Second half of the third rank cleared
16 - Green Hill ZoneI made this level harder than it is! Looking at the replay, everything seems so simple and logical... I absolutely wanted to use a convoluted trick to block the crowd
It's a nice deceiving level!
17 - Staircase Under ConstructionA single look at the skills gives the solution away, then it's all a matter of execution. The mirrored layout makes it, if not harder, tougher to execute.
18 - You don't need them!This is the level that stumped me the most I think, and I'm not proud about it because the reason was simply that I used my skills in the wrong order. I was looking for some intricate digging manoeuver to execute, and at one point it clicked: I just had to switch two assignments and voilĂ .
19 - To Hell and BackI loved the solution here, it's a trick I was not familiar with. I may have encountered it in the past but it's been such a while, it felt brand new when it came to mind. This is the level that allowed me to solve level 04 later, using the same builder trick.
20 - Castle Get-TogetherThis is a really fine level but it seems a lot easier than its rank siblings. I had one bomber left and thus saved an extra lemming, maybe my solution was a bit backroutish?
21 - Field TripI enjoyed this level very much. The very start took me a little while to get right and the rest of the solution needed some tweaking, but it was all fun. I got two extra climbers in the end, not sure where they would have been useful?
22 - A Christmas JourneyAnother good level! The right side was a bit fiddly maybe, but I guess this is why you have some extra floaters.
23 - SternenhimmelAt first glance I was like "oh no
" and the messy start of the level didn't make me feel any better. But the crowd blocking method is really nice, so it's not bad at all
24 - The Alternative WayI'm not sure I solved it the intended way, but it still was a hard solution to pull off.
25 - MetropolisAh, I have so much trouble to concentrate on these "non classic" tilesets
This one was on the easier side. No special trick here, only ressource management and some timing. Which is perfectly nice too
26 - EvolveQuite intimidating at first, but it all fell into place quickly. I liked it, and the size of the layout felt
right 27 - Whispers And LightsSomething recurrent in Icho's levels, at least for me, is that I often instantly get what has to be done on the second half of the puzzle, but the beginning takes a little while to get right. This is interesting!
28 - Dirty WorkThis one looks like a multitasking monster at first
But it really is easier than it looks. I saved a digger, so I may have taken a shortcut somewhere?
29 - Controlled ReleaseVery interesting idea. It was easy to know what to do here, but the execution took lots of try-and-rewinds and became somewhat frustrating
. Also, very imposing looking layout, in a good way!
30 - Edge To InsanityBoss level!
It's nice that all the rank finishers have a common theme. They feel chaotic for sure! I'm not a fan of these mixed and messy looking layouts but I get why they're made that way and I guess it's effective. Nice collection of little tricks here, lots of brainstorming was needed to figure out how to use the skills in the most effective way.
An excellent rank!
Each level has something special to offer and some of them bring back tricks from previous levels in a less obvious way, which makes for good progression!
I'll dive into the next rank soon