Rating Curve

Picture this:

It's the middle of 2018, I'm sitting on my computer doing all the things an average autistic 12 year old would be doing, when I come across a video on my youtube recommended. "Top 5 favorite Geometry Dash levels," by Aeon Air. I click on the video, since "top x favorite y of all time" content still appealed to me at that time, for whatever reason. The usual suspects of the time pop up: subsonic, blast furnace, etc. By the time the #1 spot comes around, my mind is racing. It feels as though he's touched on every level I could possibly associate him with, but he hasn't mentioned his all time favorite at all yet. What could it be? Bloodbath? Yatagarasu?

No.

The level kicks off, and the gameplay AND deco both look totally unfamiliar. A piano starts playing in the background - a really pretty one. I've never seen this level in action - screw that, I've never even HEARD of it before. All that I know is that something about this level just...feels different. Looking at the deco and listening to the song don't exactly impress me like most other "good" levels that I know, but they make me FEEL something. A certain calmness, serenity even. Immediately after the video ends, I feel an intense compulsion to play the level myself. Even though its only 9 stars, the gameplay gives me that same feeling. I give it a few attempts and quit, since A. I sucked back then and B. my attention deficit issues were even worse than they are now. However, I do eventually get around to beating it much later down the line, and let me tell you - the feelings never quite went away.

That, my friends, is the story of how I was introduced to the concept of a GD level well and truly having an ATMOSPHERE. I had the capacity to be impressed by how levels looked, but never before had a level really made me feel a type of way while playing it. The gameplay and deco are both just so relaxing, and the song only helps to permeate that vibe. I now consider atmosphere to be one of if not THE most important component to the quality of a level, and it all started right here. Thank you, Aeon. Thank you, xcy7. It's so peak.

Side note, the song was so good to me that I searched for it on youtube, leading to me discover Angel Beats! which to this day holds the title of being the only show to ever make me ugly cry while watching it.

While nostalgia is ABSOLUTELY carrying the hell out of this rating for me, I really don't care that much. This is one of my favorite non-demons in the whole game, and probably my all time favorite level that's <5 stars.

Sure, I can agree that the gameplay is just kind of whatever. Being a 3 star doesn't leave a whole lot of room for creativity on that front. But, if you ask me, the easy and low-cps nature of the gameplay actually does quite a service for the theme of the level. It really sells the idea of slowly walking through a cavern chock-full of pretty crystals and cool geodes. However, it's still pretty easy to see that the decoration and atmosphere is doing most of the heavy lifting when it comes to selling the idea that the level is trying to convey. I've always been a sucker for nice 1.9 designs, and this level executes them in a way that serves the theme so well. A darkened cave illuminated by beautiful neon lights.

Also, using a TMM43 song is just a straight up cheat code for nostalgia, so that's like +1 million points right there.

Look, the level in isolation is great. The gameplay works for it's difficulty and the visuals are absolutely STUNNING. Like, holy hell, this might be the best 1.9 level by pure deco in the entire game, it's just beautiful. However, by just those metrics, the level should still, at the very most, land like an 8/10 for me. So why is it a 10?

Some of you may not remember this, but during the stream npesta did the night that 2.2 dropped, this is one of the first levels he played to test the new physics. I remember seeing the video come out and immediately going to play the level myself because I was so blown away by the visuals. As such, my brain has now permanently connected this level with the memories of when 2.2 first came out which, without exaggeration, was quite possibly the happiest time of my entire life. I know it sounds pretty stupid, but man this game means so much to me and I, like most of you, had been waiting for this update for 7 years. Now, this level serves as my own little time capsule, a small odyssey to embark on whenever I want to relive the time that my friends and I became 12 years old again.

Yeah this is probably the best level ever made. "guggghguhh generational glaze" I don't give a FUCK the glaze is 100% deserved in my eyes. Super accessible and fun gameplay and visuals that are so ahead of their time that they're on par with if not BETTER than most levels coming out nowadays. And the ATMOSPHERE dude, oh my god. The way this level makes you feel while you play is something else man. That last quarter of the level (especially that wave part where the background designs swap like every second) unironically give me goosebumps.

This. THIS is the THE must-play level for everyone who ever really gets into Geometry Dash.