When the second sneak peek for Geometry Dash 2.2 released, the initial response from the community was... surprisingly negative. People complained that it didn't show enough new features, or was too short, or didn't sync, and an overwhelming amount of people said that the level, just, wasn't good. It was unbalanced, or unreadable, or overall poorly put together. And personally, I walked away thinking one thing in particular. "Why is it so gimmicky?" The level is filled with all these new mechanics and ideas that have never been seen before, and watching the video I just felt... overwhelmed by it all. As if the level was trying to show off every new feature added to 2.2, instead of only using what fits. A common response I've been hearing is that plenty of existing official levels have the same problem. Deadlocked has an infamous ship part that's all memory. Geometrical Dominator has some questionable usage of moving objects. And this really got me thinking... What do you learn from playing Geometry Dash? Like if you were to play all the official levels in order with no prior experience and no custom levels, would that alone be enough for you to understand how all these crazy new mechanics work? Well you know what? I've got nothing better to do... So let's find out. In this video, we're gonna go through each level of the game and break apart what it introduces, and what the average player will take away from it. Then at the end, we'll revisit the 2.2 levels and see what we think. Starting off with Stereo Madness. Pretty much every new player starts here. Whether you're a ten year old that begged your mom to type in the iPad password so that you could play Geometry Dash Lite, or someone older that was just scrolling through steam. This is the first level of the game, so chances are if you hand it to a new player, this is where they'll start. <font color="#AAAAAA">"bro what the hell are you doing-"</font> Stereo Madness starts with lots of empty space, followed by a single spike. Most new players should be able to make it over that spike with no problem, but what they don't realize is that it's there to give them a feel for the game's physics and jump height. By jumping over that first spike, they now know how high and quickly the player jumps. And that knowledge will subconsciously help them a lot with timing the second set of spikes, which is a little bit tighter. Next up are some back to back jumps on platforms, where most players will learn that they can hold down to keep jumping, if they didn't already figure it out. You can either jump or fall off this last platform, which is a freedom that's definitely taken away in later levels. From there, the level mixes different combinations of blocks and spikes to help you get a better feel for when and when not to jump. It might take a few tries, but once you have that figured out, you're ready for the first ship section. And, get this, it's completely empty! Which is great! Because you're given a safe open area to fly around and get a feel for the new controls and gravity. Most players will be lower towards the ground while they figure things out, which is why the first obstacle shows up all the way on the ceiling. It's very easy to avoid, and is mostly there to serve as a warning that actual obstacles are coming. Next up, you fly between some spikes on the floor and ceiling to show that you actually have to fly and can't rely on either of them. And after that, the level's pretty straight forward. It ramps up in difficulty without introducing anything new, and helps you understand how far you can jump as well as what patterns in the gameplay to look out for. If you're really smart, you might be able to figure out how to get the secret coins, but for the sake of the video we're gonna be ignoring them. Which means that the level ends with a completely normal ship part, which you should be able to do with no problem after all the practice from previous attempts. Good job! You beat the first level of the game. But the kids at school still say that you're bad, so on to level two. Before Back on Track even starts, most players will probably already know what the yellow pad is for. The last level taught you that you can't jump over four spikes in a row, so the only logical conclusion is that the yellow thing helps you pass it in some way. Once you clear the first set of spikes, there's another jump pad shortly after but this one is chained to another jump. After that is three more pads, but these ones need to be avoided. This is important, because it shows that new mechanics can be used against you just as much as they can help you. So it's important to understand how they work and to stay aware of your surroundings. And as the level goes on, you'll hopefully develop a feel for the jump pads so that you can tell exactly where they're going to launch you. People tend to sleep on Back on Track, but I really like it because the entire level is centered around one specific game mechanic. It introduces it in a safe way at the beginning, then scales up the difficulty and plays around with different ways to use it as the level goes on. It's a very traditional way of designing levels and I'm all for it. Next up is Polargeist, and similar to the beginning of Back on Track, you can't jump over that. * So what's this yellow thing? ...Definitely not a jump pad. Enter, the jump ring. Or, the orb. They're pretty interchangeable, but the help text and game files both say ring so screw you, I win. Wait, the game files call this a "dash ring"? And a "drop ring"? Wow! I hate it. I'm just gonna say orb, it's less syllables. Anyways, you might not get how the orb works on your first try, but you'll definitely get it shortly after. If you beat the first two levels, orbs should be pretty easy to comprehend, although you might not realize that hitting them earlier or later will matter in harder levels. Just like with pads, the level teaches you that not all orbs should be hit, so make sure you're paying attention. Once again, Polargeist doesn't just introduce orbs, but the whole level is centered around them. Obviously there's also some pads, but they're not the main focus. Once you're comfortable with orbs, it's time to swipe down and turn off auto-rotate because next up is Dry Out. The level starts with some straight forward platforming that's a little harder than the previous levels, but still very doable. Surprisingly, there's not a single orb or jump pad in this part. After that is this mysterious new yellow portal, which, uh oh. If you're a new player, you probably lost your mind when you first saw this. For everyone else... this is nothing. So clearly, upside down sections get a lot easier with practice and experience. As intimidating as this part looks, the first few jumps are all very easy, and the rest of it helps you get a much better understanding for which block patterns require a jump and which ones don't. This back to back usage of 'real and fake jumps' is something that will show up in a lot of future levels, so it's something you'll definitely want to master - especially when the gravity is flipped. Anyways, if it wasn't yourself, you probably know someone who flipped their screen upside down during this part, only to realize that moving from right to left is just as confusing. And that's because this part isn't hard. You just have what we call a skill issue. Interestingly enough, this is the only upside down section in the entire level, so even if it's the most memorable part, I wouldn't say the level is built around it. After that, it's pretty smooth sailing. And wait, the entire level only has two orbs? And 4 pads if you don't count the coin? How?? Fortunately, Base after Base has plenty of them. Now that you're comfortable with pads, orbs, and gravity changes, Base after Base mixes them all together and tests your skills so far. It doesn't actually introduce anything new, so there's not much to talk about. Can't Let Go is basically the same story, although it does mix orbs and pads with reverse gravity for the first time. It also has a really stupid coin with a purple pad that always used to distract me from the main path. Seriously, why does this exist??? Jumper doesn't introduce any new mechanics either, but it does teach something that's just as important. The level focuses on very 'short' upside down sections, which is special because all of the previous ones have been very long and dedicated. Moving forward, you're going to be changing gravity a lot more quickly, so this level helps ease you into that. Oh and also, did you know that the ship can go upside down? Well, it's a good thing you have this completely open area in order to get a feel for it. Followed by a slightly harder one, but still mostly open. Time Machine has even shorter upside down sections! Which sets it apart from something more dedicated like the ship. Also, get comfortable with triple spikes. There's gonna be a lot of them. After some ramped up difficulty, this level introduces the mirror portal! Which gives you plenty of time to react to the camera change, and then from there it's obvious. There's also some mirrored ship sections, which are equally as important to learn. And finally, the level ends with some constant switching between normal and mirrored. Which is good to know, because this is an important mechanic that will appear in a LOT of future levels... (laughing) <font color="#AAAAAA">(i'm sorry, i can't do this)</font> Okay, Cycles is mean. It's got a lot of triple spikes and tricks you with WAY too many fake orbs. It's definitely good practice for sightreading, but also, why are there so many?? Like CHILL. Oh right, also, the ball portal. That's probably a big deal. The ball section starts with this large impassable wall. Both gamemodes so far would require some kind of input to get past it, so naturally, click the screen and see what happens. Oh and also this arrow probably helps. That first click alone should give you a good idea of how the ball works, so after that it's time to throw in some spikes and orbs. Here, you're given no choice but to go into this gravity portal, so it becomes obvious how it works in ball sections. And it leads you right into a jump pad, which bounces you up and hopefully shows you that it's a little more floaty in this gamemode. Hopefully you're familiar with the back and forth gravity changing, because screw you, now you have to do it in the ship. If you're not used to that, this part might be pretty difficult. But it's mostly straight forward, and gets easier with practice. After that is a completely empty section for some reason, and then some more complicated ball gameplay mixed with the mirror portal. By the end of the level, you should be really familiar with the ball and it's physics. That takes us to xStep! And oh my god there's a new visual style, everything's so wavy now! The level introduces the blue jump pad, but it does so in a very strange way. Because the first time that you interact with them is in this automatic transition into a ship section, where it's not exactly clear how it works. Which means that the first time that you properly interact with the pad is in the ship. I'm pretty sure this is the only ship section in the game to have jump pads, and while I think it's a cool gimmick, it really shouldn't be used to introduce a new mechanic. The level wouldn't have been that much different if these pads were replaced with spikes, but I kind of admire the decision of making it throw you off instead of instakilling you on the spot. I just wish the player had a bit more introduction to blue pads first, and also, why is there no coin for exiting this section upside down? It would have been such a good spot! Anyways, following the ship section is a part that's more tightly focused around the blue jump pad, but again, it might be a bit much since technically your only experience with it was in the ship. So hitting a blue pad and then immediately skipping a yellow one might be tricky for what's technically the very first proper usage of the pad. That's not to say it's too hard, again, I just wish it was taught a tiny bit more, so that you're more familiar with how it works without practice. Later down, the level also teaches the player about the existence of fake blocks by having them fall through the floor into this small section. I remember being super confused by this at first, but with a bit of practice it's easy to wrap your head around. And it'll be really important in future levels as well. Finally, all the way at 79%, the level introduces the blue orb! I don't know why it wasn't used earlier, but yeah, this is the first occurrence of them. Hopefully the blue pads allowed you to predict how they work, but if not then you should have enough time to learn and react anyways. The level definitely could have played around with them a little more, but it's not as important of a mechanic as something like the yellow orb, so it's not like it needs an entire level dedicated to it. You learn how it works, and move on. Clutterfunk introduces sawblades. Which are like spikes, if they were circles. They're introduced pretty gracefully, like the first input of the level is just a single jump over one with nothing extra. There's a bit of fake block usage at the start, so hopefully you remember that from xStep. That takes us to the introduction of the mini portal, which is done in a very fun way. Despite mini drastically changing the physics of pretty much every gamemode, this section feels just as shrunken down as your icon is. The obstacles are smaller, the jumps are easier... it's overall super easy to adjust to, and I think this is a brilliant way of introducing a surprisingly tricky mechanic. From there, the mini ball part is pretty easy and the mini ship is a bit more sensitive but otherwise pretty lenient. And from this point onwards, the switches between mini and normal become really frequent to show that the sections can come in short bursts just like gravity portals can. The level ends with a final mini section which heavily focuses on the new blue orb. I like to consider this level their official introduction, since it gets a lot more use out of them. There's a lot of yellow and blue orbs chained back to back and you need to process which ones to hit and which ones to skip. And then you get this fun part where you fall at the end. Theory of Everything has an infamously hectic beginning. Less experienced players might be confused by everything going on here, but they tend to realize that you can survive by just randomly tapping the screen. But we're gonna assume you played the previous 11 levels, so you should hopefully have a clearer understanding of what's going on. It mixes a bunch of mechanics that you've learned, while also introducing the purple pad and orb. Unlike xStep, this is done in a very straightforward and understandable way since hitting it is your only choice anyways. The first ship part branches off into two paths, with the top path being safe and the bottom one being... not. This is gonna be a recurring gimmick in this level, so it's nice that the first occurence of it was presented in a very basic way. The level also introduces the UFO gamemode, where your initial reaction would probably be to treat it like the ship, only to realize that holding does nothing. So naturally you keep tapping, and from there it's obvious. The very start also lets you safely touch the ground in case you're slow to react, which is a detail that I really like. There's another Dorabae Choose Way section here, except that now it branches off into three paths. Thankfully, the correct one will always be marked with an arrow. Because Geometry Dash levels aren't supposed to be about memory. <font color="#AAAAAA">(laughter)</font> This part has a clever little troll where it repeats the same pattern three times but kills you the third time around. If you fall for this even after beating the previous levels, it means that you really need to brush up on your sight reading. The level continues with some fake wall shenanigans, a mini UFO section that's easy to grasp, a few more pick a paths, and that's about it. Looking back, it's kind of fun to have a gimmick like this that keeps showing up throughout the level in different ways. Good job Theory of Everything. Here's a sticker. Electroman Adventures introduces some more new visuals and fancy spikes, but more importantly, it introduces the most groundbreaking mechanic yet. The breakable block. <font color="#AAAAAA">(get it??!!)</font> The way they're taught is actually pretty clever, because first you're forced on top of them like a normal block, and then after that you have no choice but to ram through one. And that's about all you need to know! There's even a coin for people who really get it. Oh yeah, secret coins were released in the same update as this level. So going forward, the coin routes have a lot more thought put into them, since these levels are actually built with coins in mind. Either way, I'm still gonna focus mostly on the main path. So from the first part alone, you'd kind of expect this level to be centered around these breakable blocks. But surprisingly, you never see them again after this. In fact, the sneak peek for the level shows that they were added pretty late in development. So why even bother going back to add them? Just because a feature is added to the game, it doesn't necessarily mean that it HAS to be added into an official level. You could argue that it helps teach the player in case they play custom levels, but they don't really use this object either. In game design, you generally want to have a small palette of gimmicks that you'll use throughout the level, instead of throwing in literally everything at your disposal. It would have been nice if there were a few more breakable block sections, because otherwise you sort of wonder what made them important enough for them to be added to the level in the first place. By the way, there's gonna be a lot more random complaints like this, so uh, brace yourselves. These things don't ruin the level by any means, they're just decisions that I find a bit strange. With that being said, the rest of the level is all good. It flows nicely, there's some more UFO usage, and the whole thing just goes HARD. I wish featured levels still had gameplay like this. Hey, what level comes after this again? Ahh sh**. That's right, it's Clubstep! The first demon level! It takes everything you know about the game so far, and cranks it up to 11 with things like precise flying, and much trickier orb timings. But the level also introduces two absolutely diabolical new elements. Fading blocks, and fake spikes. Both of which are used to absolutely mess with you. There's so many spots where the path forward is never what it seems, and you're definitely going to need practice mode if you want any hope of beating this level. This level's like the definition of 'never let em know your next move' What's even harder, is that these two new features can be used in combination- making parts like this ship extremely difficult because it's super hard to tell which spikes will and won't hurt you. So, is this a good idea? Or does it ruin the level and make it "too gimmicky"? Find out after these messages. Alright, jokes aside, I think it's perfectly fine! What sets this apart from other gimmicks is that the entire level is built around these two new objects. They're used in countless different ways, and they're really explored to their fullest potential. So I really respect Clubstep for that, even if it can get pretty mean. It's a demon level. Being mean is a bit more justified now. Also, it has Clubstep monsters so it can't not be an immediate 10/10. Oh god, the next level is Electrodynamix. I still don't have all the orbs on this one, because I beat it back in 1.9 and then never touched it again. The level's not bad, I just never want to replay it for some reason. It's not fun and I don't know why. But here's what I do know, and you'll never believe it, but this level is all about speed. It starts extremely easy, but you're immediately slammed with a 2x speed portal, and by god you better learn how far you can jump with it. The increased speed continues into the ship, and this really precise UFO section which is one heck of a difficulty spike, but still manageable. Hopefully you're comfortable with the speed, because now it gets even faster. Despite the fast speed, it stays pretty readable and the ship sections are mostly just going up and down. And that's about it. I feel like Electrodynamix is definitely the hardest of all the insane rated levels, like when you compare it to the difficulty of Electroman Adventures and Fingerdash, it feels more like an easy demon than a hard insane. But also this guy did it blindfolded, so who am I to make that call. So final thoughts? The level's built around speed portals, explores them quite nicely, and doesn't have any overly gimmicky moments. But there's one part of it that bothers me to no end. It's these invisible spikes at the very start. They do the same thing as Clubstep where it's really hard to tell which ones are real, and overall it just feels really out of place in this level. Clubstep built the entire level around this gimmick, whereas here in Electrodynamix it's just used in one or two quick parts. And it comes off as this really annoying way of trying to pump up the difficulty a little bit. What especially bothers me is that it's one of the first obstacles following the speed portal, which means that the player is still trying to adjust to this new mechanic, and then suddenly they're hit with these unnecessarily annoying fake spikes. Maybe there's someone out there who likes them, but I personally feel like they don't add anything meaningful to this level. Good thing Hexagon Force would never do us that dirty. This level introduces one of the most revolutionary mechanics in the game... slopes! I know this is a bit controversial, but, the slope physics feels pretty natural so you shouldn't have too much trouble learning how they work. But at the very least, you are going to have to get used to jumping off of them. Once you get the hang of that, it's time for the dual portal! Honestly, dual is presented in a way in which it's pretty easy to understand, so with a little bit of practice everything should immediately click. There's an infamous set of jumps before the ship portal, but it draws some attention to what makes dual mode unique so I'll let it slide. The dual flying sections are all symmetrical, so no problems there. There's this fun little section that's just back to back orbs, but I wouldn't call it gimmicky since it doesn't revolve around any new or unusual mechanics, it's just a bit of a meme part. The dual ball looks hard at first, but in reality you're only in control of one ball at a time. I kind of like this ship part, since hitting the walls cause you to get tripped up by the slopes instead of instakilling you. It reminds me a lot of what xStep did with the blue pads. Finally, the level ends with the introduction of the slow speed portal, but I don't see how this could possibly cause any issues. All in all, very fun level. It's centered around slopes and the dual portal the whole way through, and doesn't do anything overly stupid or annoying. And don't even get me started on the speedrun strats for this level. Next up is Blast Processing. The blocks are 3D now and the GD community is reaching it's absolute peak. If that's not hype, then I don't know what is. Oh and also, this level introduces the wave! It's this weird new diagonal gamemode, and I highly doubt it's gonna catch on. This is the first new gamemode since Theory of Everything, and like usual, you're given an open area with more than enough time to figure out how it works and react accordingly. The section is really wide, so it should be easy at your current skill level. It teaches you everything you need to know about the gamemode, though you might have to learn the hard way that walls kill you. There's a dual wave section later down, but it's completely symmetrical so it should be pretty easy to deal with. Overall, Blast Processing is an extremely fun and replayable level, but aside from the wave and some new decorations, it really doesn't bring that much else to the table. There's no speed portals, and it's the only level to not use mini portals after their introduction. The most gimmicky part I can think of is this bit at the very end with the fake blocks, but it's super easy and doesn't at all feel like the level needs to revolve around it. So, you're probably good at the game now, right? Well screw you, here's another demon level. It's Theory of Everything, except it's way harder, and also not Theory of Everything at all, and also we misplaced this background tile because we hate you. There's definitely some interesting parts in this level, so let's talk about it. Like, remember invisible blocks? Well if you don't, this first ship part will definitely fix that. Much like Clubstep, there's going to be a lot of them, but this time they're used in very different ways. For example, this part is quite similar to the end of Blast Processing, except now there's no way to tell which blocks are real, unless you catch a quick glimpse of them before they fade away. Which again, for a demon level, is fair enough. It's not like you have to memorize any weird new mechanics, it's just building on what you're familiar with. Following that is another ship part made of invisible blocks, which ties in nicely with the first one and helps the level feel more themed and connected. We also finally get to witness the return of breakable blocks, and unlike Electroman Adventures, they actually serve a purpose now. They're used as a way to hide which wall is real and which wall is fake. The level would have been perfectly fine without them, but I can't really argue with how they were used considering they were, in fact, already taught back in Electroman Adventures. If this were their first appearance, that would be a whole other problem. This ball part throws some more fake blocks at you, but this time they're everywhere, and also you're at double speed. Again, reusing this gimmick definitely helps the level feel more connected, but also, I just don't know how I feel about this part. You have to let it become muscle memory, and because of that I'm not the biggest fan of it. You can actually tell which blocks are real and fake based on your player colors, so I feel like the difficulty of this section sort of depends on which colors you're using. Which is weird. Either way, this part isn't much of a run killer so you'll be fine. From there, there's another invisible part, an extremely infamous ship section, a coin that's way too easy to get, and a short bit introducing the mini wave, which you should be able to handle without any problems. By the way, I wonder what this thing is foreshadowing? Welcome to update 2.0! This next song is really special, because it was made specifically for the game. Even the name of it was top secret, and all we got was this vague hint. I remember a lot of people theorizing that it was "Geometrical Dimension", but I was more of a "Grasshopper Destroyer" guy. Eh, still would have been better. There's a LOT to unpack it this level and 2.0 marks a significant influx in gimmicks. Not mechanics, gimmicks. But we'll get to that later. For now, we got moving objects, and the robot portal. The first robot part doesn't handhold you nearly as much as the other gamemode introductions, but it's easy enough to learn and you even get some words of encouragement. It's worth noting that these now moving objects aren't a gimmick on their own, but rather, are used to make them. For example, in this ship part, the path opens up in front of you, and there's also this little elevator. It's not too bad, and it gets you used to the mechanic. But this next part, well, you have pretty much no time to react and you have to memorize when to fall and when to jump. There's arrows, but not enough time to process them. This part doesn't sit well with me, and I can tell it's only there just to go <font color="#FFFF00">"Hey look, there's moving objects now!</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Look how cool they are!"</font> On the bright side, the level gets really fun after that, and the new visuals are gorgeous. Wait, why is it turning grey? Enter, the infamous Geometrical Dominator Memory Part™, where the boys become men. This bit confuses me, because when a level has a gimmick, it's usually there to show off a new feature that was added. But in this case it's hard to pinpoint what that would be. 1000 color channels? The alpha trigger? And it's sort of dawned on me that it's not trying to show a single thing off. I think it's just a handful of 2.0 features put together in a way that will challenge people. And honestly, the part isn't hard as much as it's controversial. I think it's a fine challenge for a later level, and it's long enough that it feels like a good chunk of it and not a quick gimmick to show off some new thing. So you know what, I'm fine with it! I'll admit that the obstacles could be telegraphed better, but I can rest well knowing that it probably doesn't exist just to show off a dumb new 2.0 feature. So now that we're past that part, this is where the complaining REALLY begins. If you're not here for opinions, this is probably a good time to click off. And remember, I'm happy with these levels and don't want to see them change, but there's certain parts that I want to criticize from a game design standpoint. Think of it as advice for if you ever build a level or maybe even make your own game. Starting with this UFO section, where you have to collect these little diamonds. After this part, you never see them again. This is a much better example of a gimmick that makes me think "why". I get that it's a way of showing off a new feature in the update, but it's essentially introducing a new game mechanic that's used for 3 seconds and then never touched again. The part isn't hard, in fact it's super obvious what you have to do, but why bother at all if there's only gonna be two of these in the entire game? There's another one in this ball part, but now it's repurposed to spawn a platform that follows you. And this one makes even LESS sense, because the diamond isn't even out of the way anymore. The way I see it, this could have just been plain ground and the level wouldn't have been any worse. And what bothers me even more is that this platform in the last robot part follows you without even needing to collect anything! So this whole diamond gimmick was established for nothing! Why is this one in the ball part any different? Why was THIS specific platform chosen to move anyways? There's not even any indication for it, it looks like every other one! <font color="#AAAAAA">I swear to god, if I'm crazy when I'm older...</font> <font color="#AAAAAA">this is why.</font> Like I said before... these parts aren't bad, in fact I'd say they're kind of fun and creative once you get to know them. But it marks a very specific point in the game where the levels are no longer built around a specific idea, but are now just a mix of random 3-4 second microgames that introduce something new and then never touch them again. If you're going to introduce something new, then stick with it! Build the level around it! Otherwise it's just another thing to learn and get confused by. Like seriously, what was the thought process behind this specific moving platform? What does it add to the level that normal ground can't? Is being unpredictable supposed to be a game mechanic now? I wish I could tell you. But let's see how a demon level uses this new 2.0 stuff. Deadlocked is a hard level. So I'll obviously cut it some slack. But otherwise, you know the drill, let's run through it and pick apart the details. The level starts by introducing the green orb and the teleport portal, both in their simplest form. What this means is that the first time they're used is in really basic and easy to understand ways, which is extremely helpful for getting to know how they work. I love that even demon levels have some thought put into how they introduce new mechanics. The first ship part has these square guys moving back and forth in a very World's Hardest Game-ish pattern. It's perfectly fair, but takes some memorization. I really wish they appeared more throughout the level, kind of like Clubstep monsters. So that's definitely a missed opportunity. This ball part introduces a weird gimmick where you can't touch the red platforms, and it even comes with a little diagram to communicate this. I have to say, the execution for this part is really good. It introduces a new idea, then plays around with it. But... why? Remember when I said that the levels are starting to feel more like short little microgame collections? This is what I mean! Because after this part, there's no more evil red platforms. Already, Deadlocked is trying to be way too many different things at once, and it lacks a single theme that connects the whole thing together. Like, after this there's a cannon for some reason. It's a fun little one-off idea, but the speed portal being invisible makes it feel more like it's trying to be introduced as a mechanic rather than something silly. Also, we really need to talk about this mini ball part. Because there's nothing wrong with it. I just really like it and wanted to mention that. Very nice usage of teleport portals, 10/10. This next bit introduces putting blue orbs on the ground. It should be obvious how it works, but once again, it's an idea that's never used again. It's not like it has to be, but I would have loved to see more of it. I definitely have some strong feelings on this ship part, but I'm a little nervous to say them out loud because, I don't want to hurt RobTop's feelings :( <font color="#AAAAAA">(inhale)</font> What the hell is going on with these teleport portals? And the back and forth gravity changes definitely don't help. But you know what, it's a creative way to explore teleport portals some more, it's a demon level, and Clubstep did way worse. So this will get a pass from me. But I just don't like the completely blind changes to gravity and size. That needs to be memorized, and there's no way around it. Like, the portal is literally invisible. Anyways, the boss fight after that is cool. It doesn't rely on any weird new mechanics, and it definitely feels like the climax of the level. After that is an intense wave part which is honestly really well done. This ship part, on the other hand, can go f**k itself. This is all memory, with no visual indication in the slightest. And it's way harder to memorize than anything else you've done so far. Moving platforms are back for this ball part, and the addition of the ones on top make it feel a lot more welcome than the pointless one in Geometrical Dominator. The UFO part after it is kind of memory focused, but in the same way the first ship part is. So it's fine, but I just don't like it and want an excuse to say it out loud. And that's it for Deadlocked, definitely one of the levels of all time. <font color="#AAAAAA">(knocking)</font> Wait, who's that? YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Okay, who doesn't love Fingerdash? This level is especially important when it comes to making sure mechanics are understandable, because I see a lot of people who play the first few levels and then skip right to it. And in a lot of cases, it actually goes pretty well. Like, 8-BitRyan beat the first seven levels, then finished Fingerdash before Time Machine. Why this is rated insane, I have no idea. The level introduces the black orb, and for an orb that creators suck at using, it's used really nicely in this level. There's also the dash orb, which couldn't be taught in a better way, the red jump pad which you have no choice but to hit, the purple dash orb which is also very predictable, and of course, the spider- which opens with a section that looks a lot like a ball part, and after one click you should immediately get how it works. If you think you're comfortable with it, you can also try and go for this really good coin. Oh, and the level also introduces gravity portals that stop dash orbs. I sure hope this idea catches on! There's rotating fire bars in the ship part, which can't really be considered gimmicky since there's not much extra stuff to learn. The robot part introduces the red orb, which flows nicely so it barely even matters if you don't understand exactly how it works. The wave part has these mini coins to collect, but that's a topic for another video. And it's smooth sailing after that! Despite all the potential that there would have been for gimmicks, this level shows self control and just gives you a nice classic GD experience. And it looks super awesome too. I think there's a reason this level is so universally loved. Well, that's all the levels in the game. I'm not gonna cover the spinoff games because they more or less introduce mechanics in the same way, but feel free to take what you learned from this video and use it to overanalyze them. So, 21 levels and 7000 words later, it's time revisit the initial question. What the hell is going on with the 2.2 levels? It's worth noting that these levels are unfinished and subject to change, and I'm also going off a video instead of playing them for myself. But let's dive in anyways. The first 2.2 level has a difficulty of insane and doesn't have a name yet, but the current placeholder is "Dash". It's a little weird seeing that directly after Fingerdash, but this is coming from someone who named their channel "Colon". Anyways, it starts by introducing some camera movements and effects. For some reason your icon changes color during the spider part because, I don't even know, why not show that off. After that is another spider part, where now you're just, casually moving sideways and up the walls. I still have no idea how this part works, and this level isn't even demon. You have less than half a second to even react to this. It's such a huge new feature, why is it introduced so casually like it's always been there? Think of something like Dry Out, which had this whole buildup leading to the first gravity portal. And then you're slowly eased into being upside down. This level introduces going sideways... but it doesn't actually INTRODUCE it! It just throws you right into it and assumes you already know how it works! Already, this goes against all the design philosophy that GD was clinging on to, just for a two second long section made solely to show off a new feature. And early leaks of the level show that it was originally a normal spider part, but it was eventually changed to this. Afterwards, a potion shrinks you down to mini, and you have to hit these blocks on the ceiling, because suddenly that doesn't kill you anymore, and you'll die if you don't because.. screw you. Oh and this green stuff makes you stick to the ceiling. I d- I don't even know. Look, this part just makes me sad. Because not only does it try to introduce so many pointless things, but now the game is actively going against things it's already established. You were taught that mini portals shrink you down, but now it's been replaced with a potion. And you should know that hitting a roof kills you, but suddenly that's not a thing anymore. Everything you thought you knew about the game is suddenly becoming a lie. And FOR WHAT? Like, what is this bringing to the table that the existing and already established features can't? Anyways, on a brighter note, the swing section is fine. It's straightforward, and you don't really need to be babied with new gamemodes anymore. It's open enough that if you survived up to this point, you'll learn it very easily. After that, the screen rotates, and god dammit, THIS should have been the introduction to going on walls. I still don't know what the hell is going on with that awful spider part, but this is the perfect spot to reveal the twist. It goes with the music, and it's super readable too. That's all we get to see for this level, and I know I'm getting a bit aggressive, but, do you see my point? 2.2 has been in development for almost 6 years, and now seemingly every new feature is trying to be crammed into a 90 second level. It just doesn't work. I feel like there needs to be some tutorial levels to teach all the weird new stuff, before you're ready to jump into this one. I assumed maybe you'd have to play some levels from the Map first, whatever those could be, but I'm starting to doubt it. An old leak revealed a dialogue box saying that only the Demon Guardian could unlock this level, so it's possible the level could be locked behind that, but more realistically it's probably for the second level, Explorers. Explorers is going to be the fourth demon level in the game, and unlike the previous three, the difficulty in this one doesn't come from the technical gameplay. It comes from pure insanity. We start with an introduction to the spider orb, that teleports you to the ground when you hit it. But by the looks of it, hitting it too early will drop you into spikes. So it's not the safest introduction, but otherwise it's bearable. The sticky ceilings from the previous level are back, so I guess that's a mechanic now. But what I'm less thrilled about is the invisible transition to mini here. Because we went from a portal, to a potion, to screw it, we don't need visuals at all. My brother in Christ, you established the mechanic! Oh and there's a teleport orb now too? I mean, sure, you can react to this, but, this is starting to feel a bit overwhelming. Next there's some invisible gravity changes. And I don't know... if only there was some established way to telegraph that. Once again, this level is literally neglecting so many existing mechanics. You've been taught since Dry Out that these portals switch your gravity. That's how the game is supposed to work, so stick with it. Now there's some pipes, which are done in a very confusing way because by looking at them you'd think that you could just dash forward and skip them. Like seriously why can't you? I'm guessing that something will stop you, but why not make it more clear? Also, you have to hit these orbs to activate the pipes. But this whole part is just another one-off gimmick that you never see again, so it barely even matters. Oh, and did you notice how little the level syncs with the music so far? Yeah that whole concept was, kind of neglected in this level. That takes us to this single screen area, which is an idea I really like, but it has the worst execution I've ever seen. You have no idea what you're gonna become next, or what the gravity or speed will be, or where you're going to come out of, like yeah okay here's a sideways mini wave with zero time to react. So far the only reason this level is demon is because of how unpredictable it is. Next up is another single screen section, which is good, because once again, it helps the level feel more connected. Seeing something more than once makes it feel less like a one off gimmick and more like an overarching theme for the level. This section is cool, but it needs to be more clear what the custom orbs do, and especially when the gravity is going to switch. Because right now it seems like you just have to know that. After that is the drop, which looks cool as hell, but sadly, we don't get to see it. That is, until the level inevitably gets leaked, which knowing RobTop, I'll give it a month or two. So those are the 2.2 levels. I really wanted to be open minded about them, because there's lots of genuinely cool ideas. Simply put, the ideas are great, but the execution isn't. When I rewatch these two sneak peeks, I walk away thinking of the 6 most disappointing words known to man. It feels... like a custom level. Custom levels have no constraints. They're free to do whatever the hell they want, whether it's for better or for worse. But what I worry about is the base game, that most people will spend their time with. Because while Geometry Dash feels more like a platform nowadays, it still is a game at its core. And in my opinion, that game should be good. It should be fair. I don't dislike these new levels because they're hard to read. It's because they're information overload. They try to show off too many new things in such a short amount of time, without giving you any chance to adjust or be eased into it. 2.2 adds so many new things, and because of that, These levels can't decide on what they want to be. So they just resort to... everything. And worst of all, all the mechanics you thought you knew- gravity portals, mirror portals, mini portals... that's all gone too, because now the level will just do whatever it wants, regardless of how you thought things worked. Everything is being repurposed for the sake of some gimmicks, and there's nothing to hold on to anymore. In the earlier levels, what you see ahead is exactly what you get. But now the level is constantly shifting before your eyes, and you have no idea what half the things even are. If you play a lot of custom levels, all this stuff probably feels fine because you're so used to the community coming up with their own gimmicks to help their level stand out among the sea of 80 million levels. But the official levels have always felt different for me. They're supposed to represent what normal vanilla Geometry Dash is at its core. But I don't see that with the 2.2 levels. At least, not yet. Maybe I'll end up liking them. Maybe they'll be tweaked from what we initially saw. But for now, when I look at how the existing 21 levels tackle new mechanics and ideas and gimmicks... these just don't feel like the Geometry Dash I know. Okay, I think I've went on for way too long, so that's gonna be it for this video. I'd love to spark some discussion over this in the comments, so if you're still watching, don't hesitate to let me know what you think. There's no "correct" opinion here, and if you're excited for the new levels then you don't have to let me take that away from you. Thanks for watching, Please do subscribe if you found this kind of stuff interesting, and I promise I'll make that coin tier list eventually.