Rating Curve

On the form of a geometry dash level

ex. 1

introduction: Sets up any design motif, color scheme, general mood, leading into the

body: The level unfurls and reveals the extent to which it can take the main ideas it has--in this level, a literal unfurling occurs as the platforms reveal their intricate mechanisms and light and warmth envelop the player until the

conclusion: With every trick played, the level is content to fade and descend. In this form, the level constitutes a greater journey than many overlong escapades despite a runtime barely over a minute.

so I avoid reiterating myself, most of the points from my "from her eyes flow" review apply here. The reason I figured this was relevant enough to comment on is because while that level only works because it matches the song, this level almost serves to enhance its song. On its own, the song is plainly lovely and bizarre vaporware, but in conjunction with the level it feels genuinely otherworldly. Outside of a few parts where the scaled up objects ruin the immersion, this level is a totally unreal experience that I think is worth watching regardless of how much you end up liking it.

I used to really adore this level but I'm kinda over the design principle of squares--coincidentally, this level is maligned by a bunch of fucken squares

The atmosphere this once had has unfortunately diminished over time from a handful of factors, but mostly the position it holds in the wider community and the song inspiring nothing but discontented apathy.

Imagine a world in which a level of this scope and ingenuity was designed with an entirely unique artstyle befitting the quality of the playing experience. The lightning segment and final boss are some of the best designed platformer gameplay that currently exists--they make you feel fuckin awesome as a player, despite not really being very difficult or even unreadable--and if it weren't for the somewhat tedious trek through the castle I might be inclined to call it the most fun platformer in its difficulty range. Imagine a world in which it was the most beautiful and fantastical platformer in its difficulty range, too.

This is a world in which thejshadow and MoistenedEgg are much too powerful.

isn't the entire point of this level to play it? who is sitting down for a viewing session of invisible deadlocked? adding this to my red string poster board of s3rios conspiracy theories

On exclusivity, obscurity, and anonymity

Levels like this are exactly the reason I wish there was an option to leave a review without rating, because I think work like this is the perfect opener for a discussion about what people pursue in art. Believe me, once I can remove my rating, I will--I do like this level, sorta, but--we'll get to it.

The pursuit of obscurity is incredibly enticing to some artists. Not obscurity in the sense that no one cares about your work, but rather that only the RIGHT group of people cares. On this site, this level has found its audience, which I am totally thrilled by. If this resonates with you, I respect that entirely! What doesn't quite sit right with me is how this desire for an ingroup becomes alienating and can separate the humanity from the work. To me, this level feels cold. It's almost impossible to decipher what person could create this level; to some people, the appeal becomes the alien feeling that this level appeared without a creator.

Art is a human urge, or, that's the way I see it (I'm sorry, please bear with me). The throughline of society has been the urge to immortalize said societies through works of art, works that survive on a greater timescale or capture a greater meaning than the people who made it. Passion for art spawns from connection between people, and while obscuring the origin of creation might spark intrigue or fleeting fascination, it means I can't ever love this level the same way I can some intricately woven set of designs or clever use of the game as a medium.

That brings me to my actual issues with the level, which is that in all its effort in capturing a mood, presenting an experience, or however you might call it, the visuals plainly lack the level of creativity in fields of color and design that I would expect from something truly affecting (again with the understanding that this might not be the same metrics others value in levels). Same goes for the actual level-ness of the level, which is entirely secondary--often I tend to be upset by works similar to this because they are designed almost exclusively for a viewing experience. While they might be visually enticing, the medium allows for SO much freedom in the playing experience that is almost entirely ignored by the level.

This level is unique, in ways, but it also falters in so many familiar fashions. I fear that its immediate status as a cult classic is more notable than any of the features of the level itself.

While I feel that auto levels as a concept are a bit uninteresting, given that GD is a game and all, this level captures an ethereal feeling through its lack of gameplay rather than in spite of it. The entire experience is representative of feeling out of control as the world dissolves around you, and tying in the medium to the meaning in this way is the best way to approach creation (from my perspective as the resident player). Outside of the unique structure of this level, cometface delivers intricate alien designs in an earlier form than he would go on to later perfect which grants the level a sort of primitive alien feel to the architecture and the dreamlike imagery cements the beauty of the experience. Take a breath, feel the release of gravity, and accept the bliss of your fate.

The approach to story and theming emulates many a known classic (like the alliterated weather levels from a little while earlier) but with such a fresh, breathtaking style and a vibrance in the gameplay and decoration that very few have been able to match. The only real shortcomings of this level come from para's underdeveloped editor skills at the time and a strange tone shift at the endscreen. On one hand, I wish para would have continued on this route, but on the other, I'm not sure he would have been able to ever quite capture this feeling again. electrifying

Hypno realizes that passion does not have to compromise streamlined design; this level has quickly skyrocketed to become one of my favorites of all time due to the convalescence of these too-often disparate philosophies. It's very difficult to meaningfully review a level in which nearly everything is perfectly placed.

Me and Xuser have already talked ad nauseam about this level, so I'll keep this brief: we both generally concur on the fact that the shop and item system is pretty contrived and that trying to ham in a sort of linear progression to an open level was probably overly ambitious. I brought up at one point that the ideal version of this level might not have any actual gameplay aspects at all and rather just exist as a world to explore and marvel at all the brilliantly placed details and beautiful, intricate designs.

The thing is, this version of the level still exists within the level! The combo system is extremely enjoyable, so it certainly doesn't detract from the experience and it incentivizes exploration. Once you've completed enough, anyways, you can unlock every orb type and even a nice zoom out on the camera and the UFO gamemode to freely roam and this truly stunning world unfolds before you, and having worked so hard for it, it almost means more.

So, I think I changed my mind about the ideal version of this level. The ideal is that it exists at all. Which it does. Isn't that lovely?