Rating Curve

the first ever instance I realized that nothing can mean everything

bmbmbm by 7ak is the level that introduced me to the band black midi. I had no idea who they were at the time, but 7ak told me that their new level was going to use the song bmbmbm by them. Out of curiosity, I listened to the song and I was both confused and ENTHRALLED. It is a repetitive and abstract mess of a song, and yet it just gets stuck in your head. I knew from the moment that I heard the song that 7ak was going to COOK with this.

And I was absolutely right.

bmbmbm is a very repetitive song in itself, repeating the same lyrics over and over, in random order. So 7ak decided to make gameplay for each of those lyrics, and fit them to each lyric in the song. It makes you feel like you're genuinely playing to the song and it's SO cool. It might sound simple here, but it is used extremely effectively and I absolutely love it.

The first three and a half minutes consist of these repeating blocks, the decoration is also relatively simple. Yet somehow, it keeps you intrigued the entire way through. The decoration consists of these white blocks that are all connected by lines, becoming more complex as more words are said in the lyric. There are occasional black slanted blocks with spikes coming out of the ground, and that's relatively it for gameplay and decoration. The white inside the blocks and the decoration around the orbs continues to expand in and out to the song, over, and over, and over again. It's honestly entrancing in a way. The ground is also a very unique pick, but it fits the very strange vibe the level has.

After the three and a half minutes, you hit a dash orb and get sent flying into a violently flashing rainbow glow that covers your screen as the song descends into complete chaos. Until it finally comes to a close and fades out into black as you slowly go down a slope, you hit two jump pads and get SENT into an extremely chaotic ball part with stuff flying through the blocks, a vibrant red and pink filling your screen. The gameplay simply consists of dash orbs that sync to the beat of the song, but the hits are so aggressive that it feels like you're SLAMMING into the blocks. It's extremely cool.

The level then starts to devolve into even more chaos, the lyrics flashing a bright and scrawled pink in the background as the structures from the first part of the level are copy and pasted en masse over everything. It is extremely cathartic and I LOVE it. It's such a simple way of invoking intensity, and yet it does it perfectly. The bars on the top and bottom slowly close in further and further until it fully closes and you're back as a cube. The song is back to the same repeating note as it was before, and each pink orb pulses the ground red. It ends off very simply with a recreation of the album cover that the song is from, 'Schlagenheim'.

I think this level is the perfect mix of abstract that this song needed, some people might call it repetitive, empty, or boring, but I think that fits the song! The song is just the same note over and over again, with the lyrics repeating over and over again, I don't think there's a better way 7ak could have represented it. It's been about 3 years since I've seen this and I still think it stands up to this day.

i watched this when i was 10 and i cried

Soul Reaper by PizzaFire is probably the most 2.0 level to ever exist. That's not even CLOSE to an exaggeration either, it checks off every box you can think of. Random moving objects, weird gimmicks that make no sense, EVERYTHING IS SHAKING, it uses Ego Death, it's an absolute GOLD MINE of a rated level. From beginning to end, this level just an exudes the most powerful aura I've ever seen in a level before.

The level throws you in from the very beginning into a bright red MESS, and you're simply told to jump to the beat. However, it's synced to the song so weirdly that it almost feels unfair LOL, it executes in this gimmick in such a weird way where a line just comes up and kills you, and then it just. Stops. halfway through and you sit there as the song builds up. You also have these really strange moving lines in the background which I think is supposed to be like, a sound equalizer?????? I DON'T EVEN KNOW LOL

The level starts to shake even more until it literally THROWS YOU into the next ship part where everything is STILL moving and you have this fire pulsing background, the moves are as insane as ever until you go BACKWARDS in sync with the song which is executed just as well as you might think. The layering on the border is also great as it goes behind every structure LOL

You then get the awesome title screen which stays for about 3 seconds and then you get transported to this blue part with the same background from before but ROTATED. You have to dodge these spikes that come out of the ground and then you enter the Green Orb Line™, which you just spam to stay on it for a while as it brings you forward and then BACKWARDS again. After a couple seconds it randomly disappears and you're sent into an invisible auto part.

You're then transported into a very intense and shaky UFO part where the background is now green and has a new effect! You'll NEVER guess what happens in this UFO part, it goes forwards, and then BACKWARDS... AND THEN FORWARDS AGAIN, AND THEN BACKWARDS ONE MORE TIME. Revolutionary shit right here y'all.

Randomly in the middle of this section, you get magically transported into a mini wave section and you are now fighting against a boss. That boss being TWO GIANT SLOPES WHICH LUNGE AT YOU. Actually insane shit here. They are constantly shaking and lunge towards you in sync to the song. They do this over and over again until they BOTH JUST START LUNGING AT YOU REPEATEDLY WHICH LOOKS FUCKING HILARIOUS LOL

Then after that's over, you randomly get transported down as a cube and now it's the end of the level. It simply says "PizzaFire" and "Thanks for playing" using the 3d effect where one text is overlayed behind the other. Except, on the thanks for playing text, he forget to capitalize the t in the front text so it doesn't even work LOL

And of course, it ends with "Feature? <3". This level should've been featured and I stand by that.

Soul Reaper is a beautiful mess of a level and was my main inspiration for my level Ego Death, I highly recommend everyone plays this as this is the EPITOME of raw. Nothing beats that absolutely beautiful bossfight LOL

Cement by heatherhayes is probably one of the only levels where I genuinely fell in love at first sight. Up until I saw this level, I had never seen a single level like this ever. I liked pretty normal levels, I still liked 2.0, but I had never seen a level like this. It felt like walking into unfamiliar territory, but you just can't stop watching. It felt like something that should be considered 'bad', except it's just really cool??? It genuinely felt addicting to watch, so much so that I beat it like five times after I saw it LOL

Cement has incredible song representation, the style that heatherhayes uses with the blast of random colors and objects everywhere fits the super weird and strange song in choice. None of the gameplay feels intuitive, it feels like you're exploring an area and you have to survive your way through. I think that's why I liked it so much on first watch, it didn't feel like a level built to be played, it felt like a level to be explored and find your way through, like it didn't WANT you there.

This level unironically changed my thinking about level design, up until this level I had thought that levels needed to be cohesive and that if at any point it went against the standard, it was a "flaw". However, this level made me realize that different styles exist, and people can perfect these strange styles.

If I had to put it into words, this level radicalized me to the far left of Geometry Dash LOLLLLLLL

Also the gameplay is SO fun and satisfying.

High Life by Migueword is a stellar level which I think replicates both the old 1.9 and 2.0 feeling perfectly. It is iconic in every sense of the word. I've never seen a level switch from being 1.9 to 2.0 without looking like a completely different level or like someone threw up on the second half (I'm talking to you Phobos and The Robotic Rush). It genuinely feels like you entered a new area in a game, and it fits so well.

This level just gives off such joy, that's really all I can say about it! It's probably the song which adds so much to it. It's extremely energetic, it's simple and powerful, it's EXTREMELY memorable in every sense of the word, it's just such a good level. Hell, it's even one of the main inspirations in FUTURE FUNK which is currently the 30th most popular demon EVER. To say its influence is unheard of is just wrong.

I wish I could go more into detail about why I love this level so much, but for some reason I just genuinely can't put it into words LOL, it's just a super fun experience and just feels like a party, and maybe that's all it is :)

First Time by NoobyPro27 is a layout that was made for Round 7 of Skralen's Gameplay Tournament. It was the final round and there was one rule, make a 2 player solo layout. Very simple rule, a lot you can weave around with that. NoobyPro took this, and made a masterpiece.

First Time is a 3 and a half minute long layout which has some of the coolest progression I've ever seen in a layout. The gimmicks in this are EXTREMELY well made and it is super fun. One notable thing about layouts, is that you can't be carried by decoration. You can have visuals, quite a lot of them, but you can't too much otherwise it won't be considered a layout. NoobyPro has always excelled at layout visuals in my eyes, and this one is no exception. It's very simple at times, with super clean effects that dont distract from the layout and add to it. The colors are also SUPER well done, it's a genuine feast on the eyes.

The first 40 seconds of the level is used to get you used to what you're going to see within the level. It starts off with an alternating dual ship where you play one at a time with different keys, it shows you from the very beginning that you're playing a 2 player level. The next parts are very slow and relaxed, using fake player colored blocks in the background and saw decorations to enunciate the long and extended notes of the song. The moving blocks are a very nice touch and makes the gameplay feel very floaty, it's slow and calming. You then hit a green dash orb and expect to go into a ball part, but you go straight down instead, into the next part.

This part has a very unique style, it uses very stylistic greenery around, only being made out of thin colored lines, as well as these extremely cool blue moving blocks. The visuals are very simple within this part, the only colors on your screen being the blue blocks and the green vines, yet they're used so tastefully that it still feels like a complete part. It uses glow to it's absolute max capacity and feels like a dream almost!

Then the build up happens, the blocks become wavy, a mountain appears in the background, you see other versions of yourself appear on other paths, spikes surround you as you're floating. You enter the UFO part and rocks start to fall behind you, it seems you're entering somewhere you shouldn't, and yet, you do.

You get thrown into the first 2 player dual with a super cool gimmick of how you need to break your player color breakable block with that dual, it's very simple but super effective! The decoration is also quite simple, yet it gives a slight temple aesthetic which I really like! The glow bars on the ship paths in the second half of the dual is EXTREMELY well made, and I'm honestly not sure how he masked it that well LOL. You progress further and make it to this super cool spider dual where one has to press all the square orbs to keep this spike wall from reaching you. The colors are barebones, only having orange and red spikes and the rainbow spike wall. It's a high intensity part that is REALLY fun to play. You then move onto this dual UFO where one is stuck at the top and must hit certain square orbs to move the platforms of the one below. You can't just focus on one though, you still have to play with the bottom one, it's super cool and VERY satisfying to pull off.

The level then slows down slightly, as the song does, but then the gimmick from before comes back and you enter the wrong breakable block with Player 1, sending the level into a burning FRENZY. This dual has the AWESOME gimmick of having half the blocks attached to one of the players. It makes it super vibrant and moving and the pulses do a great time of accentuating that. It's just a super well made part, and I especially love the chain that follows Player 2 because it genuinely feels like the blocks are LATCHED onto it.

The level then takes a drastic turn and throws you into this SUPER cool ship and cube part with these super mountains structures that remind me of -Sirius-. It fits the song in a way that I can't even describe and makes you think that "Oh, this level is serious wtf". I couldn't put into words why I love this part so much, but just watch and you'll see what I mean. It feels like you're ASCENDING.

You then enter the build up for the last quarter, everything is moving, the vibe feels much different then any part before, it even brings back the gimmick from the first part! I love the little monsters as well, it adds a lot to it. You then start riding up these yellow pulsing slopes and it feels like it's building up to something insane, and then...

FOCUS!

You are thrown head first into this rapidly changing sync based layout which feels like it's changing every second, moving toward you perfectly in beat with the song, going upwards as the song ramps up at the same time. This part's progression is absolutely insane, using different types of gamemodes and sections to perfectly match the song. There's so much going on that I couldn't even hope to explain everything, but it all works in perfect sync. The second half of the buildup hits and you can see copies of yourself in the background once more as the level seems to be nearing it's end. You enter this rapidly ascending and descending corridor, hit the last dash orbs to go up the ramp, and HOLD up with the ship and then...

My favorite part by far, copies of your icon scatter across the screen in succession, changing based on which icon needs to jump, and as you click to the sync you jump out of the fake icon. Then they combine and now you jump from either one or both. It's a super simple gimmick, but it's pulled off so effectively that it's stuck in my mind since the 2 years ago that I first saw this. You enter the final dual as the fake cubes rotate in the background, then the background flashes at you rapidly as the song finally comes to a close.

This layout is PERFECT and I don't think I did a great job at explaining how good this level is. This level actually introduced me to one of my favorite EP's 'MULATO TRAGIDY' because it uses a song off of it, "My First Time Dying". It is an insanely good song and the level uses it perfectly. Absolutely insane layout and I highly recommend it.

I first found out about X Future from his level MindForkOS almost 4 years ago, and his improvement has been absolutely insane since then. OUTPUT SPRING is his first epic rated level and his magnum opus by far I'd say. This level takes you on a journey through many different styles and is absolutely unforgettable.

The first part is by far the most abstract, using seemingly random objects placed everywhere and you simply have to dodge the ones that change color. As per usual for X Future, this part has extremely cool parallax and gameplay ideas, I'm also a very big fan of the viewport calibration opening. The UFO part up next is also VERY cool, mostly because if I recall correctly, every one of the objects in the background is actually entirely random. X Future wrote a program that actually gave him random objects to use and he made a background out of it. The rainbow colors here look insanely good and the gameplay flows EXTREMELY well to the song. I love it. He also makes excellent use of the gradient triggers in the mini wave to make some insane looking structures.

And then the title hits and you are THROWN into a fantasy wonderland full of cherry blossoms and leaves flying past you. This transition genuinely caught me so off guard and it is SO GOOD. This is where the poem starts at the bottom of the screen, and will continue until the last section. This level seems to take place inside a computer, which makes sense given the name. The flashing C:// in the background of this part, the logic gate block designs, the walls of memory (I'm not sure what these are actually) all comes together into a beautifully crafted part which fits Lit Fuse perfectly.

X Future's parallax work is uncontested and that is definitely shown in the next part, the background in this spider and ball part is jaw-dropping and it makes me surprised how underrated this level is. You enter a library and you fly past all these bookshelves covered in books, pencils (which reminds me of FAULTY CODE, a level also by X Future that I highly recommend), and these really cool glass paths that arch from the ground. This part is a feast on the eyes and makes me remember why I love this game so much.

The next part is probably my favorite by far, you are thrown into a rainbow frenzy with abstract 3D blocks and a beautiful background reminiscent of the star from Lit Fuse. My favorite part about this by far, is that the blocks don't seem to mean much at first, but you'll notice that some of the symbols are colored differently than the others. And if you look even closer, you might not to recognize this name. This part is used as a special thanks part as well! I think this is an incredible way to implement this and there isn't much else I can say about this part that I haven't already set, It is a beautiful part which represents the song wonderfully.

The final part tones it down a lot. Simply being a slow speed cube with blocks and orbs for the gameplay. No gameplay is moving, nothing extreme is happening, it feels like a true end. The rainbow masking is incredibly effective in this part and the rain that falls looks great. I love the little touch of the umbrella as well, once again reminding of FAULTY CODE. This is just an extremely effective ending to this level and fits the song to a tee. The water reflection at the bottom, despite looking relatively simple, is INSANELY cool. It also feels like a remastered version of X Future's old last cubes in his levels, he would always have a custom cube part at the end, and for some reason this reminds me of it. Maybe I've just seen too many X Future levels who knows LOL

I know I said the other part was my favorite, but this ending is genuinely unmatched. Instead of having an extremely complicated endscreen, X Future goes for a classic approach. It feels like you've traveled back to 1.9 in a way. It simply says "Thanks for playing OUTPUT SPRING by" in orbs, and then his name in blocks that you ride across, ending with "RATE 10*" in pulsing objects. And then, a final "GG". This ending genuinely almost filled me with tears, I don't know what it is about classic endings like this but they bring me back to when I was a kid and would see stuff like this at the end of levels all the time. While I do love super cool endscreens and awesome animations, I think classic stuff like this really takes the cake for me.

OUTPUT SPRING is a masterpiece and my favorite level from X Future. It is an insanely creative level and I think X Future's creating style is something that nobody else can even come close to replicating. If I could, I'd give it Mythic.

cw2003 GB has made quite a name for himself with his extremely unique style. Making some extremely notable levels such as A Fishing Trip and The Hexahedron Chronicle, however this is the earliest of his rated levels which took THREE YEARS before it was rated. I personally also think it's his most well made by far.

Cubes Story Itimrin is, as you can expect, an animated cube story. However, the attention to detail in every second of this animation is MINDBLOWING. It genuinely feels like a short film at times, just with GD icons. It has a comprehensive story which keeps you asking questions, there's for some reason really hype fight scenes?? His space art is insanely good as always, it's just an extremely cool animation.

I won't delve into it any further simply due to lack of spoiling, I highly just recommend watching it for yourself. It is 5 minutes long and it is genuine peak cinema inside of a Geometry Dash level, the fact that this is only FEATURED is a genuine robbery I don't think I can forgive.

Have you ever had a level that you played when you were younger that just stuck with you for all those years? That level for me is dorabaebasic7. It was the first ever XL level I played and is the reason I kept playing this game. This level has an atmosphere that I feel no other level now or then could replicate, DORABAE genuinely had a talent when they made this.

dorabaebasic7, as the name suggests, is the 7th installment of DORABAE's Basic series, and was the longest by far when it was released, clocking in at about 2 minutes and 40 seconds. XL Levels weren't that common during 1.9, due to the very limited max object count that you had to oblige by (that being 15,000). So if you wanted to make a long level, and have it still be entertaining and interesting? You had to spare some objects and come up with interesting ideas. Luckily, 1.9 also introduced the use of custom songs, which can keep levels fresh!

DORABAE, somehow, was able to make an incredibly interesting XL level with just under 10,000 objects. The level starts out very simply, with a single color changing structure that keeps expanding, with an occasional spike. However, DORABAE kept expanding upon it, soon there were slopes, then jump pads, then pillar jumps. Despite all being one structure, the gameplay keeps adding upon itself to keep it interesting, despite the song being relatively simple. Then the actual song starts to kick in and we start to see DORABAE's normal style appear. Very basic structuring and decoration, with blocks even being completely empty at points only with pulsing music notes to fill them. However, they made it so every time you entered a mirror portal, the style would change, which keeps things interesting! Looking at it now, the decoration might not be that special, even during 1.9, it looks sort of outdated. However the bright colors and song help to keep it interesting.

The level continues to use DORABAE's classic style through the very basic, yet fun, gameplay, until the wave part hits. This part, like the parts before is still relatively simple! However, that's not out of place for a DORABAE level, they're able to take anything and make it memorable. This wave simply alternates between black and white, in beat of the song, and then switches to red and green and does the same thing. It's a simple tactic, make the player click to the beat of the song because it's interesting and fun! It's really easy to do, but this level just NAILS it, and I think it's because of how memorable the song is, but I'll get more to that later.

Now we get to one of, if not, the most memorable part of the level. The giant alternating checkerboard structures. It's extremely simple, simply being two giant blocks with a bright yellow and blue checkerboard, but that bright neon aesthetic fits perfectly for this song and also grabs your attention, switching to a very fast black and white flashing during the auto parts to sync with the song, before switching to pink and blue. It's a simple idea but DORABAE is able to execute it extremely well and shows off how your level doesn't have to be everywhere for it to be memorable.

The next parts are relatively barebones, being a ship part with normal decoration and structuring, and a UFO using the bush blocks, but it's still very fun due to the song. Then we get to my personal favorite part of the level, the ball part. This ball part literally brings you up and all over the place, sending the camera up and down into the unknown with the usual very bright colors. It's a super memorable part and sticks out super well to me.

Then, possibly the most memorable part in the whole level. You fall back down to the ground and the structure before you is just a moving rainbow that you jump across. It's super simple, but the flashing rainbow captures your attention very well and is SUPER smooth, especially since moving objects weren't in 1.9.

The level ends soon after, with one final wave part and the last cube. Now, this level seems very minimalistic and simple, why is it so memorable? I think it's in combination to the simple gameplay, simple but effective visuals, and the song. I can assure you that most people who played this, this was their first time hearing this song, and it's REALLY good. The circus remix is extremely fun to listen to, and having this super basic, repetitive, and yet STILL fun gameplay, along with these super bright visuals creates a level that I don't think anybody could forget. The level uses the whole song and I think has associated itself with the song for possibly forever. This level reminds me of old times where levels could be rated simply off the fun factor, it didn't have to be extremely special visually, it just had to be fun and fit the song super well, and I think that's why this level stands out so much to me and everyone else.