artificial Ascent and Digital Descent.
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay (and Experience) - 11/10
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=W_H7gFbfVNg
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Adelucid" by MannyHeffley
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1324445
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Anyway, I stumbled across this level because I wanted an extreme that percent wise would top my Cataclysm fluke. That part of things failed miserably, but the level itself is pretty close to perfect. The only thing that bothered me just a little bit was how choke-proned 49-68% is. It felt like I would die at a completely different spot there every attempt I played it. Apart from that, this level is awesome. The journey the level takes you on and the progression throughout is just so well done. I love the visuals, I love the music choice, everything about it. Definitely one of my favorite extremes I've played and just among my favorite levels in general. Would highly recommend.
Attempts - 1,987
Worst Fail - 72%
Hardest Part - 49-68%
Easiest Part - Last cube
Difficulty Tier (Non-Listworthy Spreadsheet) - Easy
Personal Tier - Easy
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 10/10
Experience - 9.5/10
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=hf9Pnsz71mY
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "AetheR Forest" by nstryder
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1063556
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
I'd like to dig into more of the base gameplay. It really, REALLY did not need to be as bad as it is. If it was made to be much easier, I genuinely believe it would be amazing to play. On paper, it's a very coherent layout and is satisfying to pull off. But because it was forced to be list worthy, the majority of the clicks are just chokeable enough to where I could practice a section for a while, and then from 0 I immediately die to multiple different spots that never gave me issues before. I would just die everywhere from 0 and I couldn't go a minute of playing without feeling like my blood was boiling. Every part of the level had this issue nonstop, but nothing was as bad as the robot in that regard. There is nothing within the robot that feels like it makes much sense to die to, but it would happen all the time from 0, and to make matters worse, sometimes you'll just get launched into a spike following a gravity portal and, well, you get the point. It was a nightmare for me just trying to reach the 80s once, but fortunately when I did I never died anywhere else.
To sum it all up, I just could not be frustrated enough with how this level turned out, particularly because all other aspects of the level are an instant 10/10. It's genuinely one of my favorite extremes from a visual standpoint, and the song works so well with it. It all progresses so smoothly and coherently. Just a total shame the level was forced to be as hard as it is. If not for that, and if it had turned out to be like Digital Descent difficulty or something, I really do think it could be one of the best extremes. But as it currently stands, I can only suggest to stay away from it. There was not a single moment of it that I enjoyed, and I'm glad I can put it behind me.
Attempts - 12,085 (6,345 on the old version, 5,740 on the new version)
Worst Fail - 76%
Hardest Parts - Any of the cubes apart from the last one
Easiest Part - First ball
Legacy Placement - (ELLIPSISM | LUMINA | Sonic Wave Rebirth)
Personal Placement - Around Spectrum Cyclone.
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay (and Experience) - 0/10
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=6ojWmkcvV8c
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "LVST" by Cvmpliant
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1135258
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
So this wasn't something I anticipated. It was only about 3 weeks ago that I didn't have any thought about playing this, especially beating it. Part of why I decided to try it was with peer pressure, but also after looking into it a bit, it really grew on me. The song is crazy good and there are some really sick looking parts for 1.9 standards, so eventually I caved in. No regrets whatsoever. The experience was all over the place but I'll get to that later. I was so surprised how good of a level this was to play for how hard it is. It's the perfect level length to me, it has great pacing, and the balancing is, for the most part, right up my alley. There are only a few things I have to complain about. As far as base gameplay, I don't like the blocks that are there in the cube portal coming out of the first wave. All that does is make the transition inconsistent when it really didn't need to be. The transition into the ufo towards the end of the predrop was another thing I took issue with. Depending on how you time the orb before, you can hit the mini spike balls just after the portal which annoyed me quite a bit. The first and last parts of the drop were just pretty annoying in general, and I don't like how it's possible to miss the blue orb at 94% if you click early enough. As far as balancing goes, the difficulty is pretty consistent up to 48% when from 48% onward it becomes a lot more on and off, but overall I found the second half much harder. 48-55%, 74-76%, and 93-97% all stood out to me in particular. I could never get consistent with these parts and the former two really got to me from 0. Again though, for how hard it is this was a wonderful surprise. I never thought there would be anything above Calculator Core that I would find enjoyable, even more so a 1.9 level, but this changed that.
Now to be more specific on my experience, the first week or so was generally pretty good. A little on and off enjoyment wise but progress was steady up to about a week in when I had one of the most insane sittings I ever had. I started that day with 55% as my best and I got 6 new bests that sitting, ending up with 87%. I even had a ridiculous back to back moment by getting 86% as a new best, then 66% the next attempt, then the 87% the attempt after. That was one of my favorite moments playing anything ever. But then 8 days passed, and I never in any other time had consistency even half as good as that. It was really eating away at my patience and after going for 2 days without even reaching 50% I was questioning whether or not I should finish it. The next day came, which for a while hardly seemed better than that, as I was reaching the 50s but not getting past 55%, when I just suddenly beat it out of nowhere. I can't believe I never had to deal with any deaths past 90%, but I'm very grateful for that. I felt like I could've easily been stuck for weeks more with how poorly I was doing, but instead I can look back very happy with this experience, even with how bumpy it was at times. If you're interested in going for something of this difficulty, I would say it's a must. It doesn't get much better than this.
Attempts - 11,939 (My deleted attempts listed on my copy were off whoops)
Worst Fail - 90%x2
Hardest Parts - 48-55%, 74-76%, 93-97%
Easiest Part - 56-63%
Current 2.2 Placement - 68 (Widestep | Frost Spirit | Dry Out Copyable 2)
Personal Placement - Substantially easier than Zodiac. That's all I'm really confident about.
Current 1.9 Placement - 3 (The Catacombs | Frost Spirit | Sky Shredder)
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 8.5/10
Enjoyment - 4.5/10
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=HRqFYREW4G4
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Frost Spirit" by Phoqus
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=5McflDIxFiE&t=0s
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Attempts - 789 (not including Bausha Vortex attempts, of course)
Worst Fail - 50%
Hardest Part - 60-64%, 68-72%
Easiest Parts - 0-19%, 83-100%
1.9 List Placement - 25 (Fumetsu | XIX Vortex | Purgatory)
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 4.5/10
Enjoyment - 5/10
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=YNm27vUHFF8
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Fracture" by Rukkus
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/433947
also pay no mind to my other saved levels lol
Attempts - 4,148 (~1k are from at least 2021)
Worst Fail - 87%
Hardest Parts - 47%, 50-52%, 61%
Easiest Parts - 72-77%, 83-100%
Legacy Placement - (Void Wave | Bausha Vortex | Spectrum Rave)
Personal Placement - I guess fine just Auditory Breaker and Astral Divinity should've been above it
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 3/10
Enjoyment - 1/10
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=iIP_DE2WhV4
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Fracture" by Rukkus
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/433947
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
I suppose the first two reasons why I love this level so much are the song and decoration. Is it maybe an overused song? Probably. I couldn't care less. It wouldn't matter how I felt before starting any sitting on this level. Just getting to listen to it whenever I played was enough to excite me. I absolutely love it, and it's probably my favorite song used in anything I've ever played, particularly at the second drop. The decoration parts in this level, albeit inconsistent, I absolutely loved seeing and I appreciate every second that was put into the creation process of the level. There are a few weaker parts or some that haven't aged very well, but the majority of the time I'm just in awe at it and I'll never forget it. Now, of course, the gameplay contains the most flaws out of anything, particularly earlier on, but unlike in the split levels of Reverie and Faith, I didn't mind the issues I found in them nearly as much. Going for the whole thing made me figure parts out much better than I initially did with the split levels, and before long most stuff I didn't like before I knew how to work around, and apart from a couple of spots (Metalface221's cube-wave dual and the 49% wave clicks), it just became so much more fun than it already was, and that's all without mention what is undeniably the best section of the three, Diligence. Replaying Diligence again made me realize that it must be my favorite rated level in the game. I remember having issues with Pennutoh's part when I first beat it back in 2020, but coming back to it I thought it was fun. There are a couple of odd spots in it still but I could figure out how they worked with time. Makaron's part and SrGuillester's part may very well be my two favorite parts in any level, period. They were so unbelievably fun, and the accompanied decoration and part of the song they have just made it feel dreamlike. They're so good it feels like it shouldn't be in the game to me. Just about everything else in this section was also unreal to me playing it. If you only get one thing from reading this description, I can't recommend it enough that you go and play Diligence right now. It may very well be the best last third of any level that exists or will exist.
Now, putting all 3 of them together, how was that like? Well, initially it felt really difficult. I had so much trouble for days getting a 40% run on this, but eventually it started to click, and when it did it clicked so quickly. I went from just having Diligence as my best run to 100 to a 26-100% run, which includes all of Faith, as well as the ending of Reverie. Progress was generally pretty smooth from 0, but I will say that the nerves I got with a good attempt were terrifying. Without a doubt, the pressure I had at the end of the level was the most I've ever felt on one, more than Zodiac, Calculator Core, you name it. So, if you have poor nerve control, you're in for a rough time, especially as I'd say that the 70s were easily the hardest section of the level to me. The later parts of Reverie as well as the start of Faith are pretty tough, but a lot of it got very consistent and as long as I wasn't dying at 33-34% or 49% I felt this has the potential to be the most consistent level I've ever played. And also on top of the pressure from 0, 89% and the last part of the level are very easy to choke, and I would suggest taking time to practice it regularly. The 94% death I had felt very painful as should be expected with the stressful nature of a level of this length, but thankfully that was my only death after SrGuillester's part. I just can't recommend this level enough. I sincerely hope it gets rerated someday, now that 2.2 has made it more reasonable to play. As long as you can handle a level of this length, this is an absolute must.
Attempts - 12,693
Worst Fail - 94% (or really the recording bug in this completion)
Hardest Parts - Metalface221, HJFod/JonathanGD, Pennutoh, SrGuillester, Unerve
Easiest Parts - Salaxium, Xaro
Personal Difficulty Placement - Somewhere in the Spacial Rend-Spectrum Cyclone range, I'm not sure if it's harder or easier than those...
FPS Used: 240
Enjoyment - 11/10
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=DO7NrC2_Hc4
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Exit This Earth's Atomosphere" by Camellia
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/938115
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Time Card - youtube.com/watch?v=MXcMV-d_2Js
#rateOcularMiracle
Now it's time to piece the whole thing together. Stay tuned.
Attempts - 3,000 (Estimate, many from deleted om copy in 2020)
Worst Fail - 55%
Hardest Part - 12-14%, 53%
Easiest Part - Salaxium
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 7/10
Experience - 6/10
Clicks - youtube.com/watch?v=GqsuD4HCyVg
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Exit This Earth's Atomosphere" by Camellia
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/938115
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
By no means is this one perfect or the best, but I did find it pretty fun. This probably has aged the most poorly of the three to me visually but I'm still wowed by Reunomi's second part and also Scrumpy's. Now, the two gripes I have... There are several portals, in Peroxide's part and Reunomi's first part, that are so easy to miss on accident and end up dying because of it. I don't understand how it could've been missed, or not taken care of. It's an issue that never should've made it into the final product. My other issue is TrusTa's gameplay, in particular the first half of it, I didn't like at all. The mini cube and spiders are made finicky because of the deco spikes placed inside of the blocks which can hit you sometimes, and the ships just don't work well at all. Outside of those parts though, it was very fun and I'd imagine it will only get better once I start getting runs on the full product. I'd recommend it as long as it's not a hardest. Also this should be an extreme demon in my opinion.
Attempts - 1,577
Worst Fail - 87%
Hardest Part - 61-63%, 86-92%
Easiest Part - 74-81%
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 8/10
Enjoyment - 8.5/10
Original Audio - when I'm bothered to
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Exit This Earth's Atomosphere" by Camellia
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/938115
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Shame on the 95% death though...
Attempts - 9,801
Worst Fail - 95%
Hardest Part - Michigun
Easiest Part - Codex
Legacy Placement - (Ethereal Artifice | Artificial Ascent | Effect II)
Personal Placement - Harder than Digital Descent, easier than Photovoltaic II
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 6.5/10
Enjoyment - 6/10
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=jC8WcVW4JGQ
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Surface" by Dimrain47
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/63082
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
I have way too much to say about this experience. I was wanting to beat Lumina since I had attempted to get first victor on that last year but lost motivation with how hard the predrop was. 4 70%+ deaths later coming back to that and I just couldn't take it anymore as I find it to be one of the most unbearable levels I've ever went for. So for whatever reason dropping that led me to this. With how much I hated Cybernetic Crescent I had very low expectations going into this, but strangely it turned out incredibly fun. It's by no means near perfect; the level is extremely unbalanced as it's very, very easy to get to 46%, but 46-61% is a brick wall, and Galvatron and KrmaL's parts later on are also pretty hard. Etzer's part in particular stood out to me as being genuinely terrible with the ship and wave at the start of it just never getting very consistent, and Loogiah's ship and the wave transition just got worse over time for whatever reason. Despite that though, I never got bored playing it, and for most of the experience, it was a blast. Most of it...
So, another thing that I didn't anticipate happening was, this turned out to be what I think is my unluckiest experience on any level. Not the worst as in largest death list (I don't think Zodiac will ever be topped in that regard), but the unreasonable amount of deaths I had toward the end of the level was something I've never quite seen before. To me, the ending of the level (the last 4 parts) only has 1 spot that I would consider tough, being the triple click in Hinds's part. I did die to that my first time at the ending from 0, which is fine, but I managed to die 7 other times to the end before beating it, all in other places, being Vlacc's ship (that mini ship death was the worst I've ever had), earlier parts of Hinds, and even twice at Rustam's part. 97% was my second death at the ending, and because that happened the amount of times I passed Etzer probably tripled by the end of it. Certainly doubled at least. I ended up with over 100 deaths after 50%, and how it happened is an anomaly I will never be able to figure out. Even with how unlucky I got though, I'm very glad to have played this and would certainly recommend to anyone, IF it is nowhere near your hardest. As a hardest, or near that, I can imagine it becoming pretty awful to play, especially if you get unlucky like I did. So just make sure it's not too challenging for you and I think it should be a great time.
Attempts - 5,294
Worst Fail - 97%
Hardest Parts - TheDevon, Etzer
Easiest Parts - Pretty much anything before TheDevon apart from Manix648
Legacy Placement - (Bitcrusher | Digital Descent | Stalemate Redux)
Personal Placement - Easier than Astral Divinity while also being harder than Killbot, that part of the list was so scuffed...
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 8.5/10
Enjoyment - 7.5/10
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=UCuMhI-88ss
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Carnivores" by Creo
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/690265
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Edit (September 24th, 2024): It got rated on 2.2. Thanks, Rob :)
1.9 ID - 293636
2.2 ID - 109050674
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Regret" by dj-Nate
Song Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/375936
This is something I've had a very long history with. I dumped about 20,000 attempts into this back in 2020, attempting to complete it as a new hardest. It was just way too hard for me at that point in time; by the end of that I didn't have a 30% run to note of anywhere, so it sat in the background for a while. After a couple of brief attempts every now and then, I gave it another serious try earlier this year and actually got solid progress, getting connecting runs pretty quickly. But I got bored again, and basically stopped playing entirely. Up to last week, I had hardly played the game at all since the end of April, and I wasn't thinking of coming back to it again. But one morning I had to do a practice run to grab a screenshot for something, and after a little more messing around I realized I could actually finish it quickly, so that's what happened. Almost had the fluke of my life just 2 days in, but had an awful death at 90%, and took another 5 days after that to finish it. My luck was still weirdly fine despite it, but enough of that. I'll just talk about the level.
To sum up the Sigma experience in a word, it really is an anomaly. Pretty much every day I played it I felt different about each part, which actually made it quite annoying. I think most of the level's difficulty rests in the latter half of the level, but despite that, the earlier parts just weren't very consistent for me from 0. I couldn't understand what was killing me there half the time. What I did know though was that some parts have the most questionable additions to them I've ever seen. Take the blue orb in the middle of Hoshi's part, for instance. Why are there invisible blue pads leading up to it? Why are there several things at the start of Lemons that can just kill you sometimes, that were definitely not intended to be issues (i.e. the spike and sawblade by the wave portal)? Why does Surge's wave structures remain closed in the exact same amount as before that part was intended to be nerfed? There's just so many things scattered throughout the level that make it so much worse to play, it's really unfortunate. Despite that, I wouldn't say that this level is, that... bad? There were certain times that it was enjoyable, mainly whenever I was practicing from either Jenkins or Walroose. From 0 however, those parts become so much harder to do. You need good nerve control to have any hope of a good time with this. Again, even with the 90% death, I was weirdly fortunate in that I only died twice in total after Walroose's part. Helpegasus and lolwut's parts are very capable of being brick walls that just ruin everything. HJFod's part too, even. And Chlorines... And Walroose... I think you get the point.
In the end, I wasn't exactly a big fan of this level, and I wouldn't recommend it to most people. It's definitely not the worst level ever, though- it's just way too much of a fluke dependent experience to get much good out of it. I am glad I can check it off the bucket list. Nice early birthday surprise, too.
Attempts - 28,889
Worst Fail - 90%
Hardest Parts - Jenkins, and basically any part of 52-100% that isn't Fufafac
Easiest Parts - MindCap, Fufafac
Current List Placement - 127 (ATOMIC CANNON | Sigma | Knights of Thunder)
Personal Placement - Mildly easier than Bloodlust
FPS Used: 240
Gameplay - 4/10
Enjoyment - 3/10
Original Audio - youtube.com/watch?v=0CFDd4e7cRA
Discord - dementeddd
Content Credits
Level Song: "Forsaken Neon" by Dimrain47
Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/32207
Menu Song: "Serenity" by Heart Plus Up!
Link - youtube.com/watch?v=qRm4IwboNmM
Nuke - youtube.com/watch?v=7LD-WsfQsv0
Worst Fail - 97%
Hardest Parts - royen, qjamie
Easiest Part - Smellbert
FPS Used: 240
discord - dementeddd
Level Song: Awake - Supernova
Song Link - newgrounds.com/audio/listen/296234


