''BAD OMEN'' 100% (Demon) by Custi [3 Coins] | Geometry Dash

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Nexus [GD]

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Published on February 23, 2021 6:00:05 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d_1MZjLFs4

Game:

Geometry Dash (2013)

Duration: 1:35

111,605 views

6,205

This level is truly something special, and you can tell right from the beginning just from hearing the first few seconds of the music, which in this case is an orchestral version of Bowser's Theme from Super Mario 64, which by itself is an iconic soundtrack, but used in this context in a level of this spooky and twisted nature fits perfectly from all angles, so it's always very nice to see pieces of internet and videogame culture be used in a great way. Another thing that I feel is a great addition to the detail and depth of the level is the fact that there are chapters, making the level feel like it's own game almost.

The level begins with you slowly entering through a dark and misty forest with red and green moss covering the ground, with an endless array of trees filling the background, and to top it all off you get to see the full moon in all of it's glory lighting up everything in a white and ominous glow. I think this is the perfect way to start the level, the slow pace of the music and gameplay along with the way the creepy atmosphere is established right from the beginning.

After that we get a short transition with a giant white hand getting closer and closer to a bloody heart with looks great with it's simplistic style that takes us to the next chapter: The Catacombs, which is definitely my favorite part of the level, ramping up the creepiness and adding a bit of shock factor as well, from the moment you go inside, all of the different skeletons and skulls scattered around on the floor and even the ones that are trapped in cages, small details like these are what make a a level feel alive and even a bit interactive. There's even a mini bossfight in this part, a few seconds after you enter the catacombs, a relatively large black skeleton with wings appears in front of you, shooting dark red balls of energy at you in the form of spirals, so you have to control your ship perfectly to get through. But the surprising part about this section isn't that, it's what comes straight after, the giant tunnel of flesh in the form of an obstacle, covered in veins with teeth sticking out from the middle and eyeballs protruding from the sides. The first time you see it, it does take you by surprise, but the great part about this piece of decoration is the fact that it doesn't feel out of place at all, since it is something shocking you could find at the bottom of dark and abandoned catacombs.

We then find ourselves in the Cathedral, which is a complete 180 from the Catacombs, an enormous contrast to the dark and gritty to the clean and beautiful, a place full of light from the moonlight coming in through the very nicely decorated glass windows, making the bright yellow flowers scattered on the ground even brighter while still maintaining the dark and dirty castle floors and walls. The most attention grabbing part of the cathedral comes in the middle, after you go past a couple of windows, you see a giant yellow cross with a pit of dark flames at the bottom, suggesting the dark rituals that could be performed in this place. This section and the one that comes after, the Royal Gardens, are relatively short compared to the rest of the level, so I think it's best to treat them as a single entity before we reach the climax to the level. The Gardens are also a breath of fresh air from the chaos of the beginning of the level, serving as a sort of respite before the storm. We go through a long hallway composed of shiny white marble with different plants and vines wrapping around everything, with the moonlight hitting us directly once again.

The final chapter, The Escape, is probably the shortest part of BAD OMEN, but also the most intense, from the moment we exit the Royal Gardens a giant dark mass comprised completely of shadows and demonic beings begins to chase you, trying to drag you back into the catacombs, to trap you forever, but with skill and a bit of luck you can manage to escape this hellish landscape within a couple of seconds.

The level as a whole is fantastic, there is beautiful art, from the lush and dark forest in the beginning illuminated by the giant moon, to the wet, bloody and musky stone walls in the catacombs and the cathedral, to the shiny marble that makes up the garden, every bit is high quality, not to mention all of the effects that were used, the fog used in the first section that adds to the gloomy nature of the forest, the different lighting effects that emphasize the contrast between the dark and the light or the pulses of color in sync with Bowser's Theme, which help the rhythm of the level a ton. The block design fits each section perfectly, without repeating itself in between, which is always a plus in levels like these that focus on the atmosphere and style more than anything else. One thing I would improve although, would be the transitions, the only one we get is the hand with the heart at the beginning, but after that it's a fade to black, which works but could've been more imo.

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