Ghost Town by Floofle

i've been fond of floofle's works since they released "New Again" around 2 and a half years ago. what i really enjoyed about New Again was how much attention to detail there was in terms of properly representing the song, not only through visual effects but also player movements, so naturally i was excited when they released this level. floofle completely outdid themselves with this one. it is the walking definition of "less is more". everything in this level is so simple, yet so effective; every little element contained within the song, whether it be percussion instruments, electric guitar strums, or vocals, is accounted for within the visual effects or player movements. the more subtle song elements are reeled back in the visuals, while the more obvious and louder ones are complemented with appropriate bursts of energy. the level starts off with a very basic, 1.0-style structuring. i consider this as a really clever creative touch, because it reflects the simplicity and tranquility of the sample used at the beginning of the song, with absolutely nothing that hints toward what the rest of the song or level looks or sounds like. immediately afterwards, both the level and song cut to a loud and bright atmosphere. the player's movements reflect the vocals very accurately, with the timed jumps and the stairs. starting at 0:38, the song takes on a more melancholy feel, and the previously bright blue background darkens slightly and takes on a warmer, almost nostalgic scheme of colors. the part beginning at 22% has an abrupt, almost broken transition. the elements responsible for the previously bright colors don't nicely fade away; they simply just disappear in succession, suddenly thrusting you into a very different atmosphere. this is accurately reflected by the song, where the change in vocalist is almost just as sudden. i really like the contrast between the dark gray background and the small windows of bright rainbow passing by in the background. it feels like someone reminiscing about something that once was while in a state of darkness (possibly the previously bright atmosphere), although i may be wrong. the section beginning at 30% is very interesting, and i spent a lot of time thinking about what it meant. the player is depicted to be trekking down a mountain in the wake of a warm sunset, and the atmosphere/visuals are much more relaxed compared to before. considering this level's song is related to the effects of bipolar disorder, my interpretation is that the descent down the mountain is the bipolar mind winding down after a manic/depressive episode. after the player reaches the bottom of this mountain, the section from 22% repeats itself again, but completely devoid of any color, both for the level and the player. the transition into this section is also sudden, but not nearly as sudden as before. the earlier instance felt like the player was thrusted into the part without any warning, but this time it almost feels expected, and that the player just falls into it. 55-100% is by far my favorite section of the entire level. it almost feels like the level has given up; there is a near complete lack of solid structuring compared to everything previous, and the background feels dismantled, almost like it has fallen apart and that every object has begun to follow a slightly different trajectory of its own. however, the real highlight of this section is how the player movements match the song. there are two voices singing here, and to complement this is a dual cube. each time one voice sings, only one player is visible and is interacting with gameplay. when both voices sing, both players are visible and are both interacting with gameplay. a really, really nice additional attention to detail i noticed in this dual is at the start; both singers are vocalizing different lyrics, or are singing off key from one another. the corresponding gameplay here is asymmetrical dual cube gameplay. after this, the voices sing together in harmony and as such the dual becomes perfectly symmetrical. this is probably my favorite little detail in this entire level. the composition is absolutely flawless and it is incredibly satisfying to both watch and play. this is definitely one of my favorite levels ever, and i can’t wait to see more of floofle’s works. i believe this should definitely be rated, although the chances of that are unfortunately quite slim because of the nong. nonetheless, i highly recommend giving this a shot if you enjoy levels like this.