Rating Curve

gotta be my least favorite level in the game man i get it's ironic but it's so overproduced that the irony just circles back around to being obnoxious and it essentially becomes the exact same thing it's satirizing

minigames in geometry dash get me a little upset. i think it's extremely impressive that people are able to put together things like this in such an unintuitive game editor, and they are definitely fun to play, but it gets to the point where watching these types of levels being made with so much effort and seeing them prasied and platformed over others feels so unappealing. i just can't truly like them or their place in the game. i've held the opinion that levels really work best when they feel like geometry dash, when people take the limitations and distinct quirks of the game and use them to their advantage instead of trying to expand outside of them. a good example of this is krmal's gameplay, which is boundary-pushing because of its use of basic gameplay elements in clever and unconventional ways. minigames do the opposite of this in my mind; instead of working with the editor and taking advantage of what the game has to offer they try to make it something it isn't, effectively stripping the act of creating of its creativity, ironically. to make matters worse most of them aren't very original either, they copy tropes from other games (and in some cases recreate them entirely) and never really seem to present anything new, they usually come across as just "look-what-i-can-do" projects.

i'm not going to be one of those people and say these creators should just make their own games. i have no real problem with levels like these existing or being praised, and i understand that there are few hard limitations in a game as expansive as this, so it makes sense that people would do things like this to find out exactly how close they can get to those limitations. mastergame is admittedly one of the better ones too, it's creatively designed and the first big project of its kind which gives it some merit. despite this i still can't shake the feeling that these levels aren't made with a genuine love for the medium, and that completely kills any admiration i might have for something as impressive as this

the coin is the real level here and you're robbing yourself of the experience if you don't at least try for it. it's literally perfectly designed, everything in the process feels so hyper-intentional which makes figuring it out genuinely exhilarating.

super manic and engaging and really really fun, has to be the best experience i've ever had beating a level. impressive gameplay design too, some of those really tight orb combos seem impossible to come up with but they feel so damn good to play

very cool use of my boy even if i don't feel like it represents it accurately in some spots, but that's just a nitpick, and it's completely up to the creator's own interpretation anyway. the level adapts the song in its own way well enough. the good parts more than make up for it as well, especially the transition into the star part which knocks you out in the best way possible; it's genuinely one of my favorite moments in any level in the game and might be the perfect representation of that sudden build up in the song. shame it uses the worse version ... </3 /j

way too inconsistent and incohesive to leave me with anything honestly, i do really like a few parts in this though (flash's and pocke's in particular are fantastic)

very cool concept executed well but just a bit too overpolished for my taste. it's undeniably a great level though

overflowing with creativity. i adore that the level doesn't hinge entirely on one gimmick or idea but presents new ones with each part. the unconventional nature of the gameplay combined with the surreal, sort of recent tab-uncanny valley decoration in most parts makes this such a weird experience

it admittedly looks gorgeous but the unignorable flaws take me out of it entirely. the ironic corny name gets me upset before i even open the level (not even taking your own work seriously?) and all these little blurbs of text being passed off as profound when the entire thing is just basic watered down philosophy that's been discussed for as long as the field has existed is really unfortunate. the geometry dash equivalent of those pop philosophy youtube channels that just talk fast with big words

the biggest thing you notice playing this for the first time is that this level feels entirely organic, like it's its own ecosystem left rotting for centuries that you've just happened to stumble upon. i've never seen anything in the game that does this anywhere near as well as space cowboy, other works that try to mimic real world environments or employ organic-feeling decoration always end up with clear evidence of human touch, whether it's because of how the gameplay is structured, or fixes to make the level more playable, or overdecoration to help the level fit into whatever the current rating standards are. this is the only level i know of that isn't tainted by any of these imperfections (ironic, because they're usually in an attempt to perfect the levels) and as a result the world it creates feels wholly unique and truly free of any human intervention. genuinely one of a kind in every sense of the term

it's also ridiculous to think this released in 2021. way ahead of its time