Rating Curve

One of the standout levels from the end of 2.1. Boxing Boxes stands out in my mind primarily for its use of game design principles in its level design. It is still one of the only levels I know that excels at making gameplay that would normally be confusing and frustrating and turns it into something that is predictable and visually clear.

This level introduces gimmicks, something I'm not usually a fan of, in such an intuitive way and it builds on them throughout the level. The first gimmick you come across is the giant square that alternates between slamming the ground and the ceiling. You are introduced to these blocks by observing how they work in the first ship part, and then transitioning into a ball challenge where you have to puzzle your way around using your knowledge of how these blocks work. Unlike moving obstacles in most levels, these blocks move in such a predictable pattern that you can always rely on for the entire runtime of the level. On top of that, they are instantly recognizable with their visually distinct white design and arrow that indicates where the block will move next. This communicates to the player exactly what this object will do, something that almost every video game should be able to do when introducing a new mechanic.

After that, the player is introduced to these spring pads which launch you in the air. Once again, they are represented with a visually distinct design, this time being light blue. You are first shoved into one to demonstrate how the trajectory works, and then you are given a couple more to play with. After a couple of these, you are confronted with a pad that has a spike ceiling directly overhead. This interaction feels quite similar to the part from Back on Track with the jump pads and the spike ceiling. Since the player has almost certainly played Back on Track before, they are intuitively able to avoid this obstacle, or at least recognize it as an introduction to the fact that you can jump over these pads. This is genius level design where the creator is pulling from the player's knowledge of how the game works to make their otherwise confusing level more intuitive and fair which just tickles my brain the right way.

After this, the two mechanics are combined to make just the right amount of chaos. There are a couple more things this level does to spice things up such as the green floating platforms and the ability to fly in the middle of a moving white box, but this review is already getting too long. To wrap things up though, even after all the chaos, this level stands being incredibly fun to pull off. The gameplay is so intuitive despite the amount of moving stuff on the screen and I love it.

I'm usually pretty skeptical of 1.9 levels when I see them getting hyped up and that was also the case here. I can safely say though that I was really taken aback by how a level this old did so many things I've never seen before. This level is super fun despite having some pretty annoying memory gameplay which although obtuse, feeds into the theming quite well. The liberal use of invisible blocks in multiple different contexts is rather genius, and the theming and deco as a whole just look gorgeous. Whoever found this level dug up a real gem.

Metalface is a creator that has always intrigued me. They tend to stand out a lot from other design creators mainly for their use of black portals, but there's a lot of depth to their work beyond that. In N0 specifically, Metalface effortlessly blends designs reminiscent of intricate industrial architecture with the pixel aesthetic of retro games alongside super pretty colors that are perfectly tuned to their designs. This mashup of vibes and designs is such a crazy combination that Metalface executed beautifully to a song that completely matches the vibes of the level. There are mysterious sections such as the beginning, bubbly, fun sections such as the break, sections that are super fast and slick, and a slow glitchy ending. Then there's the gameplay. Wow it is so good. Every input feels super smooth and flows perfectly into the next set of inputs matching how slick the song and decoration are. There is so much crammed into this level that you can't help but have a blast with it. Experiencing this level is just about everything you could ask for.

This level is so cool. R3xx3r has become one of my favorite creators recently and I'm sad that he is likely quitting for a while.

I think this level hands down has the best implementation of an alternate path in all of GD. In my interpretation, this level shows the two different ways that man can interact with nature and ancient civilizations. We have to choice to respect it or ruin it. There are a bunch of little details I could mention, but I would like to highlight the giant hole at the beginning of the level on the alternate path that wasn't there in the normal path. The environment that you as the player interact with has changed drastically between the two paths and it feels like you are missing something. On this path, we are missing a giant fountain that was flowing full of water which is now completely destroyed with no trace of it left. This goes along with the narrative of a drought occurring in the alternate path so much so that the people of this civilization destroyed this fountain just to salvage its resources. The people of this alternate civilization also seem to have a huge obsession with space. There are an insane amount of telescopes scattered around and there is a rocket at the end of the level. This leads me to believe that the people of this civilization ran all of the earth's resources dry so much so that they were looking to escape earth in a desperate attempt to save their species. Ultimately, it failed though.

Both civilizations are completely static except for the flowing water from the normal path. This leads me to believe that both civilizations have been pushed to extinction for one reason or another. I think it is pretty obvious why that is the case for the alternate path, but it doesn't make sense for the normal path. My theory is that the people of this civilization are respectful enough of the environment as to not disturb it after the construction of the observatory and the water system. Since the giant water plant appears to power the ancient fountain systems from earlier in the level, I believe it was constructed to preserve the beauty of the ancient civilization's water system. Afterward, it was left alone in order to prevent a situation such as the one from the alternate path. Still, both civilizations left an area completely devoid of animal life, but one is remembered fondly by us, the players, while the other is remembered disdainfully.

Lore aside, the level is quite fun to play and has some interesting interactions with the environment. You really feel like an archeologist exploring the second attempt at civilization that has vacated the area. It is a much different type of archeology than is normally performed or associated with the word archeology. You feel like a detective trying to piece together what happened to the level and why. Most of this review is my interpretation of that mystery, but I'm eager to hear other interpretations.

This level has grown on me quite a bit since its release. Back then I thought Erou was justified winning in the GD awards that year lol.

What this level does extremely well is its theming. The level has an environmental message that is conveyed by having each structure and design feel truly alive. First of all, the heartbeat of the bright white part at the beginning breathes life into an otherwise static structure that feels imposing and indifferent. Secondly, the celestial designs in many parts I believe symbolize how it was the work of the cosmos to bring life to earth and how every living thing carries some of that beauty with it. Finally, the the nature-inspired parts complement the super pretty designs immaculately more than any other level I've seen. The song goes unbelievably well with the deco talking about how we should not give up on the environment as a civilization. This level is proof of that because there is still beauty to be found in every aspect of nature despite the grim future that is predicted to take place and we should do our best to preserve it.

The gameplay is so good. I won't elaborate much further, but it does go along quite well with my claim earlier about the level feeling alive. The level wants you to have fun and it is having fun along with you. These are such human qualities that feel unbelievably insane to capture in a geometry dash level.

The main reason I'm not giving this level is 10 is because the progression with the reduced visibility screen has never clicked with me. It was my main disappointment playing the level for the first time and it still continues today. I think the concept is rather genius, but the drop somehow fails to blow me away or give me chills like it seems to do for most people. I want it to work so bad but it just doesn't. Since this is the main gimmick of the level, it sadly sours the experience quite a bit.

This level is brilliant in every sense of the word and completely deserves the hype it got.

I like to think about this level from time to time because it perfectly captures what made geometry dash so intriguing to me when I was younger. I only had the lite version for a bit and would sometimes search images of GD levels online. I would get results such as old 1.6ish map pack levels and they always looked really cool to me. For some of the demons, I would think, "how do players even make their way through that?" The intimidating structuring and ToE-styled deco was super cool to me back then and will always be a deco style that I enjoy.

Future Demoness I think is an evolution of that style. The primary reason being that it heavily disregards the typical satisfaction one gets out of "standard" gameplay in favor of making some of the most interesting structures ever made in GD. While "core" style has mainly been attributed to overdecoration and static structures, I think Majacko's core levels always stood out for this mindset of making the structures first and then making the gameplay fit whatever was created. The level does not have the player in mind and makes it feel more like an environment rather than a linear experience.

Another thing this level does that I don't see many levels do today is completely block out one or a couple grid rows on the top and bottom of the screen from player access to make space for interesting designs. It really adds to the machine-like atmosphere of level.

While some parts may be sup-par and music sync is lacking, this is still one of the coolest levels of its era and there's a reason it stands out so much in my mind.

Wow! Just wow! This level leans harder into a theme more than any level I've ever seen. The deco is obviously there, but the commitment to the theme of training and mastering the art of becoming a ninja extends to gameplay and even to the editor itself! This level tests your precision by making you jump across insanely small posts and flying through very tight spaces and it tests your stealth by making you weave in and out of view in the wave part. Additionally, you get tested on your perception, memory, and scouting abilities through the giant puzzle.

This puzzle is the level's main draw and it's easy to see why. The concept of it is incredibly unique because in order to solve it, you have to go into the level editor to figure out the patterns and triggers that allow you to pass. This is a level of theming I have never seen in the game before. I won't bother explaining the whole puzzle since that will take a while, but it is such a brilliant idea that has some sub par execution. Most people who try to play this level end up not trying to solve the enormous puzzle themselves, but instead use an online guide to "cheat," completely bypassing the tests of memory and scouting required to master the art of the blade. This drags the level down a bit since it allows players to skip the most unique part of the level. I think this could have been executed better by making the search in the level editor a bit less obtuse to avoid driving players away from engaging with the level's main gimmick. As it stands though, the level is still a masterclass in level design and unique ideas that is held back by difficulty and execution.

This is one of those levels I like to come back to ever so often because it explores a typically unexplored emotion that appears during the holiday season: loneliness. You as a player in GD are unable to meet other players in level (not counting globed) so every environment you explore in this level appears lonely and isolating. However, the level is able to find comfort in that loneliness and convey it through the song, the gameplay, and the length, all of which are able to comfort you amidst the indifferent environments. It is a level that resonates with me a lot as an introvert and it helps to give me peace of mind despite whatever happens in my life.