Rating Curve

Not the best megacollab, but the level most suited to being a blockbuster directed by GD's finest host. The most impressive thing LIMBO does is use the vastly differing visions of its army of creators to assemble a series of trials within its vast and disorienting setting. It's for this reason that I'm glad Mindcap seemingly gave everyone the green light to run wild with whatever hyper-detailed, decadent, flashy puzzles they could come up with; unfortunately, not every creator made the most of this opportunity. In a somewhat amusing manner, it is the tedious coherence of some of these segments that makes LIMBO somewhat fatiguing, and not in a way that would contribute tonally.

edit: i've soured on this level so, so, so much. i just can't fucking stand how it looks, sounds, or plays any more. the ending is still neat, at least.

A blinding, intense crescendo arrives far too late to stop commatose from repeatedly shooting itself in the foot with self-defeatingly mindless gameplay.

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Forest Temple carries itself with a real optimistic elegance that makes it easy to get immersed in, and tight, sharp gameplay (the best of Michigun's solo career) combined with just a pinch of decorative flair makes for a delightful classic even if a few of the temple tropes are overstaying their welcome a little bit.

An impressively spacious and fairly enjoyable memory level that reeks of the unrealized potential of its own gameplay.

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So many people mention this level's ~24k object count as if it's some limitation tacked on just to sound impressive, but the elegant simplicity of Congregation's visuals is the largest reason why its slow-burning buildup is so effective - aggressive posturing of the red X boxes and nonchalant moving columns feel so significant when the level intentionally deprives itself of distinction outside of some (awesomely) awkward and misleading click sync. It's a valiant effort to push the limits of stress in GD, even if the actual climax leaves a bit to be desired in its grandiosity. Purgatorii is just such a sprawling, cosmic song that I don't think anyone has fully realized the potential of.

Monolithic is the word, both for Death Moon's second-to-none grandeur and its legacy as the spiritual end of 1.9. We're coming up on its tenth birthday Happy tenth birthday!! and still it remains as gorgeous, captivating, and dramatic as ever. Such staunch visuals and seamlessly sequential gameplay will simply never go out of style.

Even if you (wrongly) disregard the complete lack of originality on display in future "Nine Circles levels", this is still the only one worth paying any mind to. No one else has replicated such weight and aggression in its structuring, the style just became so much bro-ier and ground-down afterwards. Still a classic on the merits of its own oppressive, sweltering vision.

edit: i dont agree with all of the things i said in this review any more but regardless i still think this is the worst level in the game

The best thing about Rage Quit is the fact that bli got paid to make it, and that fact alone is what keeps me from writing off bli as a creator entirely because Rage Quit would be completely unforgivable were it created sincerely. It's already a bad sign when your vision for the level is appealing to the guy best known for putting out Jake Paul-Watchmojo level slop for an army of children to turn their brains off to, but I could not have imagined something this offensive to the spirit when I heard the original round of complaints. This is an anti-level, or rather something that plays opposite to the strengths of level creation. The creation of this level was rooted in such cowardice, such shame of levels as a medium that bli desperately tried to conceal any evidence that Rage Quit was made in GD - he would be far from the first to try, but never have I seen another level that is so blatantly condescending to its audience. Every effect is so brainlessly strewn about like a blitz of YouTube shorts trying to overwhelm your brain with sludge while you go through the motions of stereo madness, it feels like you're expected to clap every time something happens like those movies where People You Know From Something Else Appear and it's played out as a dramatic, grand scene in itself. There is nothing to be gleaned from playing Rage Quit. It's a glitzy, pompous spectacle on top of a level you could (and are clearly supposed to) complete in your sleep, a manifestation of all the worst attitudes of GD culture trying to destroy everything valuable and beautiful about this game. It's the closest we've gotten to an AI-generated level, or rather an AI-generated video of a level, trained on whichever nexus and viprin uploads get the most views of the age 7-11 demographic. Its best comparison is the subway surfers gameplay you might see next to a short-form video quizzing your flag knowledge, although that might be too generous with regards to coherent storytelling and satisfying gameplay. At the end of the day, just ask yourself if Rage Quit accomplishes anything a level in GD might want to shoot for. Is the gameplay fun? No. Is the level compelling visually? It actively tries not to do that. Is there a coherent story? No. A cool aesthetic? No. It's just a parade showing off bli's triumph over everything that makes GD worthwhile.

Godfather of Greasy. There's just such charm in 8o's uber-masculine brostep anthem, simple but flashy rave-pills visual style and confident, overt difficulty spikes. Other Greasy classics like Flaklypa and Switchblade just dont compare to the GOAT.

The last great Top 1. Hyper-aggressive composition and pacing makes for some of the most intimidating, memorable payoffs of GD's history, and MaJack0's timeless aesthetics are cold yet carnal, domineering. A level you really want to dance with and get all over, regardless of how many times you screw up the mini ball.