Sharp 1 -
Then Came The Lemming... Nice somewhat challenging level to start off the rank. The size and pickups make it a bit daunting but it's not too bad. I totally abused bashing into the wrong facing OWAs to turn to hit the button at the start, as well as fiddle with the RR to send two climbers close to one another so I can platform and then the next one drops off the bridge to hit the button to the left of the exit
Sharp 2 -
Cop This! Another nice level and probably either the same difficulty as the previous or just a bit harder. My only criticism is that the miner on the far right is a bit precise, as the right-facing miner almost breaks through to the right level edge and when cloning the wall is still almost barely too high for the others to step up into. I did make the mistake of platforming up the very tiny gap where the yellow block is, but once I took a step back and thought about where the platformers needed to go then I had a bit of an easier time with the level. I like how the splatform for the crowd needs to be done after platforming up the gap on the other side of the wall so that the crowd won't be in danger after bombing them free from the left side. Platforming up the gap right by the exit is quite genius too.
Sharp 3 -
Ground Zero Probably a bit too hard for its position. There's a lot of possibilities which seem they might work but they don't. Many of my attempts had me temporarily containing/delaying the crowd at the top of the hill rather than where the steel is near the entrance. Some of them might had worked if the glider was faster in getting the bridge work done or if the crowd didn't break out so soon. There was also a time when I used a fencer to be delayed by the builder staircase so that no one dies, but then eventually the crowd gets trapped after it hits steel. It was a very hard to see that the glider is the sacrifice, though I wonder if it might be possible to rescue him as well by digging at the top so he doesn't glide over it
I could had done that if I didn't need it to delay the crowd before the final gap to the fence lattice. Nice level nevertheless, but again I think this level is hard for its position.
Sharp 4 -
Nom Nom Nom The only hard part is the beginning with getting everyone down safely so they don't splat. I thought that maybe the way to go is to glide to the top platform on the other side to do the splatform, but then there would be problems with keeping everyone safe if the splitter sent some the wrong way, for example. I really like the bombing a blocker to release one more worker lemming and getting into the hole to bash and delay everyone to give the workers enough of a chance to prepare the rest of the route. It's also to make it a safe fall for everyone after a builder is used at the bottom to help with it. Nice level here.
Sharp 5 -
That's Not Gonna Fly The only hard part here was seeing the digger cancelling another one. I tried to avoid using the digger to do that, but I believe not everyone makes it into the digger pit on time before splatting. It is a bit precise, though, especially since the distance for the others to walk around while the basher is making his way to the left to contain the others isn't long before the digger himself breaks through. The rest of the level is easy once you succeed with this, as it's just the same send two on ahead to do the rest of the path.
Sharp 6 -
It's Not Meant To Bee Great level! It was a somewhat fast solve due to seeing the stacker to make a climber friendly wall early. Even then, the level is still challenging after that, especially with getting the climber and lemming who placed the stack and is trapped on the left side of it to sync up at about the time the non-climber finishes platforming. This is my only criticism where it is quite precise since even before the final 3 bricks the other one will likely splat. Just like Coarse 7, consider reducing the precision here as well. Other than that, I really like the very appealing red herring of going through the bottom but it won't work. I really like how the climber goes over to do the remaining gap and then mine to the exit, while the non-climber fences through and then you have to use the walker skill to turn him back towards the exit after.
Sharp 7 -
Odyssey Hard level, especially since there's a few possibilities here which look they might work but they don't. Even the actual solution seems to make players think they hit a dead end. Indeed, that's exactly what happened, as it took me a while to realize that the glider is actually right above the exit trigger and can indeed get into the exit via the bomber skill or the nuke, the latter which I used
I told namida that if he really wanted to be cruel he could take away the bomber skill, but then that would disrupt the X-of-everything skillset in the full 8 skill panel slots. So really, this level did quite a nice job in making me think that having just a miner and a digger left was not the right approach. I also totally forgot about using the bomber skill after the digger finishes all because I said that the bomber is completely useless very early in my solving attempts. This was a level whose solution came to me just as I was typing the video description for uploading to my YT channel
In any case, great 1 lemming level that is still deceivingly difficult.
Also as a running gag this is the only level in the pack where I got cursed with the Abstract level that plays the Bridge to the Universe track
Sharp 8 -
Roster Shuffle Another great level. The hardest to see was that the builder is the correct skill to use to seal off the gap instead of a platformer, as I incorrectly assumed your only loss is the climber when in fact it's the lemming that slips by the builder at the start. Once I realized that, the rest of the solution followed easily, though I still struggled with reasoning out how to do the top middle area where the red square blocks are.
Sharp 9 -
Lem 51 One of the hardest levels of the rank IMO. This one took me a long time before I solved it. Certainly the hardest thing to see in the solution is the miner being used to release a lemming from the basher tunnel on the far left so that you can get one into position to platform to make a splatform for both entrances. However, I massively overcomplicated the solution by using a midair walker to mine to release two lemmings close to one another via the 99RR
It still only finishes a second earlier though. Nice level but quite hard.
Sharp 10 -
Sweet Tooth In contrast to the previous level, this one only took about 20 mins to solve. Nice 2-of-everything level that was a great challenge to figure out. The skillset is quite tight and hence figuring out the best skills to use for the solution is a nice challenge. Here, I used a timing heavy solution of platforming up the gap before I lost any lemming to the water and therefore I saved 1 over the requirement
Still some nice usage of tricks even if it might be possible to solve the level without them
Sharp 11 -
Impossible, You Say? Great hard level here and one of my favorites, especially with the miner through two sets of builder staircases in going in different directions via a blocker. Like Nepster, my only criticism here is the precise digger assignment and for one lemming to slip by the climber to block, as you will need the climber for later in the solution. Otherwise, excellent level.
Sharp 12 -
Drawing Dead I was wondering if this was the level which required knowing the fundamental difference between a blocker and a stoner, as I remember Icho mentioning in his United Creator's commentary that this is a trick he learned from this pack. Indeed, I correctly guessed it is even before I had started playing the level. Yes, I think I would had been more mind-blown had I learned the trick from your pack first instead of United, but nope, it's the other way
Still, this is definitely one of my favorites of the rank!
Sharp 13 -
It's Zombie Time! Very hard level. I kept trying to contain the crowd on the starting platform and kept failing in so many ways until I finally found one that works. As usual, it's another one where I really overcomplicated the solution. I also incorrectly assumed the climber would climb out to the right and get into danger, but that was before I had a chance to see if he actually does. So, another case of coming to an incorrect conclusion before I have tried or seen it in action. I think this level would had been solved much earlier otherwise. I watched Icho's solution after I solved it to compare, and it turns out I did indeed have the right approach to contain at the bottom where the water gap is, I simply used the wrong skills to do so, where I used a basher to contain rather than a digger
Well, nice level regardless, even if I was stuck here for a while.
Sharp 14 -
Death Trap In contrast to the previous level, I shot through this level in about 5 mins! As namida confirmed to me on Discord, this is one of the easier levels of the rank. Really the only hard part here is to contain the crowd at the start with a somewhat short time frame, but other than releasing both blockers later on a thin platform, it's an easy level. I still enjoyed this one, especially since it was a nice break from all the mind-numbing difficult levels of the rank.
Sharp 15 -
A Huge Incon-bee-nience Somewhat hard but another great favorite! I'm pleased to see that the bombing a basher midstroke to release a worker lemming is intended, though namida has stated that the level is possible without it, and indeed Icho doesn't use it. The hardest part of the level is figuring out the most efficient route through the level without running out of skills. Don't be fooled by the amount of platformers/builders, as they run out very quick. The only unintended part, it seems, is the spare platformer I used to turn the worker back to the right after I interrupted him midstroke with a builder. I really enjoyed working my way in solving this one.
Sharp 16 -
Lemming Mangler Another really hard level that doesn't look hard due to a seemingly generous save requirement and a nearly simplistic layout but is quite a toughie. This honestly is a bit too fiddly for my liking, though it might just be due to how I solved it. It took me quite a while to figure out the blocker and fencer usages. I even thought to release a blocker on a builder staircase with a fencer, but I gave up on it after a while since the blocker wouldn't get released. I think the only reason I got it to work with one builder staircase is due to stretching the bridges instead of making them line up perfectly, the former which you can't do anyway since you only have one builder. The time limit might seem very generous as well, but this is actually a bit of a false sense of security. This definitely reminded me of another machine level in I believe LPV, except it's with a teleporter and keeping everyone from slipping out to the right was the most frustrating part of it despite how very fast it is.
Sharp 17 -
Broken Arrow Another level where I used an unnecessary timing heavy solution. It ended up with me fiddling around with the basher assignments until I found one that works where I could just platform up the gap without anyone slipping by. I did think to use the platform to extend the basher, but I didn't see how to make it work, especially because I saw how bombing the fence wall away resulting in them getting fried by the acid. Somehow I did think that getting up the lattice was intended, I just didn't think about it enough
Sharp 18 -
Insanity Plea Definitely the hardest level of the pack, so I'm in agreement with Icho there. Rather than record a second video of me playing the level in real time, I decided to solve it off-camera instead of take the risk of fiddling around and my attempts not working if it was indeed supposed to be a very fiddly solution. Turns out the level has a very clean solution with just a minor timing part at the start. Before I finally found the solution, I kept thinking to make a splatform for the lemming that pushes the left-most button, but this turns out to be very wrong. Instead, he becomes a bomber sacrifice to release everyone contained at the bottom at the start, as the bomber destruction mask reaches quite far vertically. This is very hard to see in the solution, as well as the platformer above the pit and a stacker to release a non-climber from the pit. I especially like how a climber goes over the wall at the top to become the bomber sacrifice. Definitely one of the best levels I've played and figured out without a hint (I solved all of the pack without hints, though of course I'm not unique in that regard since the others who solved all the pack did the same). Nice job here, namida!
Sharp 19 -
Struck Out Definitely not as hard as the previous one, though still challenging. However, I'm surprised I figured out the level faster than I thought I would, and I even avoided the curse of the Abstract levels here with this Bridge track
Surprise, surprise! I watched Icho's solution after solving, and I'm surprised to see that our solutions are pretty much the same, save for how we did the beginning part. Nice level nevertheless, though still can be hard to figure out.
Sharp 20 -
The Lem Goldberg Contraption A really rare large level of the pack, though not as big as LPIV's or LPV's or LPO's final levels. This level is still no slouch, but once again nowhere near as hard as Sharp 18. I think it was a quick solve due to how I saw the very long miner through builder staircase quite early. From there, it was just simply refining the solution in a few different areas so that no one gets into danger or gets stuck somewhere before the work gets completed. Very nice level to round off the pack!
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