We’re all mad, you know. Entirely bonkers. Unspeakable whims, unbearable thoughts, unfathomable impulses haunt us, day after day after day. We stay silent. We think ourselves tainted and broken, alone in our suffering; we dare not expose our fragility.

But among those abhorrent thoughts lies beauty. Learning to navigate our own madnesses — those eternal sparks of depression and anxiety and obsession and psychosis — is the human experience. As we begin to understand the systems of our madness, we dance lightly among the very urges we had believed to be inescapable. We conquer ourselves, and we learn to live.

— Tempus_Fugit

I’ve seen a bunch of good-looking maps with great gameplay but often innovation is missing completely. However, thanks to Tommy's creativity and openness to try new stuff, I fail to find a map in his collection that falls into the above category.
Here, Tommy created a wonderful tileset and incorporated the known KRA concept but of course not without modernizing it and adding his personal style. It might take a while to get the hang of the trick needed here but I promise that victory will reward your effort. — macrohenry

woutery makes good maps.

Look: See how his floorguards nip at your heels like excited pups? How his threefold rockets dance a frenzy around you, cutting sharp and hot through the air by your ears? How his finely crafted alcoves suck you in, making you squirm as your foes loom closer, choking you with panic before you madly dart free?

Look at those tiles, so clean and crisp. Look at that structure, so sharp and enticing. Leap into this level, let your adrenaline surge, and think to yourself: damn, woutery makes good maps.
— Tempus_Fugit

There was once a time when map makers were willing to take risks, try new things, and experiment with gameplay and level design. It wasn't so long ago that the blue_tetrises and the tktktks of NUMA were willing to challenge players to think outside the box. But southpaw, He took that phrase to the next level.

Making a good map is hard enough given the confines of the grid, but southpaw threw caution to the winds with this. So if you can look past the simple tiles and repetitive enemies, prepare yourself. Cuz you're about to go...

OUT OF BOUNDS — Aidiera

Often, when trying to map in the distinct style of another mapper, the result feels derivative and ultimately pointless – why play a map that imitates if the original is right there?

Those were, largely, my initial thoughts on this map. “Damn, tktktk much?” too, probably.

And yet... this map just works. A beautiful contrast of openness and cramped spaces, awesome old-school aesthetics, great enemy placement, tons of possible routes, this map has it all.

The concept or the aesthetics may not be original, but this a map that does not have to hide behind those it is modeled after. — lifdoff

Ripples wander, water remains.

Toss a stone in the glassy pond. Droplets fly airborne, crests curl upward, and the pond shakes with turbulence. Then watch. Slowly, the water stills; slowly, the smooth surface reforms, and the pond emerges unblemished.

Be as water.

Let laser waves course through you, untouching. Let the rocket's roar shake your essence, distort your fibers, displace your being; but hold yourself true. Bend without breaking. Surround yourself within yourself, and none shall harm you. Let violence ripple through you; then, like the glassy pond, realign and stand unscathed.

Center yourself, ninja.
Find your concentricity. — Tempus_Fugit

This isn't the first Evil_Bob map I've featured, and it might not be the last. Since NReality can't load NReality maps in userlevels at the moment (barring a script workaround), you should do yourself a favour and load this up in NED on NReality. It should also be noted that the orange squares are, in fact, mines. Grindzone P66; You Are Not Cleared is a shining example of a perfect marriage between NReality's image map functionality and a traditional puzzle. Also, pay careful attention to the hazard stripes; their significance is not limited to mere aesthetics. — ska

Mine- and tilejumpers are among the hardest of maps to make and only the most accomplished mappers can even dream of making an exceptional map of this genre.

One of these mappers is DaggaFork. Brimming with style, creativity and unmistakable personal style, his maps are always something to look forward to, with Oily Waters being no exception.

Relaxed yet foreboding in atmosphere, simple yet surprisingly tricky in execution, this is everything that a jumper should aspire to be – a compliment that I, a jumper nut myself, by no means give lightly. — lifdoff

After hundreds of attempts by numerous authors, it was Pheidippides who turned the door-eerie concept into an enjoyable map. The stylistic minimalism and overall togetherness turns this map into what I'm willing to call the best door-eerie of all time, alongside Doors V [nmaps.net] by Clifty. This isn't a map that will take you ages to complete, or drive you absolutely nuts—this is a map that will open your eyes to the potential that unloved concepts have. — DaggaFork

You know these maps where, let's say, you run along a corridor when a thwump that had been invisible suddenly smashes you. Hidden enemies are a thing you are used to seeing from inexperienced mappers and in most cases they fail to make it work nicely.
In contrast, shortshift created "child's attraction" and shows that with hints here and there, elegantly indicating where danger awaits you, hidden enemies can actually be a great feature. So have a go at this but be warned: You'd better keep your eyes open.
— macrohenry