Here's the final list to start off with.
As for more specific feedback, here it is:
- Falcon Emissary Zone by InferNOr
- Hollow Hill Zone by Othius, Inazuma & Spectorious
- Ridge Rapids Zone by particle
- Mercury Mine Zone by Rexeljet
- Ante-Station Zone by Twins'R'Okay
- Fort Sunset Zone by DylanDude
- Lava Temple by Vixuzen
- Bombastic Beach Zone by Shapeshifter Boi
- Abyss Caverns Zone by yyeellooww7
- Blizzard Bastion Zone by PhilJFou
- Teal Tundra Zone by SunCyclone
- Koopa Kastle Zone by Glaber
- Drenched Dam Zone by Voidy2246
- Music Mash Zone by WasifBoomz
- Zaxel's Thunder Yard by Zaxel
- Emerald Glade Zone by DoodlesYT
As for more specific feedback, here it is:
I'm placing these two here because it was extremely tough picking between my favorite of the two. If I could vote the both of them for first place I would, because they're both extremely high quality levels.
Falcon Emissary ends up being my favorite because we finally have a good airship level. While it is pretty long, it really kept my attention through the whole run and I kept saying "please dont be the end" because I wanted to keep exploring it. The amount of detail on both the inside and outside of the ship is insane, and the gimmicks were super fun and surprising. My only critique would be the amount of enemies that crowd the stage, but frankly I think it fits. This would be an excellent challenge stage in vanilla SRB2.
Hollow Hill, while it is lower than Falcon Emissary, doesn't pull any punches either. The level simply looks beautiful. Both in geometry and art design. It was also really fun to traverse, and it got me very curious to explore it, even if its atmosphere felt opressive - like there was something wrong about the place. It's mystical, ominous yet beautiful. I just kinda wish it was a little brighter, and have lower walls so I can actually see that gorgeous skybox. It also feels kinda massive, I feel like an ant here lmao.
Falcon Emissary ends up being my favorite because we finally have a good airship level. While it is pretty long, it really kept my attention through the whole run and I kept saying "please dont be the end" because I wanted to keep exploring it. The amount of detail on both the inside and outside of the ship is insane, and the gimmicks were super fun and surprising. My only critique would be the amount of enemies that crowd the stage, but frankly I think it fits. This would be an excellent challenge stage in vanilla SRB2.
Hollow Hill, while it is lower than Falcon Emissary, doesn't pull any punches either. The level simply looks beautiful. Both in geometry and art design. It was also really fun to traverse, and it got me very curious to explore it, even if its atmosphere felt opressive - like there was something wrong about the place. It's mystical, ominous yet beautiful. I just kinda wish it was a little brighter, and have lower walls so I can actually see that gorgeous skybox. It also feels kinda massive, I feel like an ant here lmao.
Ridge Rapids is short and sweet to the best extent. I loved navigating the rapids or trying to make it through the level without touching water. It was a sweet concept pulled off very well. It's simple yet effective, I just kinda wish it was a little longer, maybe with even bigger waterfalls and longer, stronger rapids too.
Mercury Mine was the first one I played and it was a very fun introduction to this year's OLDC. I felt it was pretty unique both in visuals and level design - the typical goop/poisonous water is nowhere to be seen, instead being replaced by ring-draining mercury. It's rather long, which can get a bit tiresome if not for the very clear paths to take. While I had my fun, I think it could do with some smaller rooms, it's a bit big in some areas. That, and maybe sprucing up the texture variety.
Mercury Mine was the first one I played and it was a very fun introduction to this year's OLDC. I felt it was pretty unique both in visuals and level design - the typical goop/poisonous water is nowhere to be seen, instead being replaced by ring-draining mercury. It's rather long, which can get a bit tiresome if not for the very clear paths to take. While I had my fun, I think it could do with some smaller rooms, it's a bit big in some areas. That, and maybe sprucing up the texture variety.
Man, where to begin with Ante-Station. It's been a while since we've had Axis2D levels, not that they were very common to begin with. This one has a lot of charm though, the aesthetics were pretty cool, and the whole portals gimmick was fun to mess around with. Plus, the very sick camera shots really sold me on this level being super cool. My biggest gripe with it is both how it ends (just a square room with nothing much to look at) and the numerous amount of known issues made it feel like it could be very easily broken - in fact, at one point I straight up left the intended pathway and somehow managed to squeeze back in.
Fort Sunset was extremely charming, though it took me a bit to realize the coins respawned, so I lapped around the edges of the castle like, twice before I actually noticed it and explored the rest of the stage. It's a lovely, simple and chill level that I'd love to come back to. Unfortunately, that's kinda all there is. After picking up all the coins the level just ends. Which isn't a bad thing, but being an incredibly tiny arena made me feel like I'd unlock another section of the level and continue onwards, but that didn't happen. Personally, I think it would be best to lower the amount of coins needed to complete a section, then unlocking a bigger part of the level where you collect the rest!
Fort Sunset was extremely charming, though it took me a bit to realize the coins respawned, so I lapped around the edges of the castle like, twice before I actually noticed it and explored the rest of the stage. It's a lovely, simple and chill level that I'd love to come back to. Unfortunately, that's kinda all there is. After picking up all the coins the level just ends. Which isn't a bad thing, but being an incredibly tiny arena made me feel like I'd unlock another section of the level and continue onwards, but that didn't happen. Personally, I think it would be best to lower the amount of coins needed to complete a section, then unlocking a bigger part of the level where you collect the rest!
Damn Lava Temple was a trip and a half. The enemies were really unsettling and that big jumping sphere made me nervous af when i couldnt actually damage it. The aesthetic was pretty alright, it makes me feel like I'm inside a haunted pyramid of sorts. My most favorite part of the level was definitely the character-specific paths - that's a pretty unique take on the multiple paths you typically see. It was a fun level, though it could use with some more visual variety.
Bombastic Beach was alright. It looked pretty and I wanted to explore it more, but it can be finished in under 20 seconds, which was kinda sad. It's a great beginning, but I kinda wish it was like, at least a minute longer.
Bombastic Beach was alright. It looked pretty and I wanted to explore it more, but it can be finished in under 20 seconds, which was kinda sad. It's a great beginning, but I kinda wish it was like, at least a minute longer.
These three all fall into the same category of "Pretty cool, but could do with some polishing".
Abyss Caverns bothered me due to its darkness, but thankfully it wasn't pitch black so I could actually see where I was going - I kinda wish that bright red cavern segment was spread out around the level, maybe as a light source?
Blizzard Bastion sort of confused me where to go at the beginning, and it kinda dragged on through the end. However, it had some fun moments with that one ice slide.
Teal Tundra felt... pretty generic. Not bad, but didn't really pop at all. There were no major gimmicks that I can recall either good or bad, so I think it needs its own sense of identity.
Abyss Caverns bothered me due to its darkness, but thankfully it wasn't pitch black so I could actually see where I was going - I kinda wish that bright red cavern segment was spread out around the level, maybe as a light source?
Blizzard Bastion sort of confused me where to go at the beginning, and it kinda dragged on through the end. However, it had some fun moments with that one ice slide.
Teal Tundra felt... pretty generic. Not bad, but didn't really pop at all. There were no major gimmicks that I can recall either good or bad, so I think it needs its own sense of identity.
Sheesh, honestly these three had cool ideas but each of them have big issues that really bother me.
Koopa Kastle is pretty barren and a bit too simple. It kinda feels like a legacy level, I swear there aren't even slopes. I did really like the indoors segments and the pipes were pretty cool, but did we REALLY need a brak boss fight?
Drenched Dam had a really cool concept, a metal sonic race level isn't really common. But goddamn, the amount of invisible walls was incredibly tough to handle. 9 times out 10 I ran into one of them and fell into either an enemy or a slower route. It's also extremely cramped, which only feels worse with the whole invisible walls issue. It has a lot of potential and I really liked the idea, but it needs a lot of polishing for it to be a fun experience.
Music Mash... This one was extremely confusing. Both in level progression and visuals. The textures used are eye-straining and not in a good way, the objectives are confusing and I kinda just guessed where I had to go and somehow ended up finishing the level. Also, for a music-inspired level, the music is extremely quiet. It's an improvement over Hypertower for sure but... some of its biggest issues still stand here.
Koopa Kastle is pretty barren and a bit too simple. It kinda feels like a legacy level, I swear there aren't even slopes. I did really like the indoors segments and the pipes were pretty cool, but did we REALLY need a brak boss fight?
Drenched Dam had a really cool concept, a metal sonic race level isn't really common. But goddamn, the amount of invisible walls was incredibly tough to handle. 9 times out 10 I ran into one of them and fell into either an enemy or a slower route. It's also extremely cramped, which only feels worse with the whole invisible walls issue. It has a lot of potential and I really liked the idea, but it needs a lot of polishing for it to be a fun experience.
Music Mash... This one was extremely confusing. Both in level progression and visuals. The textures used are eye-straining and not in a good way, the objectives are confusing and I kinda just guessed where I had to go and somehow ended up finishing the level. Also, for a music-inspired level, the music is extremely quiet. It's an improvement over Hypertower for sure but... some of its biggest issues still stand here.
I have some choice words for Thunder Yard.
But first I'll be honest and say it's probably the better of Zaxel's stages so far, but sadly the negatives dragged it down to this spot. This level is a tiring gauntlet. It's massive and extremely long, even has a probably fake exit at the middle point of the stage that I refused to go into because I was way too deep in to get killed. It still repeats the issues from earlier maps, namely the level's length, the outright spam of enemies, the extremely tiny enemies that sometimes take multiple hits or blend into the scenery or take up to 6 fucking hits for some reason, or the amount of rings and monitors that pretty much means you'll never die unless you fall into a pit or close your eyes. I mean really, the record attack ring emblem being 2000 rings speaks volumes as to how many there are.
But that's not my biggest issue. What I found outright insulting of this level is that "very cool" exit. I don't mind joke exits that kill me for falling for them. But when you purposefully put a starpost right on the teleport that sends you to this area that kills you it stops being funny and is straight up mean. Especially after the insanely long and tiring gauntlet that this stage is. I fell for it on my first attempt in single player, and I of course had literally no way out due to that checkpoint, so I had to begin the entire stage over again. The worst thing a stage can do is waste your time, and then rubbing salt in the wound by mocking you. This stage would have ranked waaaay higher if it ended earlier and didn't have a purposeful softlock - one that could have been avoided AND forgiven if you just placed the starpost BEHIND the teleporter.
...sadly I don't have much to say about Emerald Glade. I congratulate you for entering the OLDC, but this stage was barely one to begin with. It's just an emerald hunt in a flat plane with badniks randomly placed about, and the level geometry is extremely simple. It didn't really leave any lasting impression, neither good or bad, it's kinda just there. I greatly reccomend you look up the level creation tutorials by Sev, and ask around the community for help. Hope to see ya next OLDC with a stronger entry!
But first I'll be honest and say it's probably the better of Zaxel's stages so far, but sadly the negatives dragged it down to this spot. This level is a tiring gauntlet. It's massive and extremely long, even has a probably fake exit at the middle point of the stage that I refused to go into because I was way too deep in to get killed. It still repeats the issues from earlier maps, namely the level's length, the outright spam of enemies, the extremely tiny enemies that sometimes take multiple hits or blend into the scenery or take up to 6 fucking hits for some reason, or the amount of rings and monitors that pretty much means you'll never die unless you fall into a pit or close your eyes. I mean really, the record attack ring emblem being 2000 rings speaks volumes as to how many there are.
But that's not my biggest issue. What I found outright insulting of this level is that "very cool" exit. I don't mind joke exits that kill me for falling for them. But when you purposefully put a starpost right on the teleport that sends you to this area that kills you it stops being funny and is straight up mean. Especially after the insanely long and tiring gauntlet that this stage is. I fell for it on my first attempt in single player, and I of course had literally no way out due to that checkpoint, so I had to begin the entire stage over again. The worst thing a stage can do is waste your time, and then rubbing salt in the wound by mocking you. This stage would have ranked waaaay higher if it ended earlier and didn't have a purposeful softlock - one that could have been avoided AND forgiven if you just placed the starpost BEHIND the teleporter.
...sadly I don't have much to say about Emerald Glade. I congratulate you for entering the OLDC, but this stage was barely one to begin with. It's just an emerald hunt in a flat plane with badniks randomly placed about, and the level geometry is extremely simple. It didn't really leave any lasting impression, neither good or bad, it's kinda just there. I greatly reccomend you look up the level creation tutorials by Sev, and ask around the community for help. Hope to see ya next OLDC with a stronger entry!