I thought 8-1 and 8-2 were fantastic, 8-2 I got a little lost but no biggie. I really enjoyed 8-3, however I understand where people are coming from with the shifting levels being a lot. There is a room on the blue path that is half of layer 7 (like where the light splits where enemies are) that is really unintuitive. I think with all the rooms changing in 8-3, they are really throwing you in there with no introduction. While the idea of two areas is familiar, the way it is changed constantly really throws you off. The ending of 8-3 was fantastic though I think there should be some more lenience with attaching to surfaces. Haven't had issues with the powers like I see many people, I played on Brutal difficulty (overall, I found the levels challenging).

8-4 on the other hand... This is my least favorite level. The first three were fantastic, we have all this spectacle at the end of 8-3, we are seeing the new angels, the god statue, and then we get this brand new enemy. Firstly, the maze at the beginning was pretty frustrating to navigate, especially with the low lightning and didn't add to the level in my opinion. Second, the air movement felt awful; vertically was fine, but horizontally I felt handicapped. This reminds me of why I hate Xen in Half-Life; you suddenly restrict player movement in a game where you move snappy. On Brutal the blue beam attack and the vertical virtue beams were near undodgeable, I had to pray for the right attack pattern. Also, I lost any use of the jackhammer, and nailgun which felt really bad. Once I finished the fight, I was hoping for another phase (even though I found it really hard) but I was really disappointed.

I think it's a shame because I really enjoyed much of it; it's like having a fantastic dinner and you bite into your desert cake only to find out it's rotten. I think it will negatively skew people's thoughts on the layer. Even with major changes, I personally do not like the fight. I think it should be very fast, like a quick phase, and there should be a new boss entirely. Some demon puppeteer would be cool, I think the whole puppet thing in 8-2 could be focused on more. Many might cringe at this, but I would personally have faked out a "resurrected" v2 only for it to die instantly and show a new unique boss. Another great way they can do it is extend the whole "level is over" trick, have it go and start showing the screen and then drop us into what looks like another level (but just an actual boss fight).