i liked the main melodic theme and arrangement quite a bit! the instrumentation is admittedly simplistic but i think it would work better with a much less cramped mix & master. as it stands i find the piece is very physically tiring to listen to, and that there's not really a break once it kicks into gear makes it really hard to return for another listen.

I like the cutesy mood at the beginning. The low string plucks sound very muddy in the mix, though. I would suggest dialing back the reverb at the very least, and maybe giving them a tad more room in the mid-range frequencies with an equalizer if possible, just to add back some volume. You could even push the synth chords to the side a bit with some stereo widening to make more room for the drums, bass, and melodies. I’d also make sure that the harmonic instruments (i.e., not the bass or drums) have NONE of the frequencies at 200 Hertz or lower playing in the equalizer - so much of the distortion in the mix here is in the lower part of the frequency range, and I suspect a big reason why is that your melodies/pads/piano/etc. have too many overlapping tones with the strings, low-pitched chords, and kick.

The melodies here are nice, but the sound design is a bit cheesy at times, especially the high-pitched, flute-like synth (featured prominently at 1:14) and bouncy mid-range off-beat synth chords. As mentioned previously, the mix could use some tightening up too, although I do like the meandering piano arpeggios at 2:01. I still think you could’ve done a tad more to switch up the harmonic content later on in the piece, though. Still, the progression, rhythmic content, melodies, and atmosphere of this piece are all enjoyable. Keep at it, MsFluent! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.5/10

Keep working on music this is amazing

Amazing song!

Seconding octopus' comments on the dance perc/cinema feel combo, is a really cool combination. Sort of reminds me of Age of War, and that's a really nostalgic feeling for me.

Congrats on getting this done in time, am enjoying watching the competition so far : )