Thoughts and ratings on every level. (SPOILERS)

[Ghotty]

Just finished it, wanted to share thoughts and ratings on the levels.

1- Level 8: Dissolution. Wild haymaker of a finale, cool as hell and the music managed to not be grating despite pumping in my ear for straight half hour, probably because of the dynamic shifts as you get further in. Introducing a unique movement option and giving us all of a few minutes to learn it before throwing us into a literal hell run is evil, and only justifiable because its a grappling hook, and we all know how to use grappling hooks.

2- Level 1: The Wall. Best sense of scale in my opinion and the closest to the original BLAME! vibe. Feels like a different game as far as level design goes, as tic-tac and air dash completely dominated the level design later on, potentially for the worst in my eyes.

3- Level 3: Waste Tunnels. It is ironic that a game heavily focusing on megalophobia has the most clausterphobic level of all time in it, but here we are. In fact, it's probably the best for both levels, as the sheer darkness makes scale impossible to measure. Plus it has one of the only two escape sequences.

4 - Level 4: Ancient Cistern. Strong vibes and incredible scale, though a healthy chunk can be skipped via the legendary polygon gondola, stretcher of textures. The waterfall section was more painful than anything but the rest was excellent.

5 - Level 2: Failed Biome. Rather indifferent to this one. Not bad or especially good, nor do i have much to say about it.

6 - Level 5: Undercity. A surprising change of pace considering how many living individuals you see, but not much to it. Forgettable but inoffensive. I wonder how many people are going to get stuck on the generator section, lol.

7 - Level 6: Foundation. The original decent was one of my favorite sections, save for immediately exiting the pipe. But once you reach the bottom, it is pretty bland and at times irritating. Plus, the final tower was probably the most trauma-inducing section that isn't an escape sequence.

8 - Level 7: The Sunken City. The only level i'd call outright bad. 90% of the level is basically the same trick, dash into alcoves. Over and over and over again. Only the final small stretch had actual climbing in it. The atmosphere was impeccable though, and i love how obvious it became that the lure was malicious due to the many hints.

All in all, i loved the game. The second half was definitely worse than the first, but that is easy to forgive since the landing was stuck so well. I even liked the ending though i imagine many wouldn't. It's perfectly on theme and there is really no other way it could have ended.

Also, how do you unlock simulation mode, and what's the final locked slot after doing full run? (which i am not going to do.)

[Buyon the Jiggler]

You unlock a simulation for each normal level once you collect every gem in that level. This is easier once you beat the game since you get your full arsenal at the start of the level (optionally). I haven't actually unlocked that final slot but I'm assuming it's full simulation run once you unlock/beat all of them.

[Molasses]

I wasn't a huge fan of foundation, trying to find scans felt impossible, i think i made it out with 4 scans after scouring every building i found. there are also LOTS of crevices in the level that feel more like accidental gaps that purposeful. vibes were good though. Level 1 i'd have to say is my 2nd least favorite, gameplay wise, the pacing is very slow and i spent a lot of time going in a direction that LOOKED like it might lead to a secret only for it to just be a dead end.