love this straight-to-brass-tacks explanation of the difficulty. My impression was also that it's basically the most unforgiving timings and windows possible, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, it just makes the game as hard as it can possibly be, moment-to-moment.
I also found the two separate momentums to be a fun mechanic and actually rather unique. I'd kind of like to see it used in an easier manner in a game sometime, though the level 0 did a surprisingly effective job at teaching it. It just was expected for the learner to advance to incredibly difficult heights immediately afterward.
EDIT: Also cannot believe how skilled some people are at platform games, I bet you play N++ lol
I've been playing these games (precise platformers with infinite lives and quick restart, or "die-and-retry" platformers as the description puts it) since the early days of Jumper and the original N. I never actually got that into N or any of its sequels, but Maddy Thorson's pre-Celeste works were a big part of my childhood (I particularly love Jumper, Jumper 2 and Dim).
Something I noticed as this subgenre evolved is that it started developing a two-tier difficulty system, where the main levels were usually geared toward players who are new to the genre, so they would be hard but never push your limits too much. And the truly challenging stuff for veterans would be optional content like time trials, collectable trinkets, or secret levels that aren't relevant to progress.
It's a system that has a lot of advantages, since it welcomes new players while placating experienced players. But as someone on the "veteran" side, I found it refreshing that this game eschews that and simply making progress becomes quite hard as early as Chapter 2 or 3. I sort of miss this kind of game. It's more exciting to me when the core path through the game is difficult, compared to when the difficult parts are optional and just give me a checkmark on the save file.
Whoa, I actually never knew Maddy Thorson made Jumper AND An Untitled Story. What a pioneer.
I also have a soft spot for games that are just really difficult the whole way through. Maybe that's why I keep chatting in this particular game's comment section. It is indeed strangely refreshing and nice to have every once in a while as a palate cleanser.