M A N I A by Darwin [Showcase]

Описание: Entry for Random Gauntlet Contest.

What really sells this level for me beyond the actual quality of the visuals is the theme, and how it was executed. You play as a psychotic individual having a manic episode and experiencing extreme hallucinations while going on a murder spree. The level is kind of an incoherent mess, but that is arguably its biggest strength as in this very specific case it actually contributes to the story in a very powerful way. It's all presented in such an extreme way, Darwin really did not hold back and I think that's admirable. It's also one of the very few levels in this game to be legitimately pretty scary, way more than stuff like collab level or peaceful. Of course the designs and effects all look very nice as well, especially at 0:43.

It's worth noting that this video contains many cuts. There are 13 different hallucinations that you can get and I edited the run to only include the ones that I felt were the most fitting thematically, usually for how hard they contrast with the chaos of the main level, how they escalate into becoming more and more trippy, or simply for being creepy. There are a few other combinations that definitely could have worked so I highly encourage playing this yourself to see all the different paths!

Deco: 10/10
Gameplay: N/A
Difficulty: Insane 9 stars

ID: 129492561
Darwin:    / @darwingd  

Music used:
KORAII - Cable Kid: Comes Back to Play    • Cable Kid: Comes Back to Play  
Frums - Gender and a Metal Bat
Creo - Slow Down    • Creo - Slow Down  
SineRider - Robot Lullaby https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/list...
KORAII - WORSHIP    • WORSHIP  
Xorberax - drag me with you https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/list...