Level Critical

## Level Critical: "**CRIMSON FAMILIARITY"**

### Description:

**Level Critical** is an enigmatic level of the Backrooms. While it has been linked to levels such as Level !, Level !-!, Level 0.1, and the Red Rooms of Level 0, 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.

**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". This will occur regardless of the device or method chosen to turn it on. 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.

**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. 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.

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.~~

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:

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.

From further analysis done, 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.

### Entrances and Exits:

#### Entrances:

* Entering a steel door labeled "Red Rooms" on Level 1 leads here.
* Noclipping into an arcade machine in Level 699 has a chance to lead to this level.
* Finding a red door on Level 5 or Level !-! will lead to here.

#### 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 Level 199. 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.
* Noclipping out of **Level Critical** in the more "safer" areas will bring one to Level 9, but trying to do the same thing in a more dangerous area will either bring you to Level 404 or Level -55.