Rating Curve

Hexagon Force is a level that has lost a lot of its charm imo, mostly due to introducing some of the most annoying gimmicks in the game.

This level introduces both slopes and dual gameplay gimmicks. Slopes continue to haunt GD players over a decade later as they are responsible for more buggy levels than just about any other gimmick. Both in classic and platformer slopes are annoying af to deal with. That being said, they are revolutionary for allowing creativity both in gameplay and deco.

Dual is possibly the second buggiest gimmick after slopes. There are so many asymmetrical dual parts in rated levels that just don’t work as intended, leading to lots of frustrating deaths.

That being said, RobTop did what he could to make both the slope and dual gameplay in this level enjoyable. The first coin in the ball part is one of the more satisfying RobTop coins imo, not sure why.

The first dual does a great job of showcasing the potential for both symmetric and asymmetric dual gameplay.

The orb spam and mini ufo parts after it are enjoyable, and it’s cool that there’s an unintentional speed portal skip that can be used to save time in speedruns during this part.

The second dual is probably the most intimidating part of this level, but once you learn how to do it it’s very easy. The dual ship is probably the more intimidating part than the dual ball for veterans. I also appreciate you can skip one of the ball clicks in this dual to make it even easier

The last third of this level is kind of forgettable imo. You have an intimidating cube part with lots of slopes and then a slow dual ship part.

I remember being hyped beating this level because it unlocks the creeper icon - when the icon you unlock is more exciting than the level itself, you know the level’s experience isn’t really the highlight of the level.

I used to love this level but it’s not as good looking back on it and I find it one of the more boring / annoying RobTop levels these days.

Electrodynamix probably has the best song of any base game level. Both the in-game version and the full extended version are absolute bangers and it’s always a joy to hear this song in a level

This level introduces speed portals, which can either be the best gimmick or the worst gimmick ever added to GD - the pain of dying to an unsightreadable 4x speed part at the end of an XXL level is ridiculous. That being said, speed portals are used to great effect in this level, with the second drop 3x speed portal being one of the most intimidating parts of any RobTop level

There’s lots to praise about the gameplay of this level - the UFO is very unique, the ship parts are a great test of ship control, and the cube parts do a great job of testing your sightreading skills at higher speeds

Overall; this is a Top 3 RobTop level for me. I remember popping off so hard when I finally beat this after 2800 attempts, grinding this is one of my most nostalgic memories of my noob days in this game

Clubstep was the first demon I ever beat. It took me like 3400 attempts or something like that.

The first cube is a solid memory part - it forces you to lock in when playing from 0% which helps to minimize deaths in normal

The first ship is iconic and birthed the infamous Clubstep Monster. I always straightflied through the final ship corridor because I could never remember where the invisible spikes were

The next cube and ball are cool but I always think of the PG Clubstep equivalents when I think of those parts.

The mini UFO is a very annoying checkpoint and is probably the only part that might kill me as a GD veteran.

The second drop is very tricky and requires the most practice, which forces the player to learn efficient practicing techniques like startpos abuse or disabling automatic checkpoints. The mini ship parts are brutal as a beginner but easy as a veteran, making this part very satisfying to master. The second to last ship part is probably the hardest part with very precise mini ship control. The final ship is choke able which makes it a satisfying conclusion.

Overall this is an incredible first main game demon, and the fact that it has spawned more demon remakes than any other demon level is a testament to how great it is. RobTop was really ahead of his time when designing this level, it’s really that good

Electroman Adventures has one of the best songs in the main game, yet another banger from the GOAT Waterflame.

As for the gameplay, it’s inoffensive but very forgettable imo. The most unique part is the first part with the breakable blocks and one of the most well hidden coins in the main game. Everything else kind of blends together.

This level did inspire Gigichad adventures which is peak GD

Theory of Everything has one of the best songs of any RobTop level imo, with the recognizable MYSTERY PIANO!!! The entire song is beautifully composed and the final part of the song is always a joy to listen to.

As for the gameplay, it’s a bit forgettable imo. The standout parts are definitely the UFO, but that’s to be expected as it’s the introduction to the UFO

The second coin in the mini ship is still one of the scariest coins of any RobTop level.

Overall, a good level. Not as memorable as it could have been, but it’s fine for what it is imo.

Clutterfunk was the level that I watched more than any other level as a kid - the song just gets so catchy during the final cube that I was addicted to it

Unfortunately, playing this level is a lot less fun than watching it imo. This level introduces the mini portal - an absolute game changer with the potential for good or bad.

It takes a lot of practice to get used to the mini cube parts as you have to learn a whole new trajectory for cube jumps. Additionally, the ship parts are extremely tight, much harder than anything else up to this point. All three coins are challenging imo, making this one of the scariest levels to go for in a 100% Speedrun.

The highlight of this level is the final cube imo, mostly because of the song. This cube is just so unique compared to any other RobTop cube part - it manages to be repetitive while also feeling interesting.

Unfortunately, the final cube does not make up for the annoying ship parts imo, and overall I don’t enjoy this level nearly as much as I did as a kid. I’d still consider this a Top 5 hardest RobTop level, much harder than Hexagon Force imo

This level is noteworthy for inspiring Future Funk, one of my personal favorite levels of all time

As I said on my Base after Base Review, I think Xstep and Base After Base are the two RobTop levels you could cut out of the game without anyone really minding

The most memorable thing about Xstep is that it has some of the most annoying user coins in the base game - all three of them are annoying imo.

The third user coin in particular has to be one of the hardest timings in any RobTop level, I swore that jump was frame perfect as a kid.

Compared to the other insane RobTop levels, this level has less hard cube parts and more tight ship control parts which make it a gentle introduction to harder ship gameplay. The ball parts are also nothing to sneeze at, with some tricky Nightmare esque sequences.

Overall, this level is just forgettable. It’s inoffensive and I guess more interesting than Base after Base, but that’s a low bar to clear

As a kid I hated Cycles but the level has really grown on me. The song is the first of many “moody” slow burner songs that would become popular through this game.

I always found this a weird choice because it introduces the first new game mode since Stereo Madness - the ball part. I would have expected a glorious symphony to introduce this new game mode similar to Stereo Madness, Theory of Everything, Blast Processing, Fingerdash, and Dash, but no, in this level you just get a moody drop part. This subversion of expectations makes the level stand out to me as one of the more memorable RobTop levels.

Aside from the constant triple spikes and the first ball part in GD history, another highlight of this level is the ship part with all the gravity portals. This part was so hard for me as a kid even though it’s really just the same pattern over and over. It gives you enough flexibility to play with the ship while also training you to learn ship control.

Finally, the third coin of this level is incredibly designed, it’s one of the few coin routes in the RobTop levels that feels like a true extended secret path

Overall, this level is an acquired taste but one of the better OG RobTop levels imo

Time Machine introduces my least favorite gimmick in all of Geometry Dash: mirror portals

That being said, this level is quite solid. Any WaterFlame song is bound to make for a good level and Time Machine is no exception.

The level uses a good mix of triple spike jumps, upside down, and mirror portals to create a variety of difficult parts. In that sense I think this is the first level to provide a good variety of challenges compared to the first 7 levels

The final ship part paired with the best part of the song has to be one of the most satisfying RobTop parts as a newbie, honestly this level is great if you ignore all the painful mirror portal levels it led to

Jumper is a fan favorite and I think that’s for good reason. This is the first song from the GOAT Waterflame in the main campaign (excluding the practice mode song) and it is such a relaxing change of pace that is mathematically programmed to brighten your day

This level introduces the upside down ship mechanic - a mechanic that would come to haunt players in Update 2.2 due to the upside down ship gravity physics change.

The cube parts are memorable, with ceiling pillars repeated throughout, making this level stick out compared to the first 6 levels.

Overall, I think this level deserves its reputation as one of the best OG RobTop levels