"Updatophobia" by SirHadoken (Insane Demon) | (Both Routes) | GD 2.2
Coin Route: 1:05
Try this level out! (ID): 97090315
Level song: Apex - HyperDemented (Creo)
https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/62...
SirHadoken has delivered us some fine stuff today. I'm really glad to see him drop a new level after quite a bit of time, as I always thought he was really awesome with visual effects and gameplay, and he honestly has some of the most memorable levels in the game. However, after seeing this level, I'd have to go ahead and say that this is his best level by far.
For those who don't know, Updatophobia is a level that plays around with the idea that any object in an update following 1.9 can kill you. With that being said, I really love the way this level presents itself. It's self aware and knows the theme that it's going for, so it's not afraid to go wild and experiment. In this way, it kind of reminds me of Super Probably Level by Alkali. It does a lot of interesting and dynamic things that are meant to confuse you likewise to SPL, and it even has some funny quips of its own, poking fun using its own high regard of 1.9 features.
Visually, this level can take two completely different turns. There's a normal route and there's a coin route, and because of the attention to detail in both, I felt the need to showcase both. I think I'll focus on the normal route for visuals and the coin route for gameplay, as these routes to the most interesting things in the two categories respectfully. Because this level is focused on the avoidance of recent features, it has an excuse to be decorated with all kinds of thing. Different miscellaneous block designs show up, and objects that you wouldn't normally see in a design level like puzzle pieces and rods make appearances in order to kill you, and not only does this give the level more variety, but it also adds to the creativity of the design. I was genuinely super interested in the approach to design this level took, and it seriously added to the theming and experience as a whole.
Now, to talk about the coin route to convey how great the gameplay is. This level wouldn't have been able to stand out nearly as much without the gameplay being so creative. The level being sort of empty and unique in some parts is a vice to deliberately make it so that the player pays more attention to the stuff that can kill you. The coin route pulls this off especially well, because the things that can kill you are extra hidden. Rotating decorations will seamlessly integrate themselves into the level, knowing full well they could end your run. Pillars of 2.0 exclusive blocks stand in your way, and if you touch even a corner, you'll die instantly. Even the PARTICLES IN THE SHIP PART can kill you. The fact that the level is dedicated to tricking and testing you based off of differentiating features the entire time while balancing it with cool design ideas is so unbelievably impressive. Also, this level is just incredibly fun to play in general no matter what route you take.
SirHadoken, you knocked it out of the park with this. This is probably up there with some of my favorite insane demons. Hopefully, you continue to be an awesome part of this community :).