Powerups – Reviewing Levelhead levels

Mission Destroy Flipwip! by Jornker

3gtvw4g | “Mission Destroy Flipwip!” by Jornker | Beginner-Friendly, Powerups, Well-Paced

This was a fun little level. The hardest part was honestly getting in to the darn castle, and then the rest was pretty manageable. Despite being such a pain, it really felt like I was breaking in to the castle. I enjoyed the variety in power ups, and was especially appreciative of the infinite checkpoints.

I feel like there is some room for improvement, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I think there are some ways to make the level feel more cohesive. Maybe having a larger central section, or not relying on rifts to get to the challenges. Another possibility would be to use more decorative blocks to add variety. As it stands the different sections feel a smidge disconnected which is a shame because I love the theme of breaking into a castle. Overall, a good level.

Through The Giant Mound by Sephy

60m94tv | “Through The Giant Mound” by Sephy | Beginner-Friendly, Powerups, Well-Paced

This level is just plain amazing. It takes a specific theme and blends it throughout the whole level. Each section was somewhat challenging but approachable. I really liked that most of them were simple but required some minor rethinking of one’s approach.

I must have died at least a dozen times on the spikes section, but thanks to checkpoints and having made it through most of the level, I kept at it.

This level earns the Popdonk Recommends badge for fitting a theme so well.

Fair Pursuit Of Forest by JustSomeDude

q46c5kd | “Fair Pursuit Of Forest” by JustSomeDude @itifvb | Powerups, Well-Paced, Beginner-Friendly

At first glance, this level looks like a night at the casino, Jems glittering everywhere, calling to you. Collect me, they say. Arrows litter the screen, guiding you to your next stop. “Package in the next 50 miles” the billboards say along the highway.

I found this to be an interesting level, with a good variety of puzzles and challenges. I’m quite impressed that the creator makes multiple uses of all three powerups as well as good use of backtracking to reuse existing areas. The creator clearly put thought into the flow and order of the sections. The liberal use of checkpoints helped a lot. although it was surprising how many times I died between the tiptoe checkpoint shown below and the zipper checkpoint.

The biggest changes I would recommend would be some softer, smoother transitions between the sections and the types of scenery. Also, I’d give some consideration to the difficulty ramp. Never did I find the level too difficult, but there were some moments, like getting past the first flapjack or getting past the 4 chain rock swinger, that may have been more difficult than the creator intended.

Overall a great start!

Торт, Это Опасность!! by Themoke

nhzb2xs | “Торт, Это Опасность!!” by Themoke @xs5tng | Powerups, Quick, Brawler

Hooo boy this took me 20 minutes to beat! I’m really impressed that you made a level using all three powerups in a way that felt smooth and made sense. Level design overall was good. Had a few hidden spots without feeling gratuitous. I liked that the starting area was small enough to force you to find a solution quickly. I really enjoyed the puzzle of getting the batter back while using the flingo. I appreciated that you added flingos.

The tiptoe climb was challenging but not too bad. The top two spikes got me a lot. The zipper hidden area I had to zip into was hard to find, so I ended up backtracking once because I thought I was missing something. The finally battle was REALLY TOUGH. The powerups helped but I died at least 20-30 times. Not having the lizumi right by the spawn would have helped a lot. The falling spike were frustrating because they were out of view and I let me guard down after the big finale battle and hard to try 10-15 more times to beat the bad guys again.

The Steel Forest Factory by Bmiclock

c0tkc0s | “The Steel Forest Factory” by Bmiclock @smqp4f | Long, Powerups, Puzzling

If anyone want’s to see good level design, go check out this level. Good use of space, decorations, backdrop and transitions to make it feel like a real metroidvania style of world. I love the little trees, they feel like mini treehouses, with swoopadoos that need removed. The flingos in the beginning feel fun and bouncy, AND teach the player how to use the flingos later on. I appreciate the checkpoints.

I love the hazards that are off but visibly ominous. I love that you get these powerups and then later on the hazards turn on, increasing your ability and the difficulty. Really fun. I applaud any level that can fit in two powerups in a meaningful way. Really creates a sense of space and different sections. I think the 3 flingo challenges was just the right amount of difficulty, it took me a number of tries but I got it. Had to switch to dpad the second time so I could be more accurate.

One downside and I’m not sure how to avoid this: I skipped the last gold gate with the zipper, and then got myself stuck with tiptoe because the key was on the other side. I’m not sure if this needs fixed, since I had a feeling that would happen, but it did suck that I had invested 15 minutes and locked myself out. [Note: the creator confirmed this was intentional to punish cheaters. Well it worked!]

Otherwise no other recommendations, great level and clearly you put the time and effort into it. Solid work.I suppose you could have a golden key on the Tiptoe side, but probably not needed. Those players are chaos monkeys!

It’s A New World 1 by Bmiclock

OMG I love this level, please make more. You do a great job of putting things like the package, or tiptoe, or a sliver of a giant jem within player view. This is great level design because it creates a goal and some anticipation in the player. Now they have something they know they are working towards.

You have nice variety of challenges. I loved the dbot because when I saw the spikes, I had assumed I was going to have to package jump and when I found the dbot I was so delighted. Good use of slime blocks to transition to a different “section” of your world. Good use of liberal checkpoints. I appreciated that the monster checkpoint didn’t require killing everything, if I recall. I really enjoyed skipping some sections with the zipper, that made me feel smart.

The only change I would recommend, is possibly using the backdrop tile more to make it feel more cozy and create a feeling of more inside sections as opposed to all outside sections. I’m probably weird like this, but my brain doesn’t like tons and tons of floating sections, it wants something to hold them up visually.

Stellar work, I look forward to the sequel.

Dangerously Hmmm Test by Human

I love the overall level design with the trees and the kronkrete and the clouds and the Swoopadoos. It feels like I’m in a giant treehouse of fun that’s infested by some swoopadoos, and It’s my job to go clear them out. The slub juice with the swoopadoos is hilarious. I like the hidden powerup, that was fun to find.

I’m not a huge fan of the immediate spike droppers in the top parts of the near certain doom in the bottom part. Those things make are likely to either frustrate me as a player of make me thing it’s for “advanced” players. If you got rid of those and added a checkpoint or two, I’d be much more likely to stick through it instead of maybe getting frustrated and quitting earlier. Some indicator to find my way back to the secret tunnel at the top would also be nice. Something like a sign would help tremendously.

Overall I love the direction of it. It feels like a lived place, which is so cool. I hope you continue to make more levels