(7.5)

I said before in a previous review that cement by heatherhayes is what essentially radicalized me to the "left-wing" side of this game. I realized tha abstract gameplay and decoration could actually be super interesting, and something doesn't have to fit to standards to be good in someone's eyes. However I feel I slightly overexaggerated that level's impact in that review. cement definitely showed me to look further into levels like this, but I still hadn't seen any that especially stuck out to me at the time.

One day, about 3 years ago give or take, I was browsing Twitter because I was bored. However, something caught my eye. It was a very controversial tweet talking about a level named Raw picture and how cool it was. The replies were a mixed bag talking about how "How is this rated" and "This is the coolest thing ever wtf". This instantly interested me, and I decided to open Geometry Dash and play it for myself. It was by a creator I had never heard of before, twigxcabaret. It was 6 stars and was only star rated, it used a Cacola song, and the comments seemed to be about as mixed as the tweet's replies. I shrugged it off and decided to play the level. What I didn't expect, is that by the end of this level I would be tearing up and my view on creating genuinely forever changed.

Raw picture is a 3 minute long experience that takes your mind places you could've never expected. It feels like a nice, relaxing dream, a place where you can sit back and reminisce on past memories. A place of wonder, a place to be yourself, a place with no judgment. A place of free will.

Nothing in this level feels set in stone, in fact it feels all over the place in almost every part. Nothing feels cohesive, first you're in a free fly maze and now you're in a ship part with lasers spinning at the speed of light? There doesn't seem to be a theme for this level at first, it just looks like object spam and strange ideas all slapped together just because. However, I feel it is so much more than that. Raw picture wants you to hold on to your memories, hold on to the good parts of life, hold on to everyone close to you. Look back on those past times, even if it feels like life is falling apart, even if it feels like nothing makes sense, even if it feels like the world is breaking down with you inside it. Hold on. Hold on to what you have. Live through your memories, live how you want to live, create new memories that you can look back on in the future. You have free will in this world, when life gets hard, just keep holding on.

Now, the level itself. The first 1:12 of the level takes place as an entry point. It takes you from a simple and well put together world, to a place where everything feels disconnected. It feels like entering your mind, a place with no cohesion, all your thoughts scattered around in a place out of reach. You must navigate through these thoughts, make your way into the deep parts of your mind and remember what you're here. The colors in this beginning section are extremely pretty, cycling through what seems to be a rainbow very slowly. The way they're used makes it feel like you're being engrossed in the level, literally surrounding you at points. The structuring being extremely barebones and completely disconnected at points, at some points you might not even be sure where to go. However, it continues to build despite that. Going from simple spike jumps with objects flying above you at varying speeds, to structures that build on themselves, from blocks, to lines, to slopes, it gets more convoluted as you enter deeper into the level. The decoration follows a similar idea, starting out as colored layout blocks with glow to make them pop, as more clouds, spikes, saws, portals, structures turn to buildings, objects spread across the editor as if a kid wanted to have his part in this area, drawn out wind flashes by you as you make your way deeper. It is an incredible beginning and a perfect precursor for what's to come later on.

You then enter your childhood memories, a free flying place where you can choose wherever you'd like to go. Cute drawings fill the blinding white background, a railroad sign you saw once that always stuck in your head, that one thunder cloud hung up in the theater that you always wondered how they got it up there. You're allowed to explore anywhere and everywhere. This part is probably my favorite part in any level in this game, it is incredibly well executed and the connection with the song makes it feel like I'm living through my past self.

Look back. You look back on your past with happiness, entering an almost stand-still state as you look back on the happiest moments of your life with a soft smile. I feel that's what the next part represents. It's a simple ship part that makes you feel like you're treading through the memory, trying to stay there as long as possible. The blinding white of the background continues but the art is gone, you are left with these extremely fast and colorful lasers that seem to rotate at random and varying speeds as the song feels to be flying with you. This part is what made me start tearing up, I'm not sure why I did when I first watched it I'll be honest, I hadn't made any connections with the level at this point. I just think the raw atmosphere of the level combined with this beautifully progressed song just hit something in me that made me look back. It's beautiful how such a simple part with such simple effects, can strike an individual with such ferocity.

Eventually, the memory ends. You're sent back down to the ground, as all the memories fly above you, out of your reach once more. Slowly fading out of what once was, into the present. The level slowly fades to black as you continue to jump over these same spikes, over and over again. Maybe you can look back on these times once more, but now you must focus on the present. Make memories you can look back on in the future, when you can replay this level you can think of those once more.

This review might be corny, it might miss the whole point of the level, I might be completely wrong. However, this is how I interpreted it, and is why I love this level so much. twigxcabaret are able to perfect what makes Geometry Dash a storytelling medium, a place you can express whatever you like and have others experience it just the same. If you've read this far, thank you for reading. I'm not the best writer, and I very well know that, but this level means an incredible amount to me and I hope I've put into well enough words why that is.

Thank you.