Rating Curve

This was actually one of the first levels I ever beat upon returning to GD in 2019, and it's stuck with me ever since for a few reasons. The level centers around an encounters with a spinning golden orb and a giant, towering golden dragon, which feels quite fitting considering the huge, orchestral Xtrullor song that was chosen.

The bosses themselves are my favourite parts of the level, with attack patterns that are telegraphed reasonably well, while also being intuitive enough to not feel particularly unfair to learn. The attack hitboxes match their visual counterparts very well overall, and both bosses have smooth animations that help tell the player what attack is coming, from spinning laser cannons in the first encounter to a massive breath of fire and sawblades in the second. The second part also has a fantastic spinning background that makes the player feel like they're in a huge arena, which makes the fight feel far more intimidating.

The parts between the fights are a bit of a mixed bag. The two main buildup parts are the better ones, with the former's massive humanoid figure making the player feel absolutely miniscule as it towers over the mountainscape, which helps build a lot of tension in the lead up to the boss. The second buildup isn't quite as memorable, but the dark, murky atmosphere with little glow balls flying around akin to fireflies does feel like you're entering a sort of cave or lair. It's not as effective at building tension, but it gets the job done well enough.

In regards to the very beginning, I'm not as much of a fan. The structuring and designs are quite basic and don't really match with the rest of the level at all, especially the part with the waterfalls (which, as an aside, have some bafflingly poor colour work as the white and deep, saturated blue clash quite badly). These sections could do with a lot more in the foreground; variation in structuring style, designs more reminiscent of the ancient architecture seen later in the level, and more layered backgrounds to add some much-needed depth similarly to how the ending does. Overall, though, Against The God is a classic and still holds up quite well all these years later. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a good, fairly easy bossfight.

dawnii proves once again her skill with design-based levels with vigilante. This level takes clear inspiration from creators the likes of Shocksidian, Loogiah, and Lieb, with a very distinct design style comprised mostly of well-placed default blocks and diverse colour palettes. While I like this style on its own, I love the elements dawnii has incorporated of her own style in order to give vigilante more flair and distance it from pre-existing levels. In particular, the structuring and gameplay are consistently wacky and unique, but also some of the best I've ever seen in a level of this style. The structuring does an excellent job of filling space in the level while not being overbearing, and many of the wild shapes they take are quite cool to look at too (particularly in the first 2 drop parts). The gameplay is super fun, well synced, balanced nicely and makes great use of duals to convey the high intensity of the drop sections.

My only major complaint about vigilante is its lack of variation, and this is what I believe holds it back. The level's style and (aside from the gameplay) song expression stay quite consistent throughout the level, despite the music changing dramatically. This isn't necessarily bad, but in such an energetic level it ends up feeling pretty monotonous by the end, and many parts end up blending together due to having similar designs and colours throughout. I would have loved to see even some small touches to separate one part from the next - incorporation of movements, more effects, different colour schemes or more unique designs would have all helped to address this.

All in all, vigilante is definitely my favourite level from dawnii, and she's shown a lot of growth as a creator here. This is a very strong showing, and one that makes me look forward to her future levels. I would recommend taking more inspiration from levels like Synergy by Vlacc in the future in how they handle part-to-part variation and cohesion. Well done!

I'm a sucker for levels with great song representation, and It Ends In Fire is no exception. This is a very interesting level stylistically, bearing a lot of resemblance to creators like cometface with its simpler designs, flashy colours and atmospheric effects. The lo-fi indie rock song is used really well here, and its stressful, climactic vibe fits in really well with the level's theming, that being the end of the world. Every element of this level harmonises extremely well in the final product, and nothing feels wasted - the block designs are quaint and simple but still do their job, the effects are used very well in order to convey the shifting energy of the song, and the background work is stellar and really helps tie everything together. I especially love how everything disintegrates and then is sucked into a wormhole at the end.

Any complaints I have about this level are pretty nitpicky, but they revolve around the gameplay. The drum breaks with plenty of spider orbs in the beginning feel quite awkward and out of place, and the rainbow colour loop has the same issue. I think this would have been much better executed with a speed change and some different, more intense effects. Additionally, the level does feel a bit too short for the amount of progression it's trying to cram in, which leaves it feeling unfinished in that aspect. I would have loved to see how the creator made use of the next drop rather than cutting the level off where it does.

Overall, this is a really strong showing from value1, a creator I've never heard of. I would love to see this level get epic, and I'm super excited to see what they make in the future. I would encourage value1 to continue to utilise their talent with backgrounds and effects, while working on refining the other aspects of their levels mentioned. Well done

I've never been very interested in GD platformers, so this review will be something new for me. My biggest issue with platformers always tends to lie within the level's skeleton and design, as platformers rely far more heavily on game design skills than classic levels do. However, Rose Garden does a very solid job of being a standalone project, with rooms flowing nicely from one to the next, solid platforming and puzzle solving aspects, and cool extra content like the coins. The level's theming and overall interactivity with the player are good, nothing spectacular but the aforementioned coins, the spike gimmicks (especially the reversed spikes in the moon rooms) and the backgrounds are all very good. Additionally, pretty much every visual element contributed to the level's namesake theme - the rose tunnel is ever present throughout most of the level, the large multicoloured spikes and moon rooms feel almost like stained glass shards or windows, and overall the level feels very cohesive.

My only major complaint is that I just don't find it very fun to play. The gameplay is quite one-dimensional and linear, not giving the player much control over when or how they approach each room. This contributes to a noticeable lack of replayability with the level (other than to obtain the coins). Less linearity to the room order, more optional rooms, and randomised decoration/encounters would all be great things to try and implement to address this. Aside from that, the rose rooms could have used some more visual variation, as well as something to connect them to the moon rooms stylistically, but that's a bit more nitpicky and a minor flaw.

Despite me being the World's Biggest Platformer HaterTM, Rose Garden impressed me with its visuals, theming and interactivity. I hope that in the future, more levels follow in similar footsteps and create better standalone platformer experiences for players who are interested in them. I'd love to see this get featured or epic. Well done!

It's great to see qalli so confidently break the creative mould she's set for herself with her previous levels - Find The Answer is an incredibly unique, very ambitious level that makes use of some genuinely amazing gimmicks. The dual offset mechanic is front and center in many parts, being the first mainstream use of this gimmick in a level, and it works in the level's favour really well. It's both fun to watch and play, and it works surprisingly well with the more chaotic parts of the song that it's used with. Even in spite of this, though, every part's gameplay manages to maintain a pretty solid identity for itself, having some sort of defining characteristic that does wonders in making the level more memorable. Additionally, the deco is very consistent and cohesive, using tons of glitchy effects and unconventional structuring that match the song and gameplay excellently, and help tie everything together.

Unfortunately, I think this level's biggest downfall lies largely with said gimmicks. While almost all of the ideas behind this level are great, the execution often feels undercooked, rushed or just careless. The decoration is pretty good, but it really doesn't do anything with a lot of its more unique aspects (most notably the slanted wave sections). The same can be said for the gameplay to a lesser degree, it feels highly unpolished. The end result of all this is a level that feels stretched very thin, lacking in song representation and much substance beyond its gimmicks, and one that leaves me feeling pretty underwhelmed despite its very high highs.

With that said, qalli is a highly skilled creator that is very good at taking good core concepts and iterating on them until they are effectively free of major flaws, so I think that will come into play regarding Find The Answer too. I would personally give this level a feature, and I look forward to seeing where qalli takes her creativity going forward.

SoDaZ has managed to carve out quite a niche for themself within the very renowned, tried-and-true Hinds/Shocksidian style that's developed over the last 8 or so years. Maverick is by far their best showing in this regard, building on nearly everything the style has to offer as well as their own previous levels into a very interesting fusion blend of many different inspirations that I really love. The block/ground designs and colours remind me most of the traditional Hinds/Shocksidian levels, with simpler designs comprised mostly of pre-2.0 default blocks, and very saturated, well-synced andd cohesive pulse work throughout, which in my opinion is most apparent during the UFO about 25 seconds in. However, where I feel this level shines most are in the elements that make it more of a SoDaZ level - the effects, backgrounds and air decoration are all stellar and really compliment the strengths of the rest of the deco. The background work is quite subtle but adds a layer of depth to the level often missing from more classic ones, and the effects are simple but help uplift the otherwise static parts of the level.

My biggest (and only) complaint is the level's lack of cohesion in the second half. Here it feels like SoDaZ began sort of throwing things together at random, with the most intense part visually not coming at the most intense section of the song, some very odd colour choices in the last 20%, and the designs starting to fall flat a bit, leaving the level feeling lacking in this regard. However, despite this, it's still pretty decent overall, and even more impressively manages to remain extremely fun and consistent to play.

The creativity shown through most aspects of this level is very, very impressive considering the rough stylistic template it uses, and it really cements SoDaZ as a master of his style. I'd give this level epic, and really hope to see more from SoDaZ going forward.

It's always great to see a return level from an older creator, and Anonymous doesn't disappoint, being a collab between Havok, Sillow, Flash and Tuna310. Havok is an older creator most prolific before 2.1, and the stylistic inspiration from that era of creating is very apparent throughout the level, mainly in the designs. The mesh between the new, like the 2.2 gameplay, shader effects and backgrounds, with the old, namely the designs very reminiscent of Occult Outcry and older Shocksidian levels, works surprisingly well and Anonymous as a whole is very cohesive. The glitchy digital theme is forefront in every single part, the colour scheme is consistent throughout while still remaining varied (I especially like the emphasis on blue during the dual at about 65%), and the gameplay is learny but extremely rewarding and consistent. No one element is all that outstanding, but everything blends together to create an excellent experience from start to finish.

I personally really enjoy each creator's individual take on the overarching theme of the level - Havok's parts are a blend of older, more static designs and very complex backgrounds and effects, Sillow's part is heavily effect based with tons of glitching shaders and movements, and Flash and Tuna310's part is a lot more traditional with some excellent colour work and very well-made backgrounds. It's difficult to cover everything within the character limit, but I would HIGHLY recommend giving this level a try yourself, as the difficulty of around high end insane demon is pretty approachable for most experienced players. This is one of the best "traditional" design-effect levels to come out this year, and an absolute banger of a comeback from Havok. I would really love to see this level get epic.

resistance by theresistance comes from an age of 1.9 levels where many creators didn't really have much of an idea using the editor, and in many ways it shows in this level. Even for the time, there's a pretty noticeable lack of any real form of cohesion: no theming, messy gameplay that feels like it barely works, and a pretty noticeable lack of any "designs" in the traditional sense, even for an early 1.9 level. It's something that I understand holds a certain appeal and charm for a lot of players, especially older ones, and I hold quite a bit of respect for the level because of that (especially due to the hilariously low 5 star rating when I feel it should be an 8 or 9 star), but I can't really say it's for me.

Despite this, however, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there are actually some pretty cool parts. Namely, the pulsing effect around halfway through that makes the decoration feel like it's following the player's forwards momentum is pretty neat considering that although this level doesn't quite predate ones like Nine Circles that revolutionised this type of effect, those levels weren't anywhere near as widespread and popular as they are today. Additionally, resistance gives me the impression that theresistance was totally unafraid to experiment and push their own creating abilities a bit, not just because of that effect, but also in the pretty sharp increase in overall quality as the level goes on. The ending actually feels relatively coherent and reasonably well made for the time, so huge props to the creator for their improvement over the course of the level.

resistance is a unique, obscure level from a creator I've never heard of, but it's a charming and compelling glimpse into a bygone era of Geometry Dash creating. We never get levels like this anymore, and while that's definitely for a reason, it's always nice to take a look back at a slice of older, less experienced creators in a much more limited era of the game.

Throat Of The World is a platformer that redefined the limits for platformers when it came out, as it's one of the first of its kind to show such high worldbuilding, polish and interactivity throughout a very long runtime (somewhere around 3 hours on a first practice run). I'll start with the things I don't like about it: I feel TheJShadow uses pixel blocks as a crutch throughout the level, and the gameplay between bosses is pretty uninteresting. I understand the usage of pixel blocks might have been for optimisation, but it ends up looking cheap at points where the detail provided by the pixel blocks becomes a central focus point of the level, mostly in the first half of the level prior to the first boss. I think more custom pixel assets here and there would have done well in livening up the visuals and preventing this sort of overuse from occurring, especially in the ground designs. The gameplay between bosses tends to lack any meaningful gimmicks; there's environmental assets, but those are pretty straightforward, being mostly ice, water or lava. There's wind in a couple of parts, but that doesn't add much to the level aside from being thematically accurate and tends to make for more annoying gameplay. There's also multiple fetch quests scattered throughout the level which make up the entirety of the quest mechanic, containing little variation and only requiring the player to grab a hidden collectible or two. The only real exceptions are some custom bounce pads and rotating platforms, but I just don't feel like it's enough to prevent these gameplay sections from feeling very monotonous.

Thankfully, that's about where my complaints end, and everything else about the level is excellent. The boss gameplay is challenging and engaging, but fair and reasonably well-telegraphed, being quite reminiscent of Terraria in a lot of good ways. The boss designs are well made, and the final boss is very climactic. I love how tense the buildup feels, as everything gets quieter, darker and more menacing as you approach the boss. Each of the game's individual environments is well-built, with excellent colours, effects and level design; that is to say, almost nothing feels out of place in this regard. I particularly love the above-ground sections late into the level; the rendition of the northern lights and the snowy landscape look beautiful and make for a nice break from the dark, claustrophobic underground parts. All of this is brought into harmony by the consistently solid part-to-part transitions, as each of them makes sense thematically (for example, descending underground from a snowy mountain into a cavernous zone filled with lava). The player is thrown into the metaphorical Throat Of The World, and I truly love this level for that.

While I think this level stands with quite a bit of room for improvement, this is an incredible showing from TheJShadow and one of the best platformer levels ever created; hell, this could stand on its own as a pretty solid indie game. All around, a very technically impressive level with great depth, environmental design and worldbuilding, and one I would personally have given a legendary rating.

For a first ever project by fauxlite, a new creator, grasspiano is fantastic. This is a pretty conceptual level highly based around nature, but I like how it executes this theme using mainly default blocks and sharper, more contrasting shades of greens. It's quite an unconventional style that helps make the level a bit more memorable. I also quite like the wacky structuring - I believe structuring has a pretty significant impact on the overall design of a level or part of a level, and the surrealist, unique structuring many of grasspiano's parts have does well to accentuate the theming and style of the level.

Of course, this level has some pretty glaring issues, which is to be expected of an early project. grasspiano is quite all over the place visually, yet does not vary much from part to part. My biggest piece of feedback is to take an overarching concept for a level, and figure out how to evolve it over the course of the level's runtime rather than sticking to a narrower idea of the theme like grasspiano does (one excellent example of this is Interlude by wiktord). Additionally, the gameplay isn't really integrated into the level at all and feels pretty disconnected, which breaks the level's immersion. I would recommend investing more time into things like air decoration and miscellaneous elements to connect the structuring to the rest of the level, as well as orb/portal deco that's thematically sound.

Once again, I think grasspiano is a fantastic first project and shows a lot of potential. In a vacuum, it's an okay level, and one I would recommend for a star rate, but fauxlite has tons of potential and I really look forward to seeing their future projects as they grow and improve.