Breather Level/Playing With

Basic Trope: A section of a game that is significantly easier than previous challenges.

• Straight: The Slippy-Slidey Ice World is relatively easy compared to the Lethal Lava Land that precedes it and the Bonus Level of Hell after it.
• Exaggerated: The Slippy-Slidey Ice World is between the Ultra Super Death Gore Fest Chainsawer 3000 level and the Nuclear One Hit Kill Bullet Hell.
• Justified:
  • Lethal lava land's setting logically had to have set pieces that would Instantly kill you. Slippy slidey ice world's lack of lava is the reason it's so much easier.
  • Lethal Lava Land was a plot important dungeon where you fought Disc One Final Boss. Slippy-Slidey Ice World has fewer defenses and traps set up, since its just the between space before the next disc.
• Inverted: Lethal Lava Land wasn't hard and neither is the bonus level of hell, Slippy-Slidey Ice World is That One Level.
• Subverted: Slippy-Slidey Ice World looks like its going to be easy, then you get attacked by hordes of laser spewing polar bears . . .
• Double Subverted: . . .Which are extremely easy to dodge.
• Parodied: The level before was a frantic rush through a Death Course. This level has you sit in a cafe drinking tea
• Deconstructed: The difficulty curve angers players and critics, leading to lowered scores and sales.
• Reconstructed: But after enduring That One Level, everyone is greatly relieved to have a chance to relax.
• Zig Zagged: The Slippy-Slidey Ice World has both some easy sections and some really difficult sections. All of the optional parts of the level are infuriatingly difficult, except for one path that's strangely easy and contains a shortcut to the end of the level. The boss is fair and easier than That One Boss of the Lethal Lava Land, unless you use the Joke Character when fighting the boss, in which case it's a nightmare.
• Averted: The Slippy-Slidey Ice World is exactly as difficult as would be expected for a late-game level - it has ice and/or wind physics and the enemies are relatively difficult to kill or avoid, but the level falls in line with the Lethal Lava Land and the Nuclear Zone.
• Enforced: "That boss at the end of Lethal Lava Land was hell, lets give the players a chance to relax so they don't get too frustrated and quit."
• Lampshaded: "You know, considering we beat Lethal Lava Land, and we're heading into Bonus Level of Hell, I expected this place to be a lot harder."
• Invoked: "This level is pretty easy, it must be the Breather Level."
• Exploited: The Slippy-Slidey Ice World is used by experienced players as a way to farm extra lives or use the restroom before the Marathon Level after it.
• Defied: The game has no breather levels. The Slippy-Slidey Ice World is a frozen Death Course, and the game gets exponentially harder to the end.
• Discussed: "If the last level was so difficult, why did is this one easier?
• Conversed: "The last level was pretty hard, I bet the developers are giving us a break.
• Justified: The Slippy-Slidey Ice World was purposefully put in by the developers to give the players a chance to recoup from the last, incredibly difficult level.
• Played For Laughs: The entire level preceding the Slippy-Slidey Ice World was underwater, as a joke, the developers literally named the level the "breather level."

---

Get ready, this is the Breather Level that comes right before That One Level.