Rating Curve

Giving Golden Hope a formal review, or even rating its decoration and gameplay, would be a disservice to the level. It's comfortably the best April Fools level of all time.

...What do you mean this isn't the Terron level?

If there were any doubt that 2.2 was yet to have a killer level, those doubts have been put to bed upon the release of Skeletal Shenanigans. Anyone cognizant of YoReid can recognize that there are few creators with as much talent, knowledge, and expertise of what makes for a good artistic experience and they've quite simply blown all their previous work out of the water here.

YoReid was definitely one of the leading creators in 2.1, but Airzyy is a name fewer people will be aware of, having found notoriety much more recently. If this is to be their true breakout, there's fantastic things to come. Visually, this level is a treat with theming on a level rarely seen in Geometry Dash. For a relatively normal-length level to have such complete worldbuilding is a real feat but it feels very deserved. Charming animations and usage of SFX (something very difficult to do tastefully in a classic level) complement the fun art style and progression. The titular skeletons are the perfect level of silly, while the boss manages to be threatening without being scary. There's brilliant usage of really quick effects throughout the level and so many tiny details that it's impossible to even notice all of them, let alone discuss them in a review. The decoration never comes at the cost of readability either - it's always easy to tell what's safe to touch and what isn't. The endscreen is also a fantastic bit of art and really adds to the experience.

Skeletal Shenanigans is also a real joy to play. The gameplay is quick and engaging and there's little in the way of awkward balancing - just a couple of clicks are recognizably harder than most. It syncs brilliantly, is well structured, and doesn't feel excessively repetitive. The downhill cube is utterly fantastic, and is one of the best executions of the idea in any level. The boss is apparently controversial, but it probably shouldn't be. Attacks are semi-random, are well telegraphed, and are easy to dodge if you know how they work. It avoids the memory-based pitfalls of the famous -Sirius- while retaining and similar style of bossfight. The biggest (and certainly most valid) criticism you'll see is that of performance, as Skeletal Shenanigans tanks on low-end devices. It's a shame, because it's such a fantastic experience on more powerful devices, but at the end of the day, if a level cannot be enjoyed by everyone purely because of performance issues, there's a problem, and it's a big hit against this level.

One has to wonder, that when a level becomes as popular as this, if people become unfairly critical, and expect perfection. There's also a question of people taking out their struggles in beating a level that isn't trivial (due to a bossfight with random attacks) on the creator. This isn't to suggest that all complaints can be refuted with "skill issue" - different people have different strengths and weaknesses when playing - but to point out some double standards and hypocrisy within the community.

Perhaps with better optimization (likely on RobTop's end and not the creators), this would be considered an all-time great level. Some call it "slop" - a quite frankly ludicrous accusation that reeks of laziness on the reviewer's behalf. Regardless of the unnecessary hate, This is the best level we've had so far in this update, and it bodes very well for the future. Hopefully, this will be remembered as a landmark.

Slightly amusing name aside, Gumshot actually holds up on its own as pretty enjoyable megacollab experience. qMystic's projects (especially those from around this era) can be wildly inconsistent, so this was a very pleasant surprise. On the surface it may look like a standard affair, but the attention to detail in Gumshot should not be overlooked.

qMystic's recruitment for design creators is generally good, and it's safe to say that the team assembled here is a really good one. No part looks especially poor (although some of the earlier parts leave a little to be desired) and no one part stands out above the rest. Obviously, when the colour scheme and style of a megacollab is fixed it's easy to make some surface level consistency, but Gumshot goes beyond. Pulses are used expertly for the majority of this level. It should really be a case study - the pulses add so much energy and they sync very well. There's also a myriad of transitions through the latter parts which add a lot of (forgive the pun) flavour to an already (forgive the pun) delicious visual (forgive the pun) treat. They add a bit of personality as well, so they do more than just seamlessly get you from one part to the next. Some parts throw in a few more colours than the pink and cyan, and these do make a nice chance, it's easy to wish that the level either decided that all the parts would do this, or that none of them would, because it does add a little bit of inconsistency.

Gumshot isn't just a spectacle, because the gameplay is up to the task of backing up the visuals. It's a very balanced level overall with only a couple of awkward sections dotted through the duration. Click patterns are generally enjoyable and feel right which is VITAL for a level of this intensity. There's not really any new ideas here, but that can be forgiven as it's in no way a must - but you'd be forgiven for feeling like this level could have helped in starting a trend of gameplay creators in megacollabs playing it a bit too safe in order to increase output. That's not a hit on this level, though, and certain parts (like those near the end) have got some juicy flow to them, and they make the level worth giving a shot, even if you've got to get through the slightly amateurish execution of the earlier ameplay sections. However, it does feel like Gumshot could have taken its zany theme further when it comes to gameplay, because a good portion of the drop is rather forgettable, and there's not many worse fates for a level.

Gumshot likely attracted much attention because of its name and borderline thumbnail-bait endscreen (a testament to its quality and in no way a strike against the level), but get past all of that and you'll find a surprising amount of quality backing it up. It's in no way a revolutionary level, and it might not stick in the conscience of most who beat it, but it is far from a bad level. There's quite a lot to chew on here.

Supersonic was an instant hit on release. Extremely difficult, full to the brim with top creators, and with high-energy pacing throughout, it's easy to see why it was so beloved. Its success led to the equally beloved Ultrasonic, and then to the (initially) controversial Hypersonic and Subsonic. It's clear this level has a deep legacy, but how does it hold up?

A 1.9 level full of top creators is almost guaranteed to be well decorated and this is no exception. There's multiple standout sections - Jeyzor's iconic multicoloured wave leads to a really cool ufo section where invisible saws are indicated by pulsing white objects, DaddePro expertly weaves effects into the sole slow part, Evasium's (known here as Tootti) dual has some cool chevron-esque decoration in the background, which adds to the feeling of speed, and Gboy's purple part is one of the highest quality in the level. Sections like these have inspired countless creators ever since. Of course, there's some weaker sections, like Sumsar's, which isn't bad, it's just not interesting, and also Xcy7's, which, while complimented with a pretty unique colour scheme, doesn't try anything particularly of note, and ends up being forgotten compared to the parts after.

Naturally, Supersonic is more remembered for its difficult gameplay. This was one of the hardest levels in the game upon release, and it's got some revolutionary gameplay in it. The quality of this gameplay is very mixed. Many parts, especially in the first half, are a standard (if challenging) affair, and certain parts (like Xcy7's) are somewhat enjoyable, but there's nothing that stands out. It really gets interesting at Evasium's dual, which has a particularly awkward click pattern in the first half, and a very challenging dual ball second half, which feels very inconsistent to play. It's a nasty difficulty spike, and one which often feels unfair. Immediately after this, Gboy adds insult to injury with a phenomenally awful transition - this really does feel like complete chance, and it either spells instant death, or an extremely unconvincing entrance into what is otherwise a pretty standard ship section. Viprin's ball maze requires a mention - it's nothing special here (hardly more interesting than the one in RobTop's Theory of Everything 2), and it's far outclassed by the other three entries in the series, but at least it's interesting. The ending is a little difficulty spike as well, but while hard, it doesn't really come at the cost of enjoyment, and it's a serviceable end to the level.

It would be wrong to write off Supersonic as nostalgia fodder; there's quality to be found here. The reality is though, that it's outclassed by later 1.9 levels in every way. The main thing it does have going for it is its memorability - throughout the years, Supersonic has never come close to being forgotten. It's a popular entry point into insane demons, and while it may not be the absolute best, it's certainly better than Panasonic.

Valor is about as 2.0 as it gets. Long, messy, lacking any form of consistency or cohesion, and carried to relevancy entirely by its publisher's reputation. Having said all that though, 2.0 megacollabs certainly come far worse than this - and it's an early example of a level where progression is the most important factor, even if unintentionally.

For its time, this level was nothing special and time has not been kind. One of the crowning achievements of Valor is how memorable it manages to be despite being chiefly comprised of extraordinarily forgettable decoration. In fact, the first half of this level often cycles between extremely boring, safe decoration, and vintage 2.0 chaos with static backgrounds and far too much glow. One of the earlier parts, built by TheDevon, does manage to mostly succeed in its goals, and there's a few inoffensive parts around the middle, but this level's visuals seriously kick into gear at Krmal's section, which signals the start of the second half. In traditional Krmal style, it's complete visual bedlam, and it's weak for a creator with such heights as Falling Up and Black Blizzard, but at least it's interesting! The decoration peaks at the drop, which is serviceably designed by Asriel96, and, while basic, HexHammer's part shortly after is decent enough for what it is. Valor is definitely stronger in its latter half, but an undecorated layout would probably suffice there.

Valor has a reputation amongst those who have beaten it. The balancing is mindboggling - there's very little difficulty until it slows down, and then it skyrockets into borderline unfair territory at Krmal, before dropping back down to just challenging. Of course, the final wave is nonsense and almost adds an element of luck, but judging a 2.0 level for its ending is like judging a child on its calculus ability. Despite the awe-inspiring lack of balance, there's a lot of gameplay in this level that is just okay, and some of it (specifically towards the end of the level, post-Krmal) could even be classified as generally enjoyable, but it's easy to forget this in the red-mist-filled haze after your fourth 96% death. Still, credit must be given where it is due, especially to HexHammer, who manages to perfectly craft gameplay to accompany an extremely intense crescendo in the song. Their minicube maze is a fantastic way to approach the end of a level, and does a lot of heavy lifting in making Valor a tolerable experience.

Valor has undeniable charm. Granted, most 2.0 megacollabs do (it seems to be inversely related to level quality), but it feels deserved here. Maybe it's the sheer audacity of the balancing. Maybe it's the inspiring quote in the endscreen. Maybe it's simply nostalgia. We can't know for sure. It's definitely there, though, because the two sequels (Mystic and Instinct) have not shown to have that thing that this does. It might be a level for the brave, but Valor feels more like a level for the clinically insane.

WOOGI1411 is a legend of the creating scene. Their breakout levels in 1.9 were consistently delightful, and they carried this momentum into 2.0 with the fantastic extreme demon Retention. Slightly bizarre name aside, this level is an absolute joy in every way, and feels like a celebration of everything that makes the famous creator's levels so beloved.

Retention modernises its creator's style for 2.0 standards, introducing movement, much more dynamic decoration, and even a cheesy "Yeah!" near the end. Colours in this level are always beautiful (a particular highlight is the greyscale section near the start, which is complimented by some really nice usage of muted colours to add a bit of life. It sounds boring but it works very well) and structuring is chaotic and messy, exactly what you'd expect. Handily, visibility isn't lost in this clutter. It's surprisingly easy to see what's happening at all times, even when the icon is being teleported all over the screen.

The gameplay in Retention is the true standout. It's a career best for a creator known for enjoyable and satisfying gameplay, with brilliantly creative duals, sync, and icon movement. Very few creators are able to make the icon move around the screen in a way as enjoyable as this. It's also a very fair level - there's very few chokepoints and it's largely down to pure skill, aside from the initial memorisation of some of the more complicated sections. The drop is high energy but surprisingly intuitive, and a little more difficult than previous sections which makes it feel deserved when you pass it and reach the climax. Starting just after an unfortunately difficult timing (which sticks out like a sore thumb), the climax of Retention is unfairly good. It's a chaotic and fast paced cube section, which could certainly be crowned the greatest cube section ever built. It's one of those parts you really have to play from zero to understand (perhaps akin to the mountain in Nhelv, by SirGuillester?) and elevates an already great layout to the next level. The sections after this are fun as well, albeit a little tamer in comparison.

The modern age of Geometry Dash produces so many brilliant levels that it's easy to forget levels from the past. Retention has a feeling about it that very few modern levels can capture, and it's an experience any worthy player should absolutely not miss, because it's a level that will stick with you.

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?

Marathon is the ultimate memory demon. It's not the hardest memory level (even though it's much harder than it looks and thoroughly deserves its extreme demon rating) but no other level in the game leans into the pure memory gimmick as much as this. Most impressive though, is how a level with such simple decoration, limited to only cube gameplay for over 4 minutes, manages to remain so engaging for its entire duration.

The decoration in Marathon is reminscient of the decoration found in early Geometry Dash levels, but it doesn't categorise itself under any specific update other than being primarily pre-2.0. Sections are typically comprised of suitably basic block deco and one main colour, although there's some subtle pulsework in many parts which is certainly more similar to modern levels. None of this is to say the level is ugly though; it's actually consistently pleasant to look at, and the sheer number of ideas constantly being used makes every part feel unique. Later sections also typically are more interesting to look at, not only through pulses, but also through art and sculptures. It's easy to find this level a little too plain (especially in the earlier, longer, slower sections) but there's undeniable charm to be found here.

The gameplay is the more interesting feature of this level. This is a long level and to have constantly evolving memory gameplay using only pre-2.0 cube gameplay is a serious feat. Marathon is backed by a frantic, ever-accelerating song which means that the gameplay is constantly speeding up, which allows for later sections to feel a lot more lively than the first few. While the first four sections are a standard (yet high quality) memory section, and the fifth is the same but mini, most sections from here all use a slightly different gimmick. There's chaotic messes of floating platforms, repetitive mazes where rhythm is the only guide, a completely airborn section using only orbs which houses a brilliant trick, surprisingly well-synced duals, and the iconic blind section near the end. There's also a few sections where memory takes a backseat in favour of pure timings - these are very welcome and don't take anything away from the level as a whole. Perhaps the only real flaw is a reliance on a few particularly difficult timings to really crank the difficulty up. These chokepoints are annoying but probably unavoidable in a level like this. The timing aspect of Marathon is actually the main source of difficulty, because this is not a level that completes itself once learnt. From 0, this is a slog of a level and can be as much a mental challenge as a physical one.

It's difficult to compare Marathon to most other levels because it's so different to what we're used to, which is interesting because it seems like it should feel like quintessential Geometry Dash. That's no problem though - much like a real marathon, the experience of completing it speaks for itself.

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.

WELL RESTED is the icon of 2.1's neodesign boom. It's lengthy, ambitious, marvelously crafted, and oozing with charm. One question though - does it live up to the hype? It's a lengthy level, and it does a lot in its 7:20 runtime, but you'd be forgiven for thinking it could have done more. At the same time, you might end up wondering if it really used all of those 7 minutes to their fullest.

Across the board, the visuals in WELL RESTED are a treat. For the entire duration, colours pop, there's always just the right amount of movement on screen, and little pieces of art fly by. It's truly wonderful stuff. The best part is obviously the drop, which is without a doubt one of the greatest sections ever built in a Geometry Dash level. The way it opens up, bursting into life - a review is never going to do it justice so I'm not going to bother here. Playing it is the only way to experience the brilliance of the drop. Decoration isn't perfect for the entire duration of the level (which would be spectacular considering its length), as later sections feel like repeats of earlier sections. It's okay to follow a theme but showing the player effectively the same thing for three minutes is risky business. Still, these repetitive parts are also repetitively very high quality.

WELL RESTED falters in its gameplay - or rather its playing experience. Outside of a couple of rogue clicks, there's nothing offensive here; no difficulty spikes or chokepoints. Unfortunately, there's just not much of anything here. So much of the gameplay in this level just exists. It's mainly just standard cube gameplay, where you jump from floating platform to floating platform. WELL RESTED spends more time in cube gamemode than weoweoteo's famously cube-only XXL level Marathon, and most of it is so devoid of interest that it makes parts of this level a chore to get through. At least the other parts inject some variety into the gameplay (and the drop's gameplay holds up to the decoration!).

This feels like a level that is almost there. Neodesign rarely looks better than this in flashes and this is 7:20 of level-of-the-year worthy stuff. To watch, this is a masterpiece. It's a shame it doesn't hold up to play. Absolute GD Cinema?