Rating Curve

Death Moon is the crowning achievement in the catalogue of one of the very best to ever build in Geometry Dash. It feels unfair to compare this to other 1.9 levels because this was years ahead of its time. It achieves everything it sets out to do, with elegance, character, craftsmanship, and sophistication. It's aged like a fine wine, and uses many techniques that are still popular to this day.

Even though it could be classified as a dreaded 'red-hell-themed demon', it distinguishes itself visually through the use of art and effects. There's some really great line art all through this level, from demonic symbols to the iconic drop that appears in time with the song. The effects are brilliantly executed as well, from the rushing effect in the first section, to the alternating arrows in the middle, to the crazy spinning triangles, to the cycling background at the climax. It's no wonder people immediately started wondering if this was really a FunnyGame level as soon as it released - who else was capable of this? On top of the brilliant effects and art are surprisingly mature block and hazard designs as well - squares and triangles are often dropped for more interesting shapes, which makes the gameplay feel more interesting as well.

The gameplay in Death Moon is effectively flawless. It comes from a time of much simpler gameplay philosophy and style, so there's nothing mindblowing, but it's still full of creativity. FunnyGame obviously believed sync was extremely important and nowhere is this more prevalent than here. So many sections have brilliant sync in clever ways - it's all just so well thought out. Difficulty progression is fantastic as well, with earlier sections being a little easier than the fast-paced sections in the middle and towards the end. It's never unfair and the more unique sections (like the first dual and wave) keep it simple to avoid overwhelming the player. It's not a hard level, but players of any skill can enjoy this level, which is a massive achievement.

There's so much to unpack with Death Moon that it's hopeless to even attempt to cover it all in a single review. Many people regard it as the greatest level of all time, and for good reason too. It makes a mockery of most levels released today. Will it ever be topped?

Is there a more accurate name in Geometry Dash? Cloud Nine is pure bliss from the moment it starts to the very end. This is a level that deserves to go down in the history books.

Cloud Nine is a very cluttered level visually - there is a lot going on at all times. Just looking at the design of the level, there's so many layers, different colours, different pulses, different styles and themes, that it would stand on its own without any kind of movement or special effects. Naturally, this level is full to the brim with movement and special effects which elevate the experience to the next level. It feels like every bit of decoration moves and pulses in time with a different part of the song. Rising synths are paired with upward moving effects on the side of the screen and every heavy bass hit is paired with a shake and a delicious effect transition. Interestingly though, there are very few static blocks that move, which helps to retain fairness and sightreadability (and it doesn't make the level feel any more static). Colours are vibrant and unpredictable, and generally work very well (although the orange lava at 25% sticks out as a rare misfire), especially when paired with the large amounts of black and white in the level. The decoration also consistently works in tandem with the level's gameplay.

Simply put, this is quite possibly the best gameplay ever made. It's a memory level that's so intuitive it doesn't even feel like a memory level. Every movement feels deserved and necessary. Every choice feels like the right choice. Click patterns are not always on beat, but always have a natural rhythm. Difficulty is consistent across the entire level. Even the slower ending, which might look awkward, is tuned to perfection, which makes it a satisfying and fair conclusion to an extraordinarily high-energy level. The section at around 36% deserves recognition for both gameplay and decoration, but the way the spider and wave icons move here is so impressive. Vlacc's spider gameplay is the best around.

Cloud Nine feels like it's flown under the radar. There should be more praise, more dicussion, analysis of this level. Creators should aspire to reach the heights that this did. SoDaZ and Vlacc really did bring the game one step closer to heaven.