Welp. I played the mod through with no cheats, and y'know what? It's not half bad. But then I realized, it's not half good (in some parts), either. I know that this was made as a joke and a part of me doesn't know whether or not to congratulate it for succeeding. So I'm going to point out the levels in the main campaign I liked and didn't like as much, along with some tips that may help beat them. (WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE LEVEL PACK)
Square Rock 1: Fairly straightforward. Gives me Early SRB2 vibes in terms of design. Nothing too special.
Square Rock 2: A maze that forces you to use your head and find the buttons that unlock an exit or two. (Hint: It's the one with the THZ textures) It's not the worst maze in the pack, but it can give first timers some trouble.
Square Rock 3: Easier boss fight against Brak Eggman, but after beating it, the game tells you that you got the wrong exit.
The Fakeout: As the subtitle of the level says, it's simpler than you think. You'll get stuck in some places, but that's why I have to thank the creator(s) for infinite lives. (Hint: On the tiny ledge in the first room you start in, jump and thok to the other side.)
Brak's Bucking Feasechurger: Probably the best level in terms of difficulty and design. By the name, you'd expect to hate this, but no! It's actually pretty good (and funny, with the images section)! The platforming is fair, and the signs are pretty helpful. In a word: solid.
Invesigation: Aaaand we're back to tedious "level design." This level gives you an extra life for no reason at the start (which is ironic considering that it might take a lifetime to find an exit to this rather small stage). After that, the level consists of having to feel the walls for an exit. The signpost teleporters don't work (one of them can trap you in a nigh endless loop), the fake exits immediately kill you, and when you finally get transported to a different room (a blue one), you have to do the same thing again, but at a more disorientating place. The level overall isn't long, but that depends on if you know where to look.
London Zone 13: An okay level, but MAN it drags like Fang's tail on the ground. Speaking of dragging, ππ’π‘'π§ π πππ π§ππ ππ’π₯π₯ππππ π ππ¦π§πππ π’π π₯π¨π‘π‘ππ‘π/π₯π’ππππ‘π ππ’πͺπ‘ π§πππ§ π¦π§πππ£ ππππ! The level's exit won't open until you take one of the big gargoyles and push it down that long... steep... tall.... hill... right on that pink button. Other than that, straightforward and surprisingly simple!
What Zone: One of the easiest levels of the pack. A simple puzzle here, a hidden button there, not too hard to figure out as long as you don't overthink the whole level.
Battlefield Zone (the Minecraft one): I gotta admit, the Smash Bros. fake-out was extremely hilarious! Oh, and the Minecraft recreation level was extremely impressive too. Not only are the mechanics extremely spot-on, but the hunt for the green eye thingies (I don't play Minecraft at all so forgive my caveman talk >_<) is engaging and... dare I say fun! (Hint: compass and first person can help) It's the second best level in terms of mechanics, although there is a definite winner in that category....
Square Midas: A strong contender for the best level overall. But it certainly takes the cake in terms of atmosphere and general tone. The mechanics in this level are one of a kind! The childish messages constantly tell you what to do in order to complete the level (up until the end, where it all goes π£πͺπ©π¨), and some of the instructions are outright GAMEBREAKING!!! No, seriously, you have to switch video modes between OpenGL and Software to progress, alongside constantly going outside of the game to mess with its files by deleting and creating new ones! It's a phenomenal gameplay twist that really only feels at home in THIS level! The only thing really holding it back from becoming the best level with zero debate is a certain part of the scaling section where you can fall off (but that's only a minor nitpick compared to the oodles of praise I have for this great level). Talk about ending on a high note!
That should be all of the main levels! But before I end this extremely long and in-depth review, I want to give a shout out to one non-campaign level: Hub Building. It may not be the best level in the game, but it's probably my favorite. Seeing Panic (or whichever character you choose to play as in this vast mansion-like 'hub') get increasingly frustrated with the receptionists (and the level, which is a clever representation of the player throughout most of these levels) is funny and well-made, considering the fact that it nearly took me an hour to access the levels. The 5 hubs in this mod are randomized in single player, so you have a pretty good chance of avoiding it. But when you do get it, you might enjoy it is much as I did! (I even got a mildly funny image out of it! ^_^) It may have the WORST maze in the entire pack, but, at least for me, it wasn't enough to stop me from enjoying this!
And that is the end of my essa- er I mean review! I hope you found this review informative and probably humorous! And, to the creator.... You did an awesome job with this! I hope this review made you happy, and in case it doesn't, I personally hope you have a great day anyway! You made this certain part-time modder happy!
![[v1.1.1] PANIC](https://srb2mb-externaldata.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/data/resource_icons/2/2665.jpg?1617393730){kind=icon}
![[v3.0] Unofficial Level Design Collab: Spring 2020](https://srb2mb-externaldata.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/data/resource_icons/0/122.jpg?1625372089){kind=icon}
![[v1.4] Unofficial Level Design Collab: Spring 2022](https://srb2mb-externaldata.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/data/resource_icons/3/3973.jpg?1651789171){kind=icon}
![[v1.6] Unofficial Level Design Collab: Autumn 2021](https://srb2mb-externaldata.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/data/resource_icons/3/3423.jpg?1635721673){kind=icon}
![[v1.6] Unofficial Level Design Collab: Summer 2021](https://srb2mb-externaldata.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/data/resource_icons/3/3136.jpg?1628050484){kind=icon}
![[v5.2] The Mystic Realm](https://srb2mb-externaldata.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/data/resource_icons/0/119.jpg?1628738536){kind=icon}
I'll be honest this was just supposed to be a quick april fools shitpost mod. It's funny how things evolve, thanks to the incredible work done by contributors there's actually stuff in here that isn't just good, but really amazing for SRB2.
And shit was definitely my original vision for this. The stuff that's aggressively horrible to play was absolutely the mods original goal, and ironically it failed at that by having some genuine technical marvels.
Anyways in the near or far future expect an update that streamlines the whole mod, removes a few levels, and overall makes the experience more pleasant all around. It feels kinda unfair to have technical marvels like The Battlefield and Square Midas in the same pack as literal mario maker troll levels like Investigation and The Fakeout.
Thank you!