Rating Curve

Abyssgeist is a level from 1.9 that was only rated 3 years ago, and despite it’s simple nature, it really stands out to me as being super charming. The gameplay is very reminiscent of the best of 1.0 era levels, with a design style that utilizes 1.9 block designs in a super modest way. KazVixX uses these simple blocks to create lots of fun structures, but it’s the decorative elements connecting everything together that makes the level stand out so much. KazVixX’s usage of the grey lego-like blocks from 1.9 is some of my favorite that I’ve ever seen, linking together every structure in extremely creative and satisfying ways. The usage of extra details like bonus connector blocks helps keep the structures from feeling visually repetitive as well, resulting in a super clean and appealing look throughout the whole level. There isn’t really any air decoration to fill in extra space in most parts, as the unique structuring and designs do enough work as is! Combined with gameplay and colors that aged pretty well for its time, Abyssgeist is a surprisingly fantastic level for its time. I would highly recommend this level for fans of simplistic levels that stay true to Geometry Dash’s core!

C H I L L is a beginner level that has some nice ideas, but could still use more work. For a level called C H I L L, it just didn’t feel very chill to me. The super bright colors and screen effect were neat, but a bit too distracting for how slow paced the song and gameplay are, especially with all the flashes. I do like all the ideas presented here, but it just feels a bit messy when all is said and done. This is mostly due to the enter effect on the background, which takes the background from black to a super bright series of lasers. It tends to take my eyes from the gameplay and decoration to the factors around it, which takes away from the rest of the level. I like the collage of colors that the creator went for, and although the deep blues mix a bit oddly with the pale rainbow colors, there was a nice effort here. I think that the structures could benefit more from feeling less blocky and rectangular, and the block designs could benefit from having most of the black glow removed between every block. Overall, I don’t think C H I L L is quite there yet in most aspects for something like a Star Rating, but it’s a nice starting point for a newer creator that could be worked on from this point.

I find Skyline Pt II to be one of the funniest levels from the NCS Event, not based on pure comedic value, but because of the circumstances behind the level. pocke has been a creator I’ve closely followed for a very long time, and one that’s grown on me and started to influence me a ton over the years. He’s always pushed the boundaries of what a Geometry Dash level can be, showing that making purposely “messy” and “unpolished” levels can lead to great success, even if it goes against what’s typically expected from “good” levels. pocke’s song choices are always so closely tied to the levels at hand as well, working super well with the decoration to make his levels extremely cohesive.

All these reasons I listed are what make Skyline Pt II so funny to me. Skyline Pt II uses a new NCS song, and one that’s “NCS” sounding to a tee. It’s not at all what you’d typically expect from a pocke level, which leads to the decoration standing out for pocke as well. Skyline Pt II is extremely clean, with decoration that feels much more grounded and less experimental than what pocke would normally make. Despite that, pocke did an amazing job with the level, and still managed to capture the energy of the song extremely well. The visuals are all great, and the drop is exciting and energetic. I do think it’s a bit too over the top with the intense camera zooms to the beat, but it works. The art of all the different city locations, from the backgrounds to the block designs, work together perfectly to make a super cohesive end project. Even if it isn’t as experimental as other pocke levels, Skyline Pt II does a great job at showing pocke’s raw talent as a creator, and there’s still so many fun details to notice as you watch the level multiple times. pocke did an incredible job with this level, and I think it’s nice to see him make overly joyful stuff like this alongside his more serious projects.

Defining and Defying is galofuf’s newest level, and potentially their greatest level yet. It’s an entry to the Space Gauntlet contest, and I think it does a good job at standing out against other entries with its creativity while also looking fantastic in the meantime. The designs are super polished, with nice colors and fantastic art in the backgrounds. In general, this is a super solid level with a ton of great smaller details like the UI elements on screen. There’s even a cutscene halfway through the level with super fluid animation, and I think it was executed really well. The cutscene serves as the transition between “parts” with the first half of the level being part 1. After the cutscene, the level changes songs completely. Unfortunately, this choice really prevents me from enjoying this level as much as I could. The song choices and changing them halfway through makes the identity of the level feel a bit lost, like the creator didn’t fully understand what they were doing in the bigger picture. It prevents progression and song representation, leading it to feel like 2 different levels that got cut short. This is really disappointing to me considering the super high quality of the level, so I hope that galofuf focuses more on song representation and progression in their next big project. Still though, Defining and Defying looks great, and it’s a pretty memorable entry to the Space Gauntlet contest.

I knew I had to review this level as soon as I saw it, as the song uses a remix of Young Girl A with a Hatsune Miku cover, and as many know, I absolutely love Hatsune Miku. Young Girl A is what you’d typically call a layout level, being made up of basic blocks with simple designs, but making up for it in effects. The level does a good job at matching these effects to the song, with the energy and colors also representing the song well. The gameplay is pretty satisfying and fun to play, which is a really important aspect when making a layout level. As for the visuals, I liked the level for what it was. The effects are pretty nice and well synced, and the sad and monochromatic feeling that the colors bring do a good job at amplifying the song, even if this color scheme isn’t normally my favorite. I found the shader usage to be a bit more than needed at times, as all of the shaders when combined can make the level feel a bit messy. It isn’t too bad, but the glitching on the blocks was a bit too noticeable for me. While I do think everything could be a bit polished up overall, it’s pretty nice for a layout level, and I think I could see it getting a Star Rating. Neat job by GabLexon on this level!

in canon is a great example of memory gameplay at its simplest, but also finest. The gameplay is all laid out in front of you, not requiring you to go through fake blocks with an invisible cube or anything like that. It constantly looks like multiple routes are possible, but you have to memorize which ways are the correct ones to go for over a minute of difficult insane demon gameplay. It’s confusing and harsh, but executed fantastically. As for the decoration, while I’m not as big on it as I am the gameplay, it still looks great. It’s essentially what you would think of from a good neodesign level at that time, keeping things relatively simple, but having enough to keep things super intriguing at all times. The nature of the decoration allows the gameplay to take center focus, which is what makes in canon so good in the first place, so I think it works really well here. It has very nice colors and satisfying effects as well, which overall match the song in a way that’s subtle but extremely effective. Overall, all aspects of in canon perfectly match the style of memory gameplay used, resulting in a super satisfying watch and an even more satisfying completion.

Kilionix is CUBICCC’s entry to the space gauntlet contest, and it’s a very pretty and highly detailed one. At any given moment, there’s a ton going on here, from crazy effects to multi layered backgrounds, there’s a ton of eye candy to enjoy. While not every part hits the same, certain parts like the first one and the one at 0:45 take advantage of a zoomed out camera and create a scenery that’s larger than life, and it does a great job at showing CUBICCC’s talent in art. The way parts flow together is also very fluent, resulting in a very cohesive level all things considered.

I don’t really like it, though. I think it looks brilliant and definitely deserves an Epic Rating, but there’s a few aspects that prevent me from loving this level. The gameplay is the main one, as it all feels like a big afterthought. So many moments are either unclear or completely blind, and I didn’t find it very fun to play when I couldn’t see own my icon at many points. Secondly, I just think that Kilionix is doing a bit too much. It feels overly flashy with exaggerated camera movements simply to keep people engaged constantly, and it feels overwhelming to me personally. I still like a lot of the effects, but I never felt like I got the chance to breathe while playing or watching Kilionix. At the end of the day, not every level is going to appeal to every person. CUBICCC did a wonderful job on this level, but I personally think things could have been toned down a bit with more of a focus on gameplay.

silly bob is a comeback level by luhcosmic, being their first level since early 2.1. For early 2.1, luhcosmic was a pretty solid design creator. They have clean designs and a good grasp on the editor and how to use it. Unfortunately, the style that luhcosmic builds in is long past its prime, and nowadays looks a bit outdated, resulting in silly bob feeling pretty underwhelming. It isn’t a bad level at all, but it’s full of tropes from the old design era such as white object lines constantly pulsing black making them an awkward shade of grey most of the time, as well as glow on everything that’s a bit too strong, a ton of super dark spaces on screen, and colors that feel generally uninteresting. There are some sprinkles of additional color in some parts, but it’s pretty monochromatic for the most part, and a lot of desaturation makes the parts feel a bit dull. It’s nice to see that luhcosmic has a good grasp on the editor after all these years, but it’s clear that they haven’t adjusted much to the changing creating climate. The 2.2 elements feel awkward and unfitting, like the super zoomed out part with a whole chunk of the screen darkened for some reason, which was another trope from that era. The ending to this level is extremely rushed as well, putting a bit of a sour taste in my mouth to end things off. Still though, silly bob isn’t a terrible level, just one that is far too outdated for me in the modern day, especially with that era of dark and desaturated glow design being my least favorite style.

I’ve seen a few Fenniko levels in the past, and I’ve quite enjoyed the ideas and decoration they brought to the table. Sadly, Grey Level is a significant step down from Fenniko’s other works. It’s exactly as it says, a grey level, in a pretty basic design style. There’s a pretty nice ball part at one point with the gimmick of being symmetrical, and some of the designs are pretty neat, reminiscent of core style. Outside of that part though, the designs in Grey Level are as basic as they get. For the gameplay, that’s pretty fine. It doesn’t stand out to me very much, but the symmetrical part is pretty interesting, as well as the robot with a bunch of structures that you don’t interact with, forcing you to not get confused by them. Unfortunately, there isn’t too much else I can say about Grey Level. It isn’t a bad level, but Fenniko is a creator capable of much more than what was shown here, and is pretty underwhelming as a result.

A simple and short modern level wasn’t something I really expected from Arclia after all her super high quality collabs, but that’s exactly what Ponci is. It isn’t the most memorable level of all time, and I don’t really think it tries to be. Normally, I’d be pretty put off by this type of level, however, I think Ponci actually has a good amount to offer in its simplistic nature. The song Ponci uses is one that’s very minimalist but vibey, having a laid back but chill vibe to it. Ponci represents this pretty well, not just in its designs, but in its gameplay. While I’m not the biggest fan of how it plays, having some strange readability issues, it syncs pretty well to the song, with the waves in MaxiKD’s part being especially satisfying to me.

Design wise, Ponci is pretty standard, like I stated earlier. It doesn’t look bad by any means, but the lack of unique blocks make it hard to stand out. There’s a few distinct moments, like the transition between wik and Xender Game, but not too many. While this would normally be my main gripe, I think that the colors in Ponci are probably my least favorite aspect. ZtratoZ’s part has some beautiful blue and red, but every other part has pretty faded colors, with the beige in the first part looking especially dull and unappealing in my eyes. I understand that the dull colors are supposed to go with the simple song, but ZtratoZ’s part proves that it can work well with more saturated and unique color schemes. In the end, Ponci is an alright level. It isn’t trying to stand out, but it certainly isn’t bad.