Level Critical

Survival Difficulty: Class Variable
» Varying Safety
» Varying Stability
» Mental Hazards?
Description
One of the many larger rooms of Level Critical. This one resembles some kind of large lobby or waiting area.
Level Critical is an anomalous level of the Backrooms. While it has been linked to various rumored levels, it is unknown whether it has any levels truly related to it.
Level Critical consists of many interconnected hallways and rooms with inconsistent architecture. The overall size of Level Critical is currently unknown, but it is thought to be infinite in both area and height. The level varies in terms of appearance but usually resembles large buildings like hotels, hospitals, and houses. The major defining characteristic of Level Critical is the presence of red neon lighting throughout most of the level. These lights appear to affect the human psyche, as most wanderers exposed to the lights will begin to experience intense feelings of nostalgia and comfort. If one intends to prevent this, covering any exposed skin will prevent exposure to the light that causes this phenomenon. However, wanderers on this level have reported feeling as if some kind of protective presence is watching them in this level at all times, regardless of how exposed they are to the lights. Despite this, no entities have ever been found on this level. Furthermore, this level also seems to isolate wanderers in a similar way to Level 0, known as the Level 0 effect, which further complicates this claim.
Another strange, structural anomaly present in Level Critical are Windows. On Level Critical, they exhibit anomalous behavior, and display a hazy black void rather than a blurry silhouette as expected. Attempting to destroy them will cause the entity being attacked to shine a bright golden yellow, causing the observer to go temporarily blind before being transported to an unknown location. These wanderers are presumed forsaken.
An area of Level Critical that resembles some kind of luxurious hotel.
Level Critical is well known for adapting to the wanderer that happens to be exploring it at the time. The level will attempt to conjure structures, furniture, and objects that will make those who wander its halls experience even stronger feelings of nostalgia and familiarity. Objects and structures will often resemble similar ones from one's own childhood or adolescence. If computers, televisions, or other screen-based technologies happen to generate, powering one of them on will result in the device booting to a red screen before abruptly displaying the text, "DO NOT LEAVE".If any of the devices can output audio, they will repeatedly say the same words in a robotic, computer-generated voice until powered off again. This will occur regardless of the device or method chosen to turn it on.
Level Critical is also known to have a few sections that have blue neon lighting in contrast to the typical red of the rest of the level.Upon further inspection, an old archive of a level similar to these sections has been found on the database. The level itself has no other documentation present on the database outside of this archive, and no eyewitness reports of the level are contained on the database either. The archived data can be found here. This has led to the idea that Level Critical may be a remnant of some greater construct now lost to the ever-shifting nature of the Backrooms, but this hypothesis is unconfirmed. Although they are randomly placed in the endless halls of Level Critical, the structure of these halls seems to be standardized across all iterations of this level. They typically take the form of hospital hallways and rooms, but lack any equipment that distinguishes them as such. Doors leading to these blue-lit spaces are marked with both a minus sign and an exclamation mark. The significance of these markings and the reason why these areas are the only standardized sections of Level Critical are unknown. The blue light of these spaces has different effects on the human psyche than the red ones. Instead of making wanderers feel nostalgic and comfortable, it makes them feel frustrated and tired, somewhat comparable to the effects of burnout. Akin to the red lights present in the rest of the level, the effects can be mitigated by covering up any exposed skin.
An area about five kilometers from the level's entrance. It looks like a hotel hallway.
As wanderers get further away from where they entered the level, the lights begin to dim, and the level itself begins to grow more and more dilapidated as one continues to delve deeper into the level's depths. The feelings of nostalgia and comfort will be replaced by feelings of regret and guilt, and wanderers have reported that the guarding presence they felt before has begun to feel like a disappointed gaze drilling into them. Deep into the level, structural anomalies begin to develop, and both rooms and hallways just appear to stop abruptly, opening to an infinite expanse of nothingness. It has been determined that it is impossible to recover wanderers who have entered these spaces. They are presumed either dead or forsaken.New information has led to the conclusion that these hallways are actually exits to Level 93. Wanderers who take the leap of faith land unharmed in a snowfield on Level 93 after a few seconds of falling.
Wanderers may begin to hear voices in their heads or invisible forces acting upon them. These voices attempt to dissuade wanderers from straying too far from the center of the level, and get louder the further one goes. Similarly, the invisible forces will attempt to coax any wanderers who attempt to leave the level back to where they started from. The forces will also get stronger in relation to the center of the level. It has been concluded that these voices are not figments of the imagination or products of insanity because the experience seems to be nearly universal. All survivors of Level Critical have reported feeling the forces and hearing the voices. It is almost as if the level itself is trying to coerce wanderers into not leaving...
Sentience
This area, resembling a high school weight room, was found at a distance of about ten kilometers from the level's entrance.
It has been theorized that Level Critical may be a sentient being in and of itself. The anomalous voices, invisible guiding, and the constant feeling of being watched over are significant points to support the idea that Level Critical has somehow gained sentience. However, the level, if sentient, has never plainly communicated that it is. This is quite unlike another sentient level of the Backrooms, Level Pain. After suffering under the cruelty of its creators, being resurrected and torn apart time and time again, the level took the form it desired and began to exact its will on all wanderers within it. It is malicious and vengeful, and exists due to the intensity of human emotion.
If these principles are applied to an analysis of Level Critical, a potential profile of the level's nature can be assembled. In opposition to Level Pain, Level Critical seems to care for the wanderers within its boundaries. This would explain the feelings of nostalgia and comfort, as well as the familiar technology. The level may be trying to establish a bond with wanderers inside it in order to keep them there. The level itself may be lonely or longing for companionship, and seeks to keep wanderers within it. This may also be why it dissuades wanderers from straying too far from the center of the level. It is trying to protect wanderers from entering the unfinished hallways, which appear to be highly dangerous. 
From this analysis, it has been surmised that if Level Critical was a sentient being, it would be caring and protective of those within it due to a desperate desire for companionship. It would be trying to protect wanderers from the potential dangers of the level, as well as minimize the chance of them leaving it. However, it must be remembered that this was a theoretical analysis of the potential character of Level Critical. Level Critical has never established direct contact with wanderers about its sentience, nor has it responded on the matter when asked directly by wanderers inhabiting its halls.
Addendum
An audio log from the AEG (Anti Entity Group) has been uploaded to the database. It records the discovery of Level Critical. Other information about said investigation is highly classified and secretive. The AEG has also announced that all other further research on said subject is temporarily canceled.
Entrances and Exits
===Entrances===
*Entering a steel door labeled "Red Rooms" on Level 1 leads here.
*No-clipping into the seafloor on Level -110 during a Sanguine Phase leads here.
*No-clipping into an arcade machine in the Neon Natatorium of Level 399 has a chance to lead to this level.
===Exits===
It seems that nearly all of the exits from Level Critical are either highly difficult to utilize or lead to highly dangerous levels. Caution is advised when trying to leave this level; the path of least resistance is often fraught with danger.
*No-clipping anywhere in this level leads to The Void.
*Interestingly, spending enough time in the halls with blue lighting without going insane causes them to fade into the Rosatin Hotel of Level 399. This is quite difficult due to the adverse mental effects that the lighting in these sections has.
*Walking into hallways that just seem to end lead to an unknown location/level. It is highly unadvised to do this. Level 93. This is one of the only exits from Level Critical that is both easy and safe to utilize.
*Attempting to intentionally destroy any part of Level Critical will immediately teleport one to Level Pain.
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Category:Class Variable
Category:Anomalous Levels
Category:Oddball Levels
Category:Secret Levels
Category:Levels