(http://i.imgur.com/tODd6mJ.png)
Shalev
My first level for Knytt Stories, about two months in the making. Explore a lost society and discover its most prized artifact! You'll find a treehouse, a palace, a farm fueled by waterfalls, and some mysterious ruins...
Download here. (http://knyttlevels.com/levels/Lucinda%20-%20Shalev%20v2.knytt.bin) (Version 2 with some tiny changes!)
Music by Unwell (https://unwell.bandcamp.com/music)
Art by Mindy Kral (https://www.mindykral.com/) and Caroline Li (https://creaturecaroline.com/)
Thank you so much to ixMarcel, SilasMann/xZilas, and egomassive for beta testing (especially egomassive due to his keen eye for detail)
I still really like this level a lot. And I'm not just saying that because I'm in it ;)
The cut scenes were cute and set the stage well. I'm reminded of older KS levels not only because of the tilesets, but also the secrets hidden throughout the level that make you want to explore more than you would normally. THE BEES!!! The giant tree is particular had knytt and fluff everywhere along with bits of dialogue and characters that made it the area feel especially alive.
I noticed that a lot of characters now allude to the snowflake at the end. Once I figured out what they were all talking about it was definitely an Aha! moment
This was actually pretty dang good for a first level. I do absolutely adore the good usage of default tilesets, and the custom music selection is top-notch.
A few comments I have about it, though:
1. I feel you could have put save points in more places? Specifically in parts where you're sent back more than two screens before you die.
2. This is more of a nitpick, but it bugs me that you have to enter the code in the castle twice so you can beat the level.
3. You could have made navigating the level easier with KS+'s map feature, but to be fair that would kind of get rid of the level's 'retroness' anyhow, so what do I know.
4. The bee wallswim thing that Sergio already mentioned. Kind of odd that that slipped past the QA testing. :P
All in all, a not-perfect yet still great level. I enjoyed playing through this one. Made me feel like it was 2010 again. ^u^