EGC Judging

	A	B	C
1	Mapper	Map	Comments
2	ABuffZucchini	Digital Hell	(Yellow) Fantastic spring + swap block map that sports some really neat demohyper tech among other weird cool vanilla mechanics. Pretty much all of the setups felt really clean and satisfying to perform, and each movement flowed into the next pretty well in a unique way. If I had one complaint, it would be that the high density of spring cancels can get a tad tedious. The deco looks kinda simple, but it works pretty well, especially with the sick music choice. The style doesn't cause any readability issues and seems very fitting for a gm map such as this one highly focused on precision. The short phrases lingering in the air were simple yet effective tutorials. also bino tax but actually funny
3	Appels	Temple on the Earth	(Red) Inspired by Temple of the Moon, this map ends up blowing away its predecessor with beautiful jungle deco, the most creative uses of swap block gameplay to date, and numerous occasions where you just stop and think, "holy cow that is so insanely cool." The colorgrade alone conveys this map's vibe wonderfully, but the wild vines, greenery, and stone deco help craft a stunning backdrop for this chaotic map. The interactions you learn in this map along the disorderly pathway of swap blocks will guaranteed blow your mind and also provide some thrilling, uncomfortably fun gameplay (that's a good thing). It can get a tad trial & error-y because it's simply too difficult to figure out exactly how the swap blocks will move + interact from just the watchtower or sightreading, but this aspect is semi-crucial to the element of surprise present throughout the experience.
4	Jadeturtle	Apotheosis	(Yellow) This map featured a variety of interesting uses of throwing/dropping theo that I had never seen before. I will admit that theo gameplay isn't my biggest cup of tea, but the obvious comparison here is Theo Hell and I enjoyed this map far more than that one. The setups didn't always feel the cleanest, and the intended way to maneuver theo was sometimes difficult to parse, but this map was still solidly enjoyable for me; if you like theo gameplay, you'll like this map even more. Honestly worth playing this map twice or watching someone else play it because there are so many equally interesting + viable solutions to each section. The deco was rather simple in this map, but the colorgrade was pretty damn cool. Also banger music btw
5	Jan	celeste	(Cracked Red) Definitely the most difficult in the contest for me, with 10+ short and incredibly precise rooms that tutorialize some niche and/or speedrun tech. There were a few tech that were fun to learn and execute, but rarely is a tech combined with something else to make a screen more nuanced; in most screens, there is simply one tedious movement you need to perfect and execute once or multiple times in a row. The deco and music are simply vanilla summit, so it fits this long grind of a map fairly well, but I wish there was some better eye + ear candy to keep me invested in such a tough, repetitive map. However, I do respect and appreciate the NPCs in each screen that help demystify the required course of action.
6	Lost in Nowhere	Banach Space	(Red) This map is generally built around delayed dream block jumps and connected zip movers, but this map is chock full of so many different fresh gameplay ideas that utilize an extremely wide variety of tech. The first thing that catches your eye in this map is the greyscale-ish colorgrade with math equations floating in the background. This looks really sick, but some entities, notably spinners, can be difficult to see + react to every now and then. The music is a fairly short loop but is pretty catchy and fits the theme of the map. I was surprised by how delayed dream block jumps that initially felt a little jank could lead to some neat + natural movements. Also I feel the need to emphasize again that this map feels kinda insane in a great way; once this map has done something cool, it'll abandon it and show you another cool gameplay idea (kinda wish there were less wall boosts though because they're not very interesting).
7	Moladan	Song of Springs	(Green) I am really glad more people are starting to use timer crystals because this map highlights the massive amount of potential within them. This map skillfully uses springs, timer crystals, and touch switches to craft a 4D path throughout each level that is both fresh and satisfying to perform. The setups are fairly clean, especially for such a finnicky mechanic being used in grandmaster gameplay. Each screen has an entirely new setup/maneuver that uses the timer crystal in clever ways, and the spring cancels are not overly precise like they often are in many maps. The deco is consistently solid throughout the map and complements the multifaceted level design well. also touhou music lets frogging gooooooooo
8	Nyan	Torrential	(Green-Yellow) Extra jumps and jellyfish seems like a very tough combination to pull off, but this map did so in its stride, combining delightfully original mid-air maneuvers with brisk jelly puzzles, all accented by a dark & eerie theme. Juggling jellies with an extra jump opens up a whole new set of possibilities and this map explores a wide variety of them with some pretty neat touch switch puzzles, requiring the player to find creative ways to reach all the switches with a limited supply of movement elements. If you can solve rooms in the intended way, you'll find that the puzzles flow much more smoothly than you initially thought. The tense but dark music enhances the shadowy deco and the overall theme nicely.
9	OkNano	CHAOS ASSEMBLY	(Green) Extremely satisfying fastbubble + spring gameplay; the gameplay segments are short but jam packed with fun, fast-paced strings of inputs. This map just keeps you moving from bubble to cloud to block to bubble in a smooth manner without any unneeded downtime, and this works so well thanks to the comfortable setups and good camera. The two berries, especially the last one, have some particularly genius uses of bubbles with clouds. The deco is simple but captures the old pc os aesthetic perfectly with the teal+grey color scheme and blocky architecture. The song is not only a slapper but, combined with the deco, really sells the feeling that you're stuck in an old computer.
10	Quinnigan	Cyclonic Firmament	(Red-Cracked Red) Only a few rooms of ultra-precise ~15 second rooms involving dream double jumps and multiple types of bumpers that you must hit extremely accurately. Debug practice is practically encouraged and makes the map a lot more enjoyable, so I highly highly recommend throwing away your stubbornness and using savestates at first, because otherwise, you'll spend an hour just to get to another frame perfect input. Some of the gameplay is rather repetitive, with about 10 dream double jumps in one screen, but the ways in which you travel from bumper to dream block to feather can be quite cool at times and pretty dang satisfying to execute. The deco is simple but combined with the music, it has a somewhat calming effect that might keep you from smashing your computer.
11	tobyaaa	Five Cloud Jaunt	(Green) Five Cloud Jaunt is pretty straightforward, a <20 second room with 5 clouds and spinners that force you to move quickly between the clouds with a lot of stuttered inputs. The gameplay requires a little bit of semi-obscure tech and really precise inputs, so, although interesting, it ended up feeling pretty awkward. However, there are a few short time periods to adjust yourself mid-air, and puzzling out the precise cloud movements can be fun. The deco complements the short map pretty well but doesn't stand out very much, opting for a starjump-adjacent style. Also, if you're wondering, "why does a silver on a one-screen challenge even exist?", then play this map to find the most hellish answer to that question.
12	Toto00	The Chamber	(Green) This map's gimmick is really cool, with 3 main sections of gameplay that randomly select between 2-5 chunks. The gameplay in these chunks is short but sometimes very precise, so it takes a while to memorize exactly how to navigate the tight spinner tunnels in each chunk when it shows up. The difficulty balance of the chunks is adequate, but there are still some that are a decent amount easier than others. The deco looks pretty cool and reflects the carnival-like aspect of the RNG well, but it can be difficult to see the outlines of respawning dash crystals. Also, if you're wondering, "why does a silver on a one-screen challenge even exist?", then play this map to find the most stressful answer to that question.
13	Worldwaker2	Open Sea	(Yellow) First off, wow this map is incredibly beautiful. The sunny styleground with the parallax waves fits perfectly with the ambient chill music and the spacious level design. The theme is just actually perfect. Not only do the sinking blocks match the theme, but they are also an incredibly fun gimmick that leads to some insanely cool pathing and surprisingly satisfying setups. The practice mode helps a lot with making the 60+ second room a lot less grind-y. However, I think could've been one or two less chained ultras, maybe replaced with more unique maneuvers. Also, if you're wondering, "why does a silver on a one-screen challenge even exist?", then play this map to find the most elegant answer to that question.
14	xolimono	Royal Gardens by Night	(Yellow) Another absolutely stunningly pretty map by xolimono with a lot of meat on its bones, both in the high number of rooms and the high quality of cloud-ultra melvin gameplay in each room. Once this map introduces electricity bubbles, it just takes off, providing extremely gratifying ultras and fun ways to set off & use melvins. The atmosphere in this map is nothing short of incredible, the song(s) feel practically built-in to the deco and give off a really cool, somewhat melancholy vibe. The interestingly spaced 3-tile ultras might give you a bit of trouble at first, but they work surprisingly + satisfyingly well, allowing you to experience ultras in awesome ways you've never seen before. This map also probably has my favorite story, and the animations for the character you interact with are one of the coolest things I've seen come out of modded celeste art.
15	Yoshachobi	Rift Fortress	(Cracked Red) Practice your backboosts and buckle in, because this map is the most satisfying + interesting but also most demanding techspam I've encountered, combining grounded ultras, cornerboosts, and other fun tech together with timer crystals. The feeling of warping back to the same place with more and more speed before shooting across hundreds of tiles at once is extremely satisfying. The decal indicators of when/where you warp are easy to see, well-placed, and very helpful. However, this map inevitably feels a little trial & error with the amount of precision required, but then again, each screen is only like 7-10 seconds of gameplay, so it's not really much of a problem at all. The deco is pretty neat; it's not super detailed, but the dark purple temple/fortress theme fits with the idea of time manipulation and suits this ultra-tough map pretty well.
16	Reaver Of Souls	Magma Maelstrom	Disqualified for Excessive Difficulty (It was Impossible)
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