Cloudy Challenge Course

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Reviews and comments

    PurpleJazz 18 Apr 2025, 06:38 (edited 18 Apr 25, 06:58)

    The level is rather reminiscent of old Test levels, which also forego the usual level design conventions and strip things back to an arrangement of blocks (such as those made with the Top3 tileset), focusing entirely on gameplay over aesthetics. The level looks just about serviceable in terms of functionality, but lacks any kind of visual design flair, mainly consisting of brightly coloured blocks placed haphazardly, like a box of crayolas. There are certainly plenty of far worse looking levels out there, I appreciate that this one lacks many of the more egregious elements found in many similar levels such as flashing colours or obstructive foreground layers. The AI generated clouds look passable but do feel very out of place with the rest of the level, being semi-realistic while everything else uses flat colours.

    I didn`t like that I was forced to restart the level after having died once before the water section, that felt like an unfair gotcha! moment. Fortunately it didn`t take long to get back to that section as the level is very short and rather trivial. Most of the challenges I was able to cheese in some way, most simply by doing running jumps as Spaz, such as the Mega Man-esque disappearing block section which I was able to clear in a single running jump (after having died due to not realising the green bar was a pole). I didn`t bother trying to decipher the clue for the destruct block section and just brute force guessed my way through it first time. The water falling section was far too short to be of any real threat. The end boss I just cheesed by jumping to its platform and buttstomping it to death, abusing the i-frames.

    Aside from the aforementioned restart, there was nothing else particularly unfair but nothing really grabbed my attention either. If you have been playing JJ2 as long as I have, I`m pretty sure you will have seen just about every obstacle in this level in some shape or form before. I don`t think there`s anything inherently wrong with that, and I can at least applaud this level for not going completely overboard with the difficulty like so many other levels of a similar ilk have done. I feel that the concept of the level, while not exactly novel is an honorable one. It does feel fairly accessible to newcomers unlike other challenge levels which is a nice attribute, although I would still have a hard time recommending it over the vast treasure trove over other similar levels out there that come in a far more polished package and offer a more refined experience. You can certainly do much worse than this, but the bar is set pretty high nowadays.

    (My note to the author: please do not feel discouraged by my feedback, I was in your shoes once as well. The best thing is to take feedback as a learning experience, and take it on board for your next project. Making mistakes is a huge part of the learning process for any creative pursuit. Literally every successful JJ2 level creator I can think of started out making mediocre levels but then gradually improved each time with persistence and a willingness to take on board criticism. I do genuinely look forward to seeing your next project!)

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    jjturbo9 18 Apr 2025, 05:26

    Good level imo