news
5 Oct 2019
Beatmap Spotlights: Summer 2019
Beatmap Spotlights: Summer 2019
Summer's already gone and the colder winds are blowing, but we still have something in our pocket to keep you warm! Our selection of maps from the hottest season is here for you the spend some time with. Come take a look and earn a fancy new medal for yourself by playing them all!
The ranking charts for Summer Spotlights are live! Their respective packs are available at the Beatmap Pack listing for easier access. The Summer 2019 Spotlights rankings will end on the 15th of December, 2019.
Spring Spotlights results
First of all, congratulations to the winners of the Spring 2019 Seasonal Spotlights. They will receive 3, 2, and 1 month(s) of supporter for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place respectively for their achievement!
Navigation
Summer Spotlights
osu!
What better way to introduce a new Featured Artist's music than with Mirash's set of "Hide And Seek". This wonderfully jazzy piano track is all "get-up-and-go" featuring flurries of unconventional cut-stream patterns in the top difficulty.
Lots of rhythmic variation allow both Mirash and RLC to play around with their patterning throughout the set's difficulty spread, leaving the player with a highly diverse set of levels to play through. All of this is complimented beautifully by Noffy's exquisite storyboard, earning this map the top spot in this season's spotlights.
written by Toy
Senseabel's interpretation of "MGMT - Little Dark Age" manages to create a very funky experience for both pro and amateur players alike. Movement throughout the map is very fluid, and fits the song so well that you'll find it hard to resist cursor-dancing. Simple, yet engaging rhythm fits every element of the song, giving you immersive gameplay. Complete with impressive hitsounding, you won't want to miss out on playing this one.
written by squirrelpascals
Dear Rue is back, after disappearing from the mapping scene for about 5 years! Their new mapset, "Reid Speed & Ahee - Overtaken (feat. Heartwurkz)" proved again why flow-oriented mapping would never become old-fashioned!
Mixing of various kinds of aesthetic design ideas, the top difficulty raised the definition of "look" to a whole new level—all of the different styles compliment the map so well, and they don't sacrifice playability! Such a breath-taking and mind-blowing work is definitely worth checking and playing, and don't forget this modern masterpiece was made by a mapper who is supposed to be straight out of the ark!
Seikatu's Insane difficulty and Hectic(h4d0uk3n1)'s Hard difficulty also provide a choice of classical style yet still hold the flowless playing experience, do give them a shot too if you're searching cookies for your cup of black tea!
written by Ryuusei Aika
Mirash and Kalibe combine their unique styles on the heartrending ending of Satsuriku no Tenshi to produce a wonderfully emotional map.
Kalibe's unique movement and rhythm combine with Mirash's distinctive approach to circle patterns in a way that fits this song incredibly well, creating an intensity that doesn't overwhelm the song but engages the player.
Be sure to check out the Insane collaboration between Hey lululu and Garden as well, it's absolutely lovely in its own right. And of course, both diffs are complemented by a very technically impressive storyboard by Peter.
written by Deca
Out from last year's Pending Cup comes Yonezu Kenshi's "LOSER". This mapset includes six of the entries (plus a hard difficulty by yf_bmp), which all have unique styles that led to high rankings in the mapping contest. Highlights include Yugu's grid-based mapping, AIR's unique sliders and flow, and how2miss's clean patterns and hitsounding.
The top difficulty of the mapset by Skystar also deserves praise. This map balances movement and visuals, which most recent maps fail to combine. The changing flow complements the changing tension of the music well, while the aesthetic remains exceptionally pleasant. It is no wonder why this took the winning spot of the contest.
written by KnightC0re
semaphore's LEAF XCEED Music Division - Dear You [ver. XCEED] is the perfect example of the saying "Less is more." Coming to the ranked with his first ranked map, semaphore is nowhere close to being a new mapper and decided to rank his first map not because it was innovative, new, conceptual or creative, but simply because it's probably the best execution he ever achieved in a map.
The marathon itself is quite a simple difficulty, with clear visual, flow, and patterns, based on EvilElvis older mapping. In addition the slow pacing of the music and the main guitar leads are represented beautifuly by it's slider velocity and spacing changes, making this one of the best hard diffs to come out this year. To all casual, experienced and Higurashi fans out there, you should definetly try this map out.
written by Net0
To truly evoke the sentiments tieLeaf's Nejimaku Tokei ga Tsuki no Michikake o Kizamu 2016ver. offers would demand intricate efforts for how vivid and lovely the track is, yet ImpurePug and their guest contributor Mentai both manage to exceed our expectations with one very impressive mapsets this season.
From ImpurePug's pattern-oriented and highly pristine style in the top difficulty which articulates the aestheticism of the track, to Mentai's strikingly raw interpretation which exceptionally captures its melodic and emotional wildness. Not to mention its charming hitsounding accompanied with a minimalist yet pleasant storyboard by ImpurePug themself with help from Enkrypton. This mapset is bound to deliver an experience that immerses you into the reverie of a flowery tale and a timeless fantasy.
written by faygo
With a familiar artist comes a few familiar faces. Prominent mappers Pho and Chaoslitz band together to bring the funkiness of Reol's TOKIO FUNKA to life in a brilliant fashion, with the constant variation of the slider velocities, to the ever-changing rhythm choices, complimenting each tiny detail of the song.
Don't forget about the amazing hitsounds, reminiscent of Japanese festivals, immersing the players into the mood. With such effort put into this map, it is sure to leave an everlasting impression.
written by KnightC0re
Aggression defines this mapset, both through the harsh vocals and the even harsher patterns littered around the song's climaxes. The song begins boldly by claiming, "To take away our expression, is to impoverish our existence". Hectic(h4d0uk3n1) masterfully parallels the song's intense motif and sound through a mixture of high-speed straight sliders, and very linear jump patterned sections.
The wide angles and linear patterning require jarring cursor movements, giving this map a true feel like you're playing to the music. Senseabel gives a similar, but unique take on the song using creative slider shapes, velocities, and tight patterning to give their difficulty the same jerky movement while keeping the map's visuals in-tact.
written by Toy
From countless sets of Minami's "Kawaki wo Ameku", Karen's map stands out with its diversity, every difficulty having a different feeling to offer.
Moecho's Unraveling Rain difficulty attracts with its clear visuals, smooth movement and challenging 1/4 patterns. All of that mixed with an amazing storyboard and impressive keysounding of the well-known Tokyo Ghoul opening, "unravel", creates an unforgettable and unique gameplay experience. Make sure to check it out!
written by Venix
At first glance, Yorushika – Itte, mapped by deetz, is rather unremarkable, but playing through the map feels anything but. Common patterns are deliberately combined throughout the map in a manner that lends the map an almost nostalgic feel.
The map manages to constantly feel fresh throughout its four-minute playtime, but more than that, it's consistently wonderful and pleasantly surprising. Should you give this map a try? Clearly.
written by Deca
Irohas and Kalibe bring their distinctive styles to Wolpis Kater's Wasureiji no Kotonoha to create an engaging yet tranquil atmosphere that reflects the slow, sparse song itself.
A careful, deliberate map culminates with incredibly satisfying slider patterns that manage to convey the calm vocals while not in the slightest overstepping what the song provides.
It's not a fast-paced and difficult challenge like many other beatmaps, but it's enjoyable in its own right despite — or perhaps because of — its simple beauty.
written by Deca
PandaHero's "Juno Reactor - Guardian Angel" is a great example of how to handle low bpm mapping. It features a concept that makes each section different in terms of rhythm and patterning, to make sure the experience of playing a long song goes through in the blink of an eye.
The combination of lower intensity sections that contrast with alternate style on intense sections also greatly represent the song in a map that is both a breath of new air for PandaHero and also a tribute to her main inspiration, La Cataline. It's a map that is definetly worth playing.
written by Net0
It's been a good season for jazzy songs, and Otosaka-Yu's mapset of "Ukiyoe Yokochou" pushes rhythmic variety to its limits. Featured in the Semi-Finals of OWC2018, [Brew] astounds through its very fresh-feeling rhythmic choices and patterning. Not a dull moment goes by in this action-packed 2 minutes, leaving no idea unexplored and no sound unmapped. The entire set is set to dazzle, so please take a look through it all.
written by Toy
hypercyte's map of the "peggies - Stand By Me" manages to provide a very unique experience that you won't find in many other ranked maps out there. Intuitive slider shapes give it a very visually interesting vibe, and use of unconventional movement throughout keeps the map exciting, while keeping you on your toes.
These two things combine to give you a very refreshing experience, to go along with an inspiring song as well. It's a map that's obviously meant to be played, and not just talked about, so what are you waiting for? Go play it, it's cute!
written by squirrelpascals
deetz returns once again with their masterfully delivered rendition of "Triplaneta" by ELECTROCUTICA feat. F9, a 6-minute moment of pure bliss as the mapper demonstrates their prowess on a whole new level.
An airy skip and a chill-paced dance, this map is a fantastic example of blending map design into the motif in music, with tasteful rhythm and patterning that give accentuation to momentum changes and a more freeform take on movement, culminating into a cohesive and euphoric experience you would not want to miss out.
written by faygo
If this song isn't enough to get you hyped then this mapset sure is!
ScubDomino with his collaborators ImpurePug, Lv9, Kalibe, lewski and KKipalt set out to deliver a wide range of expressive maps to Shikata Akiko's thunderous piece "TETHE'ALLA ~Tai no Kodomotachi~".
At the forefront stands ScubDomino with a map which feels like a natural extension of the song rather than just another stage in a rhythm game. The high speed combined with the generous circle size allow for each emotional beat of the song to be maximized creating something truly spectacular. In a similar vein, ImpurePug delivers a map not far behind in impact.
Lv9 and Kalibe attempt a different more controled style to much success as well. If you feel the Top diffs are too fast for you, then you can opt for these more technical and stylized maps instead. Lewski and KKipalt keep it simple in their lower diffs respectively despite this song begging them to go faster, but our newer players need something to play too and for those these are just as fun as all the others.
The sound design is impeccable as well. The sonic atmosphere built through the samples used gives each map an added level of depth and expressiveness, elevating the whole set even further. You would be fooled to miss out on this set!
written by Smokeman
Some maps are enjoyable because of their simplicity; this map, however, takes the opposite approach to engage the player. It's unrelentingly innovative through seven minutes of fast-paced gameplay wherein Kalibe doesn't hesitate to challenge the player with a nonstop barrage of unconventional jumps and tricky slider patterns that perfectly convey the intensity of the song.
While this style isn't entirely new to the ranked section — Kalibe first introduced this unique fusion of Russian and Chinese mapping styles earlier this year with his map of Sennen to Rasen, o Chiru Mono — RESISTANCE elevates the style to groundbreaking heights.
And as if the map wasn't already enough of a masterpiece on its own, Peter's incredibly technically impressive storyboard complements this map wonderfully for an experience that will leave you with a profound sense of awe.
written by Deca
osu!taiko
Topping off the summer 2019 spotlights comes Chroma - Field : Kaerezu no Chi. This mapset done entirely by tasuke912 is one of these wonders of his where you can feel how every single note is there for a set purpose: From "Farthest", his top diff, to even his Kantan diff you'll find a structure style that is unique to tasuke, who manages to imbue his maps with grace and beauty even to the most simple of these difficulties.
We want to congratulate tasuke912 for getting the 1st place at this Summer 2019 Spotlights!
written by Kazu
Coming in second place this season, Arrival presents us with "Future Raver", a map that is filled to the brim with exciting SV and interesting pattern choices.
His top difficulty manages to encapsulate the continuous hype in the songs' kiais despite repetition by using high slider velocity combined with a pattern progression that will keep any player on their toes. This in addition to the high-speed buildups creates a remarkably fun playing experience.
If you crave good speed changes combined with complex patterns, be sure to give this one a try!
written by Nepuri
Even though it's a bit short as it is coming from a arcade rhythm game, Dream to Nightmare definitely lives up to the "Good things come in small packages".
Both Kqrth's top diff which is full of insane 1/6 bursts that can prove quite difficult to pull off and _WWWWWW_WWWWWW_'s and vrnl low diffs that are greatly representative of the mood of the song are the reason we bring this mapset to the spotlight this season.
written by Kazu
Even as a shadow of what his former top diff was, LOVE B.B.B by Zetera is definitely one of the most fun and memorable we have seen this season.
Consisting of a very consistent mapping across the whole mapset and a very fun-oriented approach we see from Zetera's mapping, this is one of our favourite picks for this season, as it is also easily one of the most carefully crafted maps out there.
But xtrem3x and eiri-/Realazy's diffs don't fall short to it either, with really well polished diff that matches perfectly their spots for this mapset. Congratulations to all of them!
written by Kazu
One of the most hyped maps that came this season due to _yu68's return to the mapping community, Pictured as Perfect, really makes up to the hype around it:
Probably the most hard low Star Rating map ever created, the diff "Portrayer" is full of really tricky tech sections in a low SV environment that proves really difficult to read even to the most experienced of players, with a wide range of both monocolor sections and high bpm sections this is very likely the most difficult map of this season's spotlight even though it may not even be the highest rated based on SR. Good luck!
written by Kazu
Reason of Being by D o t, with an interesting diff made by tasuke912, is a pokemon mapset which offers a clean mapping, a precise interpretation of the music and a wide arrange of rhythms and 1/6 patterns that make the map slightly challenging but definitely reasonable at the same time, which for the complexity the song provides, makes the proposition of the mappers involved in this mapset really satisfactory and enjoyable.
written by Ulqui
Next up we have Faputa and Co, bringing us a whiff of fresh air with one of our Featured Artists' tracks: "life flashes before weeb eyes" by BilliumMoto!
While the song is certainly complex and rather erratic, the mappers have managed to do the song justice. The higher difficulties feature complex patterns and snaps at a whopping 227 BPM, which were designed to be as erratic as the song, but still turned out very much enjoyable!
If you love some speedy maps with complex patterns, this map will certainly fulfill your desires!
written by Nepuri
osu!catch
Despite being the third ranked set of the song, Yumeno Himiko's rendition of Oriental Blossom tops this season's Spotlights.
The use of simple patterns are a breath of fresh air, keeping movement controlled and engaging, and allowing the electronic section that appears later to contrast and stand out even further when highlighted with extended sliders that are extremely satisfying to play. To top it all off, the storyboard by TheDuckMask is incredibly well done, with both interesting visuals and a small story. This is one of the best maps that have been ranked this year, give it a play.
written by Sinnoh
There is no Spotlights without a JBHyperion map. This time he and Ascendance grouped together and raised the new EMPEROR to the throne.
The OVERLORD difficulty deature dynamic jumps following the rhythm of the music neatly. Even though that this targets the more experienced players due to the very good flow it is very easy to follow the patterns and provides a good map to those who want to practice on harder difficulties. The second third features some very uncommon slider patterns accompanied with Hypers.
But lets not forget the difficulty from Ascendance either. His map is very similar rhythmicaly to the previously mentioned but still feels entirelly different. The jumps here are less wild and the gaps are smaller yet it can still provide some good challenge due to the jump angles. This is what I call a very good difficulty.
The mapset also features a neatly mapped Platter which gives a good ground for those who are not yet learned how to handle higher speed and bigger jumps. This is a very good mapset and definietly deserves its place in the Spotlights!
written by Kurokami
With a fresh clean style of catch mapping, Lacrima made his appearance in spotlights with a Rain difficulty. The map consists of a lot of 1/2 patterns, but the mapper tried to make the flow clean and good for play, especially for the new players in osu!catch.
With an Approach Rate of 8.8, you can also give a try with DoubleTime on this map if you want some challenges! This is a benchmark of Rain mapping with comfortable flows, make sure you have a try on this map!
written by Yumeno Himiko
Being the first Featured Artist mapset for Jemzuu (Previously known as AJamez), along with the collaboration from JBHyperion and alienflybot, this mapset manages to show challenges with different mapping styles in a neat spread.
Majeure has fun and technical streams with tap dashes and wiggles, which are especially challenging with HD mod on. AFB's Rain proposes a simple and comfortable flow with some 1/4 normal dashes and gimmick 1/6 jumps. Hyperion's Platter focuses on providing varying flow and gimmicky walks, being a wonderful step-up difficulty for newbie players.
written by F D Flourite
osu!mania
One order of a venti frappuccino coming right up. -MysticEyes comes in with a bang with his map of "ari venti w/ Young Citrus"!
The map is flavourful of many different patterns. Every sound is represented throughout the entire map giving it's unique concept. Even the long note length is taken into consideration to correspond to the sounds. If anything, the mapset is incredibly delicate and precise given its strict structure; long note lengths progressively following the song as well as the vocals, and fairly comfortable patterns for the hats when all comes together in the kiais.
Mystic definitely outdone himself with this work of art. Song choice accompanies the structure beautifully with its light percussion and vocals.
Oh, and here's your venti frappuccino—thank u, next.
written by Dergo
A well-known veteran mapper in the osu!mania scene, LeiN- brings another mapset to the ranked section. This time a lively and energetic song filled with ecstatic patterns.
The top difficulty, "It's Fxxkin'", manages to do a lot of things pretty well; firstly, it is pretty consistent with its patterning, and has a noticeable structure that has some foundation in musical relevance, which is something LeiN- tends to do pretty well (and this map does not fall short of that expectation). Secondly, the patterns manage to flow exceedingly smoothly, and the difficulty and density of the patterns fluctuate alongside the intensity of the music.
Thirdly, the mix of patterns in this map gives it a lot of good replay value; it contains jumpstreams, trills, grace notes, broken streams, and heavy chordjacks, each new pattern keeping players on their toes. Overall, this map is well done and is fitting to accompany such an exciting song. The lower difficulties are also very fun and challenging. The Insane difficulty also adheres to a similar structure and flow to the top difficulty, and requires players' utmost attentiveness and control during the chordjack sections.
In addition, Murumoo's difficulties are straightforward and fun to play for players who aren't yet up to the challenges that the upper difficulties set, and also adhere to the concept of smooth flow mentioned earlier in the top difficulty. In general, this mapset is extremely solid and well done, and LeiN- and Murumoo most certainly deserve this mapset's spot in this season's osu!mania spotlights!
written by -mint-
Dergo, -mint-, and _Kobii's d:for the DELTA (Camellia's "PLANETARY//DUBSTEP" Remix) is perhaps one of the most audacious ranked maps this year, and quickly became well known among higher-level players in the osu!mania community due to it's uniqueness in comparison to other maps around its difficulty level.
Dergo's sections start (and end) the song with an exciting technical interpretation of the song, combining light yet tough long note patterns focusing on jacks, long trills, and difficult releases along with intense longer bursts. His attention to detail in the quieter portions of the song is also quite impressive, as he made sure to differentiate different instruments though LN usage, column placements, and repetition.
mint's sections also took a technical approach to the song, but in a different way. Her sections mainly focus on chord allocation to differentiate percussion instruments and most notably longjacks to match the background synth pitches. These longjacks along with difficult minijacks and challenging short bursts make these portions of the song an absolute blast to play.
_Kobii's sections consist of aesthetically pleasing and fluid long note patterns. He accentuates the song's harsh wubs in his first portion through intense LN bursts and 1/8 LN jacks, while he closes out the final intense portion of the song in a spectacular fashion with beautifully crafted LN patterns that focus on difficult release timing and subtle accentuation of the short wub's pitches.
Despite featuring three mappers with extremely different styles, the map flows together quite smoothly and may arguably be one of the most exciting higher-level ranked 4k maps to date!
written by -MysticEyes
Not a new face to osu!mania spotlights, but surely a welcome one, -mint- brings the heat with her map for Toward the Horizon, an engaging, technical, and exciting display of long note finesse. The chart combines layers of inverse and long notes corresponding with bass wubs, with systematic usage of bursts and minijacks in between to make for awkward, but rewarding patterns and transitions that you don't much see executed at such a high level as they are here.
As the meta of the ranked section continues to morph, the influence and prevalence of Long Note mappers continues to grow and grow. Even through this influx, mint's expert design and flow stands a step ahead and earns her a well-deserved spot in the summer spotlights.
written by Toaph Daddy
-MysticEyes is back again with another mapset, Life is beautiful by Nekomata Master! Though not necessarily representative of his current style, the top difficulty, DAYBREAK, is a technical and intricately designed map filled with bursts and jacks galore, a fun and challenging experience for expert osu!mania players. And the patterns never stop; they just keep coming, and another big part of the challenge is maintaining one's top performance without losing stamina or slipping up.
With the mapset also containing guest difficulties by KeppSado, Leniane, and LeiN-, it allows for a diverse set of difficulties that create a different experience in each difficulty for a huge range of players. I mean, one could even say that this mapset is ... beautiful.
written by -mint-
In the spirit of the song's dramatic and melancholic nature, _Kobii's Fatalism is a gorgeous showcase of his intuitive long note mapping style. It mixes vocal and instrumental emphasis in a comfortable yet difficult way that makes the map extremely fun to play overall.
The map really shines in the intense instrumental sections as well as the quieter portions of the song, for surprisingly different reasons. His instrumental emphasis mostly revolved around chords with different releases to emphasize instrument type and pitch, inverse sections to bring out the louder, more distinctive instrument parts, and some emphasis via long note length for separating out less intense pitches from more intense ones.
The quieter sections were very satisfying conceptually, especially after the fourth kiai. Rigid pitch relevancy was the main focus here, since he uses LNs to follow the lower-pitched synth the same way through the entire section to establish a solid theme for players, and he keeps things fresh by slowly ramping up pattern intensity with the other instruments. That kind of care for patterning is really nice to see, especially in a long note-oriented map.
His sheer creativity made this map quite exciting to play as well as look at in the editor, and it's definitely a strong example of a solid Long Note map!
written by -MysticEyes
Fontes, Wonki, Murumoo, and Agayers bring back the hype from Zekk with their creations on "uet - Drug on the Drop (Zekk Remix)".
As what the community expects, Collab Another by Fontes and Wonki features well-balanced SVs and representative 1/2 chordjacks to maximize the excitement from the drop and low bass of the song in great consideration of playability too. Insane by Fontes presents a easier version of Another.
However, in an attempt to keep the enjoyment from Another, Fontes leaves most part of SVs as a key feature of Insane. On the other hand, Hard by Murumoo and Normal by Agayers serve as effective low difficulties for the mapset, which gives new players chances to enjoy this song as well. In general, this is a banger mapset of a banger song, which gives rise to its high popularity in the player community and therefore the definite appearance in Spotlight!
written by Tofu1222
Well-known in the tournament scene, and a familiar face to the ranked section, Curiossity brings another exciting map filled to the brim with fun and enthralling patterns and SVs. Combined with a song with such level of intensity, this map is without a doubt a worthwhile and enjoyable experience.
Technical patterns, most of the time combined with LNs, can be spotted throughout the map, making it exceedingly difficult even for high-level players. Curiossity has proven time and again that he knows exactly how to craft a map that keeps people invested throughout its duration, and we hope that he will bring more maps like this to the ranked section in the near future!
written by -mint-
The spreadsheet is available for everyone who is interested to take a look at how we selected these mapsets. Do not be afraid to take a look at it here!
We hope you enjoy our selection for this season and look forward to what we will bring to you in the future. Until then, happy circle clicking, drum bashing, fruit catching, and key smashing! Do not forget to have a rest occasionally!
—Kurokami
Comments0