Written on November 14th, 2024. (After completion)

FIREPOWER is an Extreme Demon that many people know about, being made by the popular creator Sillow as his 4th extreme, as well as his first epic extreme. FIREPOWER was Sillow’s intention of creating a unique Nine Circles styled level in a world where Nine Circles did not exist. Sillow has been one of my favorite creators for a while now, having released many easier demons that I loved, as well as Forbidden Isle and Azurite, which are two of my favorite extremes. So, when I saw FIREPOWER’s full showcase, I was instantly hyped as I remembered seeing the preview and I loved what I saw.

FIREPOWER has some of the best decoration ever made in the Geometry Dash editor, and I am serious about this. When making this level, Sillow chose to keep the decorations very related to 1.9, and this does not impair the level at all, as many of the designs are clean and feel weighty to the level. Additionally, the level is themed around fire, which helped the level immensely. Sillow’s main expression of the theme is through the colors, as the only colors used in the level are the hot hues of red, orange and yellow. Yet, the colors are elevated greatly through the infinite amount of pulses throughout the level. FIREPOWER was intended to be a unique twist on Nine Circles levels, and the pulsing work done by Sillow truly expresses the intention of the level. Additionally, there are plentiful examples of theme expression in this level under the limitations of 1.9’s style, such as the endless amounts of lava and fire made out of glow and pulsing objects. Combined with the enormous amount of silly monsters found in the level, these assets truly build a bunch of character into the level, which I just love.

As for the gameplay, this is where the review takes a full 180 from what it was previously. I cannot express how little I enjoyed the gameplay. The gameplay actually does not have any major issues, as most of the base gameplay is extremely fun and skill-based, which I excel at. However, the balancing is the major issue. The last quarter of the level is tremendously concentrated in difficulty compared to the other three quarters. Combine this with this quarter being the end of the level, and you have a recipe for disaster, as you can see my numerous deaths past 76% towards the end of the video. Not to mention the gameplay becomes immensely easy to die to when you pass 92%, containing strange click patterns and skill-based segments. Overall, this level was excessively agonizing to complete.

At the time of writing this review, I plan on sticking with my 0/10 on the enjoyment of this level. However, the decoration is still fantastic, and I still really love this level. For the future, I would like for Sillow to invest in some playtesters for his next levels, as playtesting can undoubtedly improve the quality of the gameplay and balancing. Although, I would like to see Sillow continue making levels, as I can see him quickly becoming a fantastic creator through his decoration.