I don't think its fair to rank this level on something like this site, since Death is not made for the same purpose most levels featured on this site are made for. Death is meant to exist on its own; to be seen in the context of loss, grief, and perseverance.

Simply viewing a video of this level does not do this level justice, but I can't really speak on that myself, as I have not played this level from zero. I want to, since I know actually playing Death is what helps you really understand its purpose and how it connects to larger concepts and themes, but I think it's just too far out of my skill range unfortunately. This is not a negative aspect of the level though, since Death should not be easy to overcome. This level is intimidating and doesn't look "conventional" simply because death is not intentionally meant to be enjoyable or pretty too. Death exists as death, and I feel this level conveys that harshness of life in a way that not many other Geometry Dash levels have even attempted to try. The topics Death tries to communicate are very difficult to put into a Geometry Dash level without them seeming either unserious or thoughtless. Often levels will try to plant stories and themes by just directly telling the user, but all this level needs to do is have its title simply be "Death".

We can compare this to the personal aspects we use to judge levels in this game, but this level was very much not made to deal with those. This feels almost disrespectful to do because of that, so I feel guilty trying to do that in the past.

Overall, I cannot critique how the level approaches the concept of death, since I don't have the full experience and not enough levels similar to it exist.

surreal. the level is in perfect harmony with the song all the way through.

This is without a doubt the most emotional level in the game I have ever played or even seen, the amount of emotions that have surfaced while watching this while either lucid, drunk, or high are some of the most i've ever felt during this game and is one of the only levels to genuinely make me cry after beating it. This was started all the way back in 2.0 and was finished up last year by Zeptrus in honor of TSguy, a former member of the gd community who ended up taking their own life, fly high leo.

I'm going to get into the level now with this part of the description, I will be referencing MasterOfDonkeys' description as he puts it beautifully. The interpretation I've picked up for the level was it being split into three different segments: The Predrop, The Drop, and The Postdrop:

Predrop - The predrop is pretty much representative of life right down to a tee. Sometimes it's straightforward, sometimes it's confusing, sometimes it has it's ups and downs, all represented through normal gameplay elements such as straight flying, the memory parts, and the different ways the player is sent up and down throughout this predrop. This predrop builds up to the drop extremely well with the different melodies all throughout.

Drop - The way I interpret the drop is how it represents the act of well, dying. despite it not being instant, it's paced evenly and elegantly with the bright and flashing colors of the drop until you get to 68%. Both the song and level pick up pace here, making way for an ascension sequence. The ship at 73% with the stuttering speed changes matching the sound just feels like a hint of uncertainty, which also fits in with the theming of death in itself. After this ship part, the level proceeds to speed up more and get to what I feel is the climax of the level, this wave part will never fail to give me chills down my spine as everything in this part just screams like it's your time to go, which the player abides by when the drop concludes.

Postdrop - To me, the postdrop resembles what happens after death, albeit it may not represent an afterlife at first, however it feels more like a reincarnation as the first part of this matches up exactly with the very first part of the level, which gives an illusion imo. The ship after that takes a bit more of a scenic route with the gigantic and colorful stars just sprouting out making the part just feel more relaxing and beautiful. The last cube to me just feels like the last stretch or the last ascension to the eternal heavens, and to give extra credit the cube matches well with the backing piano melodies as you go on and on. After making it through the last cube part, you are sent up as the level fades out into white, symbolizing the ascension to heaven.

The impact this level has on me emotionally and mentally will never be undermined for as long as I live. I remember the day the level was showcased for the first time, I had already been struggling mentally and had contemplated taking my own life on multiple occassions (as well as attempted twice in the past couple months prior to august 2023). Since this level presented itself as a tribute to someone who had also taken their own life in the past it just made the overall final result of this hit way harder than I ever expected it to. The pieces that this level portrays in not just the way the level progresses but also the amount of raw and visceral emotions that can be invoked from even something as simple as watching this level are undescrible as is something that needs to be witnessed and experienced firsthand.

This is easily the best level in the game and i doubt anything is going to change that in the slightest for me, no level has ever had this amount of an emotional chokehold on me and i am incredibly thankful for this level coming around when it did as i felt like it saved my life.

Best memory level I have ever seen. Easily.