[ti]Demon[/ti]Ashes | Video

In terms of decoration this level is very very simplistic. The background used is serviceable and fits the general theme of the level fairly well, I just wish it would’ve changed a bit more throughout the level to provide some variance. Block design is where this level fails the most. The block design was almost exclusively either hollow blocks, solid grey blocks, or basic decoration pieces only (i.e. chains, electricity, etc.). The one part that I saw with a bit of block design was an early ball part, but even then it was just very simple 3D lines being used. I did however like the use of foregrounds throughout the level to create depth. This worked especially well in the first ship part, which coincidentally is the most detail part and also my favourite part, but also managed to work well in some later parts as well. Foregrounds aren’t something I see used by a lot of levels anymore which is a shame because they can be nice when done in moderation. The level does end on a sour note though seeing as the last 10% of the level literally has no block design. It’s just basic spikes and pulsing lights.

As for gameplay, the level starts out decent. The sync is alright and the gameplay, while a little boring, isn’t anything terrible. However, once the level gets to the drop all semblance of sync goes out the window. It wouldn’t be that bad if that gameplay was fun either, but it’s pretty subpar. There’s UFO spam, which really should never be used outside of terrible challenge levels, weird out of sync timings, and a random tight wave part that doesn’t do anything unique either. The one gameplay aspect that I will commend is the part with the skulls. It’s at least a unique idea. It’s not very visually appealing at all and a similar effect could’ve been achieved by adding player health to a corner of the screen that goes down when a trigger is touched, but it’s still at least an idea that isn’t used very often. Another thing that I really didn’t like was the skull count being visible at the top of the screen while the player is at the very end of the level. That was literally the last thing in the level that I saw and it was a mistake.