difficulty, so time for more thoughts. L3DRs attatched.
A general comment which applies to all of these is that they're memorable. Even though I played through them over a few days, I had no problem remembering which level was which just from their name. That's a good sign. Overall, I'm thoroughly enjoying this pack so far.
21. Sputlem IV - Good. This felt like a perfect opener to Tricky, for me: Small numbers of a few different skills, a solution isn't obvious, but also isn't hard to arrive at with a little bit of reasoning.
22. Redirect Loop - Great. Neat little puzzle. I like how you've linked the loop aesthetic with the computer environment and incorporated into a puzzle about breaking out. Cool, creative use of the miner. This was the first time I got stuck for a while on a puzzle in this pack.
23. Actual Maze - Meh. Barely feels like a puzzle, just busywork. Especially when you can shortcut the maze using bombers. Also... it's very easy. I'd actually argue it's easier than the maze level that's already in Fun, Indoor Maze, since at least that one you can run out of turners if you don't take the correct route.
24. Wafer Walkway - Decent. It taught a very important lesson about L3D's mechanics, but it did reinforce to me that I much prefer puzzles that focus on figuring out how to get from A to B, rather than the challenge being in the execution.
25. The Moat - Good. I'm fond of puzzles that exploit flaws in skills. In this case, the fact that what should be a simple gap is anything but... due to the fact that builders can only build up. I enjoyed the way it was ultimately resolved.
26. Timed Attack - Good. Felt smart figuring this one out. Feels unique to me among a lot of the other puzzles so far. A different flavour.
27. Sweetcake - Great. I'm wowed by a puzzle that's just about going around a pole. You present such a simple and easy to grasp problem, subvert the initial expectation (that you "just use turners" to go around it), and then turn it into a clever puzzle that communicates an important lesson. It does pretty much everything you could ask for from a Lemmings puzzle. It reminded me of what I liked about The Mansion - how you've blended natural looking aesthetics with key components of the solution.
28. Royal Run - Good. Not much else to say, I just thought it served its purpose well.
29. Infinite Lemming Drive - Good. Indoor space levels, the ones that are like wandering the corridors of a spaceship, are one of my favourite aesthetics in Lemmings 3D. I look forward to designing something like this myself sometime. I really enjoyed the puzzle of this as well, among the better L3D navigation focused puzzles I've seen. I did feel the environment was... claustrophobic? It wasn't that hard to navigate per se, but it was a bit weird seeing it so full of boxes? It's hard to describe.
30. Longboy - Decent. I got stuck on this for way longer than I should have because I didn't realize you could stand on the hatch. For someone who didn't realize you could do this with springs, realizing that you could approach it from the other side to do what it did was neat.
31. Deep Dash - Good. I was stuck on this for a while... the hard part for me was figuring out exactly how to trap and then release the crowd... but I definitely learnt something from the solution. It was a cool demonstration of implications of 3D on bombers.
32. Guard Wall - Meh. After a couple of moments of thinking, I felt the solution was quite easy to figure out, but annoying to execute. Lots of restarting and shifting when you send climbers so it lined up perfectly. I didn't really find it all that fun.
33. Obstructed Shot - Decent. The set piece of the level makes it memorable: Lemmings being flung into the wall and exploding, which I hadn't seen until now and I don't think it comes up in the original game at all. Aside from that aspect though, it didn't leave much of an impression on me.
34. Mysterious Artifacts - Good. I don't have a ton to say about this one, but I just thought it was a solid puzzle. No complaints.
35. Blazing The Trail - I detailed my harrowing experience on the discord. In the end, it was the hardest level in the rank and took me about 3 hours all up to solve. It feels completely different to every other level in the rank, which is a plus. Another is that you're given immense freedom, so there's probably many solutions, but none of them are trivial. They all require planning and thought. That said, the level just feels... excessive. Actually executing a solution takes a lot of time and effort compared to other levels because it's so big, and if you find out your plan won't work (as it did for me multiple times), redoing it sucks. I appreciate this level, but never want to play it again.
36. Firewall - Great. My favourite level in the rank and contender for my favourite so far. There's a LOT to like here. The fact it looks 2D but has a 3D solution; the solution being super interactive with all of the stray lemmings you need to save; the solution making creative use of the entrance hatch and traps; the fact the splitters are made to look like obstacles to be avoided, but end up being integral to the solution; the fact it almost seems like the 2D route will work, but not quite. So much is cleverly designed. The only downside is that it's a bit dull to look at, basically being a big gray wall with blocky gray platforms.
37. The Nightman Cometh - Good. I enjoyed it, but felt I felt it 'played itself' too much. There wasn't really any tricks, you just assigned a climber and then used skills as there came need to, and it all works out. So, surprisingly straightforward for the end of Tricky. What bumps it up to me though is the aesthetic. For a desert level, this level looks great! One of my favourites visually/conceptually so far. The level name and the use of the weird traps really enhance the puzzle's storytelling.
38. The Barracks - Great. Right on with the barracks aesthetic. Simple idea with a surprisingly simple but clever solution. As with The Mansion and Sweetcake, I like how the solution is innocuously hidden in what seem like decorative aspects of the environment.
39. A-maze-ing Grace - Great. Very satisfying puzzle. I like how it does a lot with very little space. It looks simple, but the solution still makes you feel so clever when you figure it out. I like the realization it creates too, where you THINK you solved it only for it not to quite work out and need the smallest adjustment. It feels tightly designed. The fact Lemmings just walk through the fences is a bit weird, though.
40. Data Corruption - Great. The last few puzzles have were consistently good, and the finale doesn't disappoint. You really nailed the glitchy, corrupted aesthetic. The terrain perfectly rides the line of guiding the player while not making the solution too obvious. Using the last turner as the final builder was a nice touch.
I'll be busy over the next couple of days, but I look forward to getting started on Taxing soon. Particularly since you've indicated on the discord that it has many of your favourite levels from the entire pack.
