Rating Curve

This was going to be much longer, but in a rare moment of restraint, I condensed it. Slightly. You can read the rest here, where I don’t restrain myself from yapping about this level.

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Maybe the real breakdown of reality was the friends we made along the way.

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Echo Delta is a level about trying to navigate space while reality collapses around you. At least, that’s my interpretation of it. It also placed 18th in the Space Gauntlet Contest, which was 8 places too low. At least, that’s my opinion. It was made by two of my favorite creators and cometface.

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0-31

What I love about this level is the abundance of small details that add so much life. That’s there even in this part, from the subtle twinkling of stars to the fireflies dancing in the night to the swirling bands of clouds on the distant planet. It prevents this whole part from getting stale, despite its 61-second runtime.

The song, Celestial Mysteries, was created by Serponge. Thanks for blessing my ears with this banger.

31-47

The sheer scale of this part becomes apparent very quickly with the reveal of many huge, flickering spotlights serving as the interior’s primary light source. However, these lights aren’t enough, and the interior remains dark. The scale is magnified by the camera zooming out, lending to an enormous, open room.

I don’t have much to say about this part. I realize that Hyperbolus is a sight for reviews, and this section isn’t much of a review. Oops.

48-56

As you exit the structure, the camera slams down to a slant, the music gets intense and sinister, and the calm setting from before is replaced with a chaotic mess of red and yellow lines and flashes.

This is my favorite part of Echo Delta.

I’m a fan of fast-paced gameplay. From the start, Echo Delta leads you into a false sense of security, thinking you’ll be playing a fairly chill level. Lots of Space Gauntlet entries were chill, such as The Beyond, Point of View, and Out of Place. But once you exit that structure, that illusion comes crashing down.

This part also looks pretty trippy because it uses the pinch shader, a trigger I keep forgetting exists.

57-60

Gee, I wonder who made this part.

This is the part where the clear structure of the level seems to break down. Like, you’re walking through the grass, then you’re flying through a space station, then the space station is crumbling (???), now you’re teleporting between platforms while a little black dot thing follows you around???

Although a few reviews I’ve seen of Echo Delta paint the second half of this level as significantly weaker than the first because of how abstract it is, I think this allows for more room to interpret what this level is trying to tell us.

Regarding this part in particular, I instantly recognized the dark red flying dot as an AudieoVisual element, because I saw his hour-long video about his level, Rivers of Nazareth (which I will not be reviewing for the foreseeable future), and listened to him get really excited about slapping subtractive blending everywhere.

I also died like three times to the orbs at 58%. They look like pads, man.

60-69

This part is where one of two things happens: you’re like “omg is that a black hole are we going in it,” or you’re like “what the heck is happening.”

Let’s start with the gameplay. It’s all over the place, figuratively and literally. It’s not bad at all, nor is it “unsightreadable,” as the kids say, but it is weird. The gravity is all wack. It takes getting used to, but it’s cool.

Now the visuals. Oh man this part is eye candy. Easily the best part of this is the enormous eclipse in the background. Or black hole. Whatever. The sense of scale that this level previously had so much of ends with this part, but it ends with a bang. At first, this massive object is hardly visible because whatever light it’s blocking keeps shifting around, creating an effect of mystery. After a while, the light becomes permanent. It’s red, almost as if it’s warning you not to get closer. But you do anyway, and now you’re heading into an unknown realm.

The buildup into the next part happens thanks to our good friend, radius 100 bulge trigger. Thanks to our buddy, the object turns into a Wulzy effect video.

The part ends with a big jump, and that’s—wait, is that an impact frame? That’s right, this part ends with impact frames. That’s a detail I did not notice until I started writing this section of the review. And honestly, I’m glad I didn’t notice, because I now have the excitement of knowing this exists.

69-77

Honestly, I wasn’t sold on this part before. The mirror concept is cool, but the gameplay is a straight-line simulator. I like how the sphere in the middle bobs up and down.

77-81

Initially, I thought this part messed up my interpretation of the level: you visit a space station, something happens, then reality collapses. Except this part seemed less abstract than the parts before and after.

Now I realize that this is because you’re basically inside the event horizon of whatever anomaly is causing all of this madness. As you get closer and closer to the singularity, beyond everything you’ve known, the music builds more and more, the lines move faster and faster, and then you’re hit with the climax of your journey.

Now that fits into my headcanon perfectly.

81-85

White. All important levels end with a white screen.

The parallels with Rivers of Nazareth are mind-blowing. A white screen with a trippy line effect. Wow. I guess there isn’t that much to talk about here. You’ve done it. You’ve reached the singularity. And it’s empty. Sort of. There are swirls of red and orange, but not too much else. The music implies that this is what you wanted. It’s majestic. Climactic. A perfect end to this grand journey.

86-100

Wake up, babe. New wallpaper just dropped.

Your icon is no longer flying through the anomaly, but now it is falling through the infinite void of space. The camera zooms out a ton to highlight your loneliness. I thought this was done with a slider bypass, but it’s actually done with a pinch trigger set to absurd values. Genius.

What appears to be the planet from the start returns for this cutscene, but the bands of gas are gone, and barely anything is lighting up what’s left. The world is truly dead.

Final Thoughts

I was initially hoping this level would get a mythic rating. That’s how much I loved it. The efforts of Serponge, cometface, and AudieoVisual combined to create something far greater than the sum of its parts.

Echo Delta is not just an atmospheric level with a weird modern art display near the end. It’s the story of a journey into the unknown. That’s why it is so good, and that’s why I wish it made the Top 10.

Also Serponge and AudieoVisual are like my two favorite creators so having them build a level together filled me with joy. And no, Audieo, your part did not bring down the level in the slightest. You did great, man.

Echo Delta really is one of my favorite levels in the game.

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Dedicated to skibidigyatter69v2 – “here before you drop a review on echo delta”

This review originally had much harsher wording in some parts, but I changed it because I don’t want to come across as a mean person.

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If this girl tells me to hold her one more time, I might explode.

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Wandermyth is a megacollab that took months of planning and building to create the best masterpiece this game has ever seen, with meticulous playtesting, carefully crafted details, and truly masterful gameplay.

I'm kidding. It was built in 24 hours for the Geometry Dash All-Nighter contest.

There’s some good stuff here, but I also have a crap ton of nitpicks ranging from not important in the slightest to world-ending issues.

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I have a lot to say about this level, so I'll structure this with headings like a good boy.

Small warning, some of the stuff I say here can come off as aggressive. A lot of it was unintentional or me trying to goof around.

0-14: ZeroSR

This part is an absolute travesty of how trash it plays.

Normally, when people in the comments say a level has bad gameplay, their comment can be chalked up to a simple skill issue. Common examples are Noel Electra, which is learny but quite fun; Magmatic Sanctuary, whose second half is tough but immensely satisfying; and Citadel, which I would defend as one of the best easy demon legendaries in the game. Very rarely is a piece of gameplay so bad that it's not fun to play even after it's learned. I spent a good chunk of time playing this swing until I could get it consistent. Normally, consistency in a part biases my opinion in a level's favor. Not here. Once I learned this part, it just became a chore.

Here's why.

The first issues stem from the song. The song starts with straight 16th notes. That's not a rhythmic structure that's compatible with swing gameplay. With the gamemode choice itself being a mistake, the only way for this part to go is down.

My first time playing through this part, I had zero idea where I was supposed to go. Now, this level is an easy demon (or should be), so that shouldn't be a problem. It will get better. However, I was confused because some of the structures were unclear. They're pretty abstract, which, again, isn't necessarily a bad thing; it's just poorly executed in that the part looks more open than it is, and the coloring is concerningly similar to the background. There are also arrows that look like indicators but you aren't supposed to tap on them, and there are trails of pulsing objects meant to help you but are BARELY VISIBLE because the color choice is, again, very close to that of the background. I take great offense to that. :(

The icing on the cake for why I dislike this part lies in the sync. There is none. The inputs do not sync with the song in any way. Probably because the swing is paired with a part of the song that fundamentally does not work with it.

14-28: ZeroSR with Decoration by DangerKat + Hanstor

Continuing the trend of nonexistent sync, there are a few flashes that sync with absolutely nothing and are probably just there to make the level look better. Same thing with some glow bars. It's like the creators wanted to add something that would keep the part from being totally static, so they just threw in stuff that doesn't work.

On the bright side, this part is quite fun to play, which means that Zero can still redeem himself from whatever the heck that swing was. Congratulations.

28-42: ZeroSR with Decoration by ClingingBog

What do you mean Zero made this part?? You're telling me he made some of the worst swing gameplay I have ever seen and this complete BANGER of a part right here? This has to be a joke. The moving blocks has got to be one of the coolest gimmicks I've seen in a classic level in a while. Remember when people were creative with their gameplay? I don't. But this. THIS is creative. And it's fun! It presents an idea and develops it with different uses. Honestly, the level should've just been this. Easy epic.

I'm joking, obviously, but I want to see a full level out of this concept.

Now ClingingBog, the creator, told me they came up with the idea. They also told me to be more rude in this review so THIS IDEA SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for reading.

42-57: ImMaxX1

This part didn't stick out to me because there's nothing wrong with it. That may be giving mixed signals,

In all seriousness, this is a good part. It feels alive with pulses and movements that have reasons to exist DANGERKAT/HANSTOR, and the gameplay isn't too crazy but it's also mildly wonky and really flowy. Ahhh. Just the way I like it. Let's move on.

57-71: TPlive with Decoration by ewop

Oh look, this was decorated by the guy who submitted a medium demon to the Space Gauntlet Contest. Good times.

On Viprin's showcase, I wrote a comment ranting about how bad this part is and got this response from its creator:

"My bad bro" - TPlive

I felt so bad after reading that. I overreacted. It's not as bad as I made it out to be. It's pretty fun, actually. It is spammy compared to the rest of the level, but that's not a problem once learned. In fact, once learned, this part is good. Unlike the swing part.

My issues lie with the extreme verticality of the part without camera triggers to compensate. There are four orbs that are partly or entirely offscreen until you are about to hit them. There is also a UFO part that does have the camera move up so you can see, but that didn't stop me from thinking it was blind. Now, ewop decorated this part, so he could've gone back and touched up the camerawork a bit. But he did not. Unfortunate.

Anyway, I think the two of y'all could greatly benefit from some advice when creating parts with verticality like this. Here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovQDCxwpSb4

71-85: Arclia

OW MY EYES!!!!! I think the shader usage in the first half of this part is a bit much, especially compared to the shader usage in the second half of the part (there's basically none). I find it a bit odd that Arclia had a vision for the first half of her part that she did not follow through with. Yes, I know the level was made in 24 hours, but that doesn't explain the sudden drop in shaders. Either follow through or don’t use with 50 shader triggers. Weirdly enough, Arclia also built the gameplay, so there wasn't a reason to drop the intensity in decoration by as much as she did. Remember guys, it's okay to scrap ideas you aren't happy with.

In her defense, I didn’t watch all of her stream, so I don’t know the thought process even though it is probably accessible. #lazy

She also ends her part with a producer tag. This is the only part of the level with a producer tag. This reminds me of Emerald Realm.

85-100: DesticY with Gameplay by Arclia

So clearly Spacetime Continuum is an anomaly in DesticY's repertoire.

This is a really pretty part that caps off the level. It's smooth and flows well with the song, which sounds similar to the way it did at the beginning, where there's a swing atrocity. When the player hits a toggle orb, they turn into a little star that glides down. The glide does not start at the same Y position that the orb is hit at, which really bothers me. This is an example of a nitpick that nobody else has.

After all of that is an endscreen that definitely lasts longer than it needs to.

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Finally, I want to give some words to the song. It has the best lyrics ever written. They're so good, they are sung THREE TIMES throughout the level with the SAME VOCAL TONE AND TIMBRE. They're so emotionally moving, they are sung with this BREATHY VOICE that I would LOVE to hear more of because it's SO PRETTY.

So if you couldn’t tell, I may have some mixed feelings about the song.

The vocals get obnoxious quickly. At least the melody is catchy.

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Congratulations on getting to the end of this college essay of a review that took me NINETY MINUTES to write. Funny thing is, I actually quite like this level. It grew on me pretty quickly (except the swing). The gameplay's fun (except the swing), and the decoration is great. I think it should've gotten an epic rating.

If you say my review is too long, I will refer you to this video.

WHY DOES THIS HAVE 1478 WORDS.

Originally this review contained references to Arclia’s reaction stream, but I have removed them because writing them was cringe and rude. Shoutouts to Breadking.

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I guess this is what it feels like to get abducted.

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I can only think of three normal difficulty levels that were entries to the space gauntlet: Point of View, Starbladesaster (which I wrote a review for previously), and this. Out of those, Point of View is the only one I think actually should've been rated normal. For Abducted and Starbladesaster, I'm sure the rating was because of the visuals getting in the way.

This sounds like I'm going to write a negative review. However, if you would please consult the scores I've given for this level.

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First off: Decoration.

As many people have said, Abducted is very reminiscent of Next Cab Soon in its visuals. The comic book aesthetic is executed phenomenally, and in a solo level, which is pretty mind-boggling. Another thing I like about the visuals is the animations. They're extremely fluid, and in the parts where the characters change poses, the changes look seamless, almost as though they weren't programmed with move and rotate triggers (I think), but rather with a proper animation tool.

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Gameplay.

Unlike many levels of this difficulty, Abducted presents itself as a fairly difficult level. However, it holds your hand. Normally, I don't like levels that hold your hand the way Abducted does, but that's because nearly every level that does this has gameplay that's boring as heck anyway, so you really aren't missing anything by doing the bare minimum. Abducted, on the other hand, has engaging gameplay that you would actually want to play, comparable to that of a 9-star level. If you don't play the level properly, it's like you're missing something. This customizable experience is absolutely good gameplay in my eyes. It allows for new players to get a taste of harder gameplay without punishing them for it. Excellent way to start the gauntlet.

My one complaint is the circle minigame bit, which plays kinda weird. I always get a C grade. Must be a skill issue.

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Final thoughts.

Abudcted is not my favorite entry in the top 10. However, after playing it and watching it and playing it and...well you get the point, the reasons for its placement at the #1 spot become clear as day. The level is accessible. It has some semblance of a storyline. Its gameplay is engaging while also forgiving. It looks fantastic. It's a good time. Congratulations, Vegtam.

I do believe that this level is the pinnacle of Geometry Dash. No level before it nor after has approached the level of philosophical majesty that MarkiplierCORE has reached. Truly, Linear2 has ascended to kingdom come.

His name is MarkiplierCORE.

Hard to tell, but it looks like Mato likes screen effects.

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This level takes me back to the good old days of 2019. When 2 star levels were complete garbage in the gameplay department. Now, this level barely escapes the criticism of being a crappy 2 star by being rated 3 stars, but that is arguably worse in my opinion. Having played through the level a few times, it is clear that the 3 star rating comes from the obscene amount of screen effect triggers the level has. In fact, I'm going to open the level in the editor and find out how many screen effect triggers it has. (For the purposes of this review, screen effect triggers include anything that effects the screen and not gameplay.)

Originally, this level had 38881 objects. After removing all of the screen effects, it now has 36330 objects, which means 2551 objects are screen effects. That's 6.56% of the objects in the level. If I replaced all of the screen effects with Stereo Madness, the resulting level would have less objects than what I started with. That's impressive.

Honestly, this whole thing reminds me of when Wulzy deleted all of the glow from a level and then laughed at it for being bald.

Now, although the level looks extremely goofy without its makeup, the various set pieces look quite nice, which is why the legendary rating it received makes sense.

Finally, an excerpt from the comment I left on Viprin's showcase.

This level suffers from the typical pitfalls of 2 star gameplay, that being it doesn’t really have any. I get it. It’s hard to map 2 star gameplay to an intense song. It has been done, though! There are some great 2 star levels that capture intense songs through gameplay! Starbladesaster just isn’t one of them.

You don’t need a thousand camera triggers to capture the intensity of the song.

Overall, the level is decent, but the gameplay doesn't meet my expectations for a good 2 star level, let alone a legendary one.