Just reading the name "Blood Libel" and the tagline "This level is fundamentally Sisyphean" felt like taking two verbal punches in the face, and the level itself lives up to them.
I love when levels try weird gimmicks, and I found these gimmicks play pretty well! The layout delivers the feeling of Getting Over It With Violet CLM without having awkward flow, and I died plenty despite the presence of an almost-instantly-regenerating full carrot.
The duo bouncers are a great idea, I've played a lot of levels with both regular and upside-down bouncers and every single one of those levels should use these instead. Also I like how the ammo sprites remind me of particle physics.
I'm less impressed with the bird and the moving platforms – using the platforms feels a bit too slow and precise for multiplayer. And I'm sure there's some cute stuff you can do with the bird, but with the duo bouncers already letting you attack people above you, it mostly just feels like a shield.
This level's visuals are downright surreal compared to the other contest entries', and it's all the better for it. Of course there's the superb custom palette and the very very bright red moon/sun/whatever (ooh, ALPHAMAP!), but I also adore the smaller details like the guts-colored sky growing closer as you ascend, and the water splash animation being recolored.
It's also excellent with landmarks, every spot looks unique and the layout was really quick to learn.
I do think literally raining blood might be a bit too on the nose, but it does look good.
Overall, this is for sure the most original entry and my personal favorite, I'd be delighted to lose to it!
cooba
8 Nov 2024, 01:45
9
I had been replaying some older Violet levels this summer and noticed that there is a gap between her SP and MP works – in that the former usually go pretty wild with tileset combinations, while the latter tend to pull their punches in this department. This level in particular, though, does not disappoint.
Although Violet remains careful and prioritises player visibility, the eyecandy in bllib is visibly more diverse – eclectic even, considering those poor disturbed Diamondus trees – than in blcon, even though the latter features 400% more textured backgrounds. The music does a lot of the heavy lifting as well, but the overall impression left by Blood Libel is one of vague, but intense discomfort and dread. And with that eyebrow rising title? Playing this level hits different this week than the last, for reasons I should not elaborate upon.
This is by far the most interesting layout from all the contest entries, built with, and around, one specific gimmick in mind. Navigation is easy, and means of climbing upwards are plentiful, with one direction but many possible paths. Violet is weaving new cloth with familiar threads here – in addition to everything listed in the download description, a seasoned JDC player will be reminded of Ascendance Cliff, Tower of Death, but also The Fingers of Icarus, and even Penelope and/or Falkenstein: The New Order. If the opening post of the contest thread was written specifically to entice Violet, should I be surprised that Violet’s entry seems to be created specifically to entice me, as an easily flattered level designer? Who could possibly tell.
Across all the entries for the Halloween contest, this one is my favorite, and is therefore declared the winner.
Bonus points: The Spike Bomb looks really good in blue.
Battle, by 
