29-Jul-2016, 6:59 PM
This might be my favorite pack so far - it certainly has the lowest amount of 1s from me at this point. Some thoughts as usual...
#8 (Buried Alive): Yet another level I completely missed before voting. There are a fair amount of levels that have attempted this idea, like the LESSON 1 remix from one of the previous packs. In my opinion, this one hits it out of the park and has quickly become one of my favorite CCLP4 candidates. Part of what makes quality exploration-oriented levels so fun is the thrill of discovering what's around the next corner. There are rooms here that feel "unsafe," where moving one block could spell your doom. And then you discover that with some care, you don't have to worry about much at all - which is a great feeling to have. I also love how the entire route loops back around to the start.
#9 (Ice Cavern): I appreciate when ice is used for something other than mazes, though those can be fun. This level is no exception.
#12 (Gone to Lunch): We've got quite a few great teeth melee levels in voting, and this one is based on a neat concept and is certainly among them. In the end, I slightly prefer Exit Garden and The Maze That Turned On and Off, but this is still an enjoyable thrill ride.
#16 (Western Standards of Living): I think what will ultimately decide the early levels of CCLP4 is how well the levels are designed and how enjoyable they can make simple gameplay. This is one of those levels in which everything just clicks from an aesthetic perspective and a gameplay perspective, and I really hope it makes the final cut.
#20 (Turning Tables): I'm not entirely certain what the designer was trying to go for here. It's an interesting idea, and it looks cool, but maneuvering around the teeth while also keeping track of the cloning and toggle cycles was just not something I found all that fun. Additionally, I managed to cook the level via teeth trapping and inconvenient force floor placement.
#28 (Bind Mender): Oh, man. This level. This. Level. I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's amazing how such a small space can rack your brain until you figure out the solution that's right under your nose. This little treasure is such an effective puzzle because it's not frustratingly long, and all of the dependencies you have to account for make sense and involve careful study of the map, which isn't frustratingly large. A really neat example of scaling a concept well. My only request is to remove the random force floor.
#31 (Lost in Foot Locker Part Deux: Electric Boogaloo): This level reminds me a lot of Occupied from CCLP1, to an extent. Not one of my favorite candidates, but it's got a rather unique aesthetic.
#34 (Bam Thwok): I hadn't solved this prior to the release of this pack, but doing so here was very fun - and very satisfying. I love how you revisit the same areas about two or three times with different objectives on each go-around, which is neatly implemented. This just overtook Double Time Warehouse as my favorite "push blocks onto buttons while stepping on them at the same time" level.
#35 (How I Learned to Stop Bombing and Love the Worry): I really enjoyed Nitroglycerin from CCLP1 because it was a bomb level that actually didn't involve tedious block-pushing. This level also fell into that category for me and is a blast (literally!) to run through. The lack of rigidity is a plus and makes the trickier chips to reach a refreshing change of pace.
#36 (Someplace Safe): One of the level design tropes we've seen appear so many times is the "elemental quadrants": you divide your map into four sections and fill in each one with a lot of either ice / force floors / fire / water. There are some neat levels that have used this idea, but by and large, it's gotten a little stale. This level, however, flips the concept on its head by scaling everything down, then making each section look basically the same, then making each section play quite a bit differently. You're forced to lose your boots at the start, which probably won't be the first interesting surprise you encounter. It's such an elegant composition and one I'd enjoy seeing in the final set.
#42 (Platforming?!): This was originally a sequel to another level of the same name (which is now unreleased) that involved a much more open platforming area. Personally, I like the contained nature of this one more. It feels like you're scrolling along an actual 2-D video game, and the decisions you make don't feel quite as stressful. It's also refreshing to be able to loop back around and start over again if necessary - and the path is linear enough that you know the area you need to work on if you're having trouble. It's short enough to avoid falling into frustrating territory but challenging enough to avoid being altogether trivial. A top-notch CCLP4 candidate in my book.
#44 (Rainbow): I feel like this level could've been much more interesting if the designer had gone beyond simply "pick one key and avoid the others." Once I got to the flippers, there was a feeling of "...wait, that's it?" when I went through the key maze with reckless abandon the second time around. If there had been a very specific amount of non-green keys to carry to the end, this could've been much more engaging.
Favorite level: Buried Alive
Least favorite level: Turning Tables
#8 (Buried Alive): Yet another level I completely missed before voting. There are a fair amount of levels that have attempted this idea, like the LESSON 1 remix from one of the previous packs. In my opinion, this one hits it out of the park and has quickly become one of my favorite CCLP4 candidates. Part of what makes quality exploration-oriented levels so fun is the thrill of discovering what's around the next corner. There are rooms here that feel "unsafe," where moving one block could spell your doom. And then you discover that with some care, you don't have to worry about much at all - which is a great feeling to have. I also love how the entire route loops back around to the start.
#9 (Ice Cavern): I appreciate when ice is used for something other than mazes, though those can be fun. This level is no exception.
#12 (Gone to Lunch): We've got quite a few great teeth melee levels in voting, and this one is based on a neat concept and is certainly among them. In the end, I slightly prefer Exit Garden and The Maze That Turned On and Off, but this is still an enjoyable thrill ride.
#16 (Western Standards of Living): I think what will ultimately decide the early levels of CCLP4 is how well the levels are designed and how enjoyable they can make simple gameplay. This is one of those levels in which everything just clicks from an aesthetic perspective and a gameplay perspective, and I really hope it makes the final cut.
#20 (Turning Tables): I'm not entirely certain what the designer was trying to go for here. It's an interesting idea, and it looks cool, but maneuvering around the teeth while also keeping track of the cloning and toggle cycles was just not something I found all that fun. Additionally, I managed to cook the level via teeth trapping and inconvenient force floor placement.
#28 (Bind Mender): Oh, man. This level. This. Level. I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's amazing how such a small space can rack your brain until you figure out the solution that's right under your nose. This little treasure is such an effective puzzle because it's not frustratingly long, and all of the dependencies you have to account for make sense and involve careful study of the map, which isn't frustratingly large. A really neat example of scaling a concept well. My only request is to remove the random force floor.
#31 (Lost in Foot Locker Part Deux: Electric Boogaloo): This level reminds me a lot of Occupied from CCLP1, to an extent. Not one of my favorite candidates, but it's got a rather unique aesthetic.
#34 (Bam Thwok): I hadn't solved this prior to the release of this pack, but doing so here was very fun - and very satisfying. I love how you revisit the same areas about two or three times with different objectives on each go-around, which is neatly implemented. This just overtook Double Time Warehouse as my favorite "push blocks onto buttons while stepping on them at the same time" level.
#35 (How I Learned to Stop Bombing and Love the Worry): I really enjoyed Nitroglycerin from CCLP1 because it was a bomb level that actually didn't involve tedious block-pushing. This level also fell into that category for me and is a blast (literally!) to run through. The lack of rigidity is a plus and makes the trickier chips to reach a refreshing change of pace.
#36 (Someplace Safe): One of the level design tropes we've seen appear so many times is the "elemental quadrants": you divide your map into four sections and fill in each one with a lot of either ice / force floors / fire / water. There are some neat levels that have used this idea, but by and large, it's gotten a little stale. This level, however, flips the concept on its head by scaling everything down, then making each section look basically the same, then making each section play quite a bit differently. You're forced to lose your boots at the start, which probably won't be the first interesting surprise you encounter. It's such an elegant composition and one I'd enjoy seeing in the final set.
#42 (Platforming?!): This was originally a sequel to another level of the same name (which is now unreleased) that involved a much more open platforming area. Personally, I like the contained nature of this one more. It feels like you're scrolling along an actual 2-D video game, and the decisions you make don't feel quite as stressful. It's also refreshing to be able to loop back around and start over again if necessary - and the path is linear enough that you know the area you need to work on if you're having trouble. It's short enough to avoid falling into frustrating territory but challenging enough to avoid being altogether trivial. A top-notch CCLP4 candidate in my book.
#44 (Rainbow): I feel like this level could've been much more interesting if the designer had gone beyond simply "pick one key and avoid the others." Once I got to the flippers, there was a feeling of "...wait, that's it?" when I went through the key maze with reckless abandon the second time around. If there had been a very specific amount of non-green keys to carry to the end, this could've been much more engaging.
Favorite level: Buried Alive
Least favorite level: Turning Tables