Review by Colin Phipps

This is the fifth in a series of "classic" levels made by members of the Darkening team. While this one is a replacement for E2M5, it's definitely Knee-Deepish in style, and many areas reminded me of Central Processing (Doom I E1M6). The level certainly captures the elegant simplicity of Knee-Deep, with simple architectural features like windows between areas, different height levels, acid and outdoor areas, and features like crates and computer panels used to build up an interesting level.

The player starts off quite hemmed in, with plenty of opposition in front and plenty more sniping from overlooking areas. You're made to fight for the shotgun, and ammo is tight early on, making the start definititely the trickiest part of the level. The tricky architecture keeps you on your toes, and there are some traps too. As you'd expect the level is very non-linear, but the progression is straightforward even though all the keys are used, and the level is not too long.

On the downside, while not trivial the level doesn't have any really nasty shocks either, and the traps it does have aren't particularly deadly - on one occasion I escaped a trap purely by virtue of not noticing anything had triggered. Perhaps if the level was a bit longer it could have built up a bit more resistance. Still, overall it's a good level in the old style.