I'm almost certainly a liberal or even a reactionary in terms of Clumps Theory but even my Establishment Standards simply cannot ignore how this is the most uncompromising level (Yes, I wil be referring to it as that, even if only as a descriptor of the medium) in GD's history. Devin2003 levels eventually ended up on Viprin and Nexus's Youtube channels, gecko eventually decided the struggle was too low-stakes and unproductive to keep How To Disappear unuploaded, pocke and S3rios enthusiastically participate in Hyperbolus rating. I do think the exercise was a bit botched given that Clumps proceeded to engage with level (as in the structure, not the medium) creation afterwards, but the absurd, super-real, hilarious experience one has playing or even watching (one of the level's most subversive features) cold war again is without a doubt one of the most unforgettable ever. Some notes:

• bmbmbm by 7ak was the perfect pseudo-revolutionary level to deface

• there are some absolutely golden comedic moments in this transcript - seeing "liberalism is irrelevant...to me, at least" casually scrolling by is a comedic beat rivalling some of the best of cw2003 GB's career

• I really adore the uber-casualness of the whole ordeal juxtaposed with the real-life cold war and genuine ideological struggle creating yet another layer of the atmosphere of absurdity, even if I "should" be interpreting it more sincerely

• this should probably be the foremost example of the whole "you get what you give" idea that is so common in level criticism, so many brainless social media comments repeating the same tired 3 dollar cube game line

• that the vast majority of people who ever see this level will completely disregard its message and continue to engage with levels the same way we always have is just cold war again's parting gift: "I'm betraying the level by even thinking of it like this"

Clumps made an absurd comedy out of legitimate grievances with GD culture layered within revolutionary aesthetics. I'm sorry, I can't not think of this as genius.

cool i guess lol

I have intricate thoughts and opinions on this but also it makes me laugh

PPL hating on this is proof that society will never recover. The west has fallen. If youre actually at all serious about making art then some of these reviews should genuinely be revolting to you. Anyhow this level is a very conceptually unique and constructive experimental level that doesnt just use pretty colors and flashy bullshit like what most of neodesign has become and has some more meaning behind what its trying to communicate.

i will go against the grain that i do earnestly like this. Thing. poem? it's not a level, that kinda goes against clumps' philosophy. likewise my rating is a generic stand in, rating this anything feels weird. i forgot exactly what i wrote about this in my neocities site before i got rid of it but i remember linking it there. non-gd friend came across it, hell of an introduction to the gd underground, if indeed this is what that is

i think coming at this from the point of 'is this right or wrong' is not asking the right questions, and i've never felt that about this. it's more so an extension of my attraction to uncompromising self-confidence, and this certainly is one of the most 'i do not give a fuck what you have to say or think' (at least in being very confrontational and against any kinds of standards) statements we've ever seen. it's also worth noting it feels like a half-formed daydream statement than something in specific, a feeling and a window into someone's mind more than a manifesto of any kind

to address the elephant in this room with its war themes, yes this level came out before the invasion of ukraine and the escalation of the genocide in palestine. is it appropriate to be making these statements at all as the state of israel had been continually oppressing palestinians and their decedents? no, probably not. but not many were talking about it then. it almost illustrates one of the level's points (and in general its absurdly radical nature works well as a jumping off point to earnestly think about such topics, a nucleation point as snowflakes gather around dust particles), we want a narrative, we want heroes and villains, it takes genocide for it to start to take up space in our mind. mundane discrimination is boring, especially when you're not being discriminated against. even in palestine, the story isn't satisfying. there are no heroes, just a people being crushed for meaningless colonialist reasons. the us doesn't give a shit, russia's "meant" to be the opposite of us but they don't give a shit, hamas and other islamic nationalist groups are fighting for the right cause (and definitely aren't creating secret tunnels under hospitals) but their ideological proximity to places like dubai, places i can't visit in fear of being killed for daring to be gay, definitely has me uneasy for the state of the country, no matter if they come out on top or not.

(edit: a well written article that’s helped both elucidate new sides and understand my assumptions of what zionism is)

connecting these themes to geometry dash is the lynchpin of the level and the most obviously absurd part, but i'm glad someone from this community shared their thoughts on the equally absurd feelings of this leisure activity and community existing at the same time as international tragedy. it's something you don't want to think about, something many can't even afford to think about, i'm not really sure i can for long periods of time. it's just hopeless and i can feel it killing me slowly. i can make it stop killing me slowly if i ignore it. these are the kinds of stakes caused by the horrible systems of nationalism, patriotism, and greed. and it's happening at the same time as my stupid cube jumping game. addressing what i feel i can say i disagree with most directly in this level is this and similar statements against moderators as a whole, having known quite a few moderators personally over the years. they're not willingly upholding standards (the idea of levels being rated at all is the root of the evil here, look how other communities like celeste and iwbtg get by without such things), and indeed the advent of moderators has given us rates of a lot more interesting levels that robtop would never have chosen himself, at their worst they're underdeveloped teenagers. (the ethics of "employing" these volunteers in a game which obviously generates capital for robtop and for showcase grifters and $1000 spike weirdos is another topic entirely, counterbalanced by the thought that there probably shouldn't be money floating around to cloud this artistic medium. but that's another topic entirely, i'm not a political scientist, i don't want to look at it, i can't look at it, it's killing me.)

i encourage you to earnestly engage with cold war again, even in its half-baked absurd context. you're not gaining anything from ignoring its themes, and neither is clumps, if you really do disagree with them and would want them to change their mind. i would be interested to read a highly critical response to this level even though i don't totally disagree with it! i admire clumps because they are daring to bring these kinds of discussions to gd at all, most directly successful imo in their magnum "opus" _________'s chameleon nature being constantly updated, at its best in the equally hilarious and thought provoking way that it's inaccessible on irish bank holidays, the really odd but interesting supposition that levels also deserve labor rights. it's definitely not something someone else would ever consider to do, at least

nowhere near my favorite clumps, but it’s too funny to hate. neodesign is counterrevolutionary

This level makes me giggle a lot