Geometry Dash

Geometry Dash is a series of music platforming video games developed by Swedish developer Robert Topala.[1] The first game, known simply as Geometry Dash, was released on iOS and Android on August 13, 2013. In Geometry Dash, players control the movement of an icon and navigate along music-based levels, while avoiding obstacles that instantly destroy the icon on impact.

Geometry Dash
Geometry Dash icon
Genre(s)Runner, music, platformer
Developer(s)Robert Topala
Publisher(s)RobTop Games
Platform(s)iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Microsoft Windows, macOS
Original releaseiOS, Android
August 13, 2013
Windows Phone
June 12, 2014
Microsoft Windows, macOS
December 22, 2014
First releaseGeometry Dash
August 13, 2013
Latest releaseGeometry Dash SubZero
December 21, 2017

Geometry Dash currently consists of 21 official levels from an initial number of 7. It is well known for its extensive level creation system, where players can create their own custom courses, share them online, and play courses designed by other players. More than 66 million custom levels have been created. In addition to the 21 official levels, certain user-created levels have been featured in in-game content, such as map packs, gauntlets and the search bar.[1] In-game currency, such as stars, orbs, or diamonds can be obtained from official content, and certain user-created levels.

In addition to the original game, 3 other games in the series have been made: Geometry Dash Meltdown, Geometry Dash World, and Geometry Dash SubZero.

Gameplay
The beginning of Electroman Adventures, the 13th of 21 official levels in the game.

Geometry Dash can be played with a touchscreen, keyboard, mouse or controller (depending on the platform). The player uses the jump function to control the movement of their icon. To jump, the player can press on the screen on touchscreen devices, hit the spacebar or up arrow on a keyboard, left-click with a mouse, or press A on a controller. The player can hold down jump to constantly interact with certain vehicles.

The objective of the game is to complete a level by reaching its end. Notably, if the player crashes into an obstacle, the level restarts from the beginning except in Practice Mode.[2] Users cannot control the speed at which the icon is moving, only the vertical movement of their icons and can be changed since 1.7. The timing and rhythm of the in-game music are key parts of the game, often in relation to each other.[2]

In the game, the player's icon takes the form of one of seven different vehicles, each of which behave differently with each interaction. In the default cube form, the player taps to jump from the ground, and holds to make repeated jumps. In the ship, the player holds to move up and releases to move down. With the ball, the user taps to switch gravity from the ground. In the UFO, the player taps to jump in mid-air. With the wave, the player holds to move up diagonally and releases to move down diagonally. With the robot, the player holds to make a long jump from the ground, and releases to stop the jump. With the spider, the player taps to flip gravity and teleport to the nearest floor or ceiling. The same applies to the mini forms except the mini-wave, where it moves at an angle of 62.5 degrees.

Player movement is further complicated by portals, which allow the player to change between vehicles, reverse the direction of gravity, change the size of their vehicle, or mirror the direction of their movement. Furthermore, pads and orbs provide the player the ability to jump automatically or mid-air.

There are 21 official levels in the full version of Geometry Dash, 18 of which are unlocked upon installation. Each level grants rewards upon completion[2] and contain 3 secret coins, which are used to unlock the three locked levels.[3] The levels steadily progress in difficulty, which is categorized into 6 levels: Easy, Normal, Hard, Harder, Insane, and Demon. For user-generated levels, there are 12 difficulties, one being Auto which is for levels where you don't do anything where jump pads often control where you move, Unrated where RobTop hasn't rated the stars or difficulty, or through triggers, and using blocks, it shows pictures, or videos like the Geometry Dash Legends series made by Geometry Dash User, OmegaFalcon. The Demon difficulty in user-generated levels is separated into 5 different difficulties known as Easy, Medium, Hard, Insane and Extreme Demons. Each difficulty rewards a certain number of stars upon completion. Although the stars given in official levels are different from the amount of stars in user-generated levels. For example, official levels rated Demon are 14 or 15 stars in Deadlocked while user-generated Demon levels are 10 stars. Players can also earn achievements which unlock exchanged for rewards like icons or colors.[4] Players may also utilize a shop, where they can spend an in-game currency called "mana orbs", collected through completing levels. Each game in the series has a practice mode that can be used for any level which allows the player to restart at manually or automatically placed checkpoints instead of the very beginning.[4] A level cannot be officially completed on practice mode, though completion can lead to certain rewards like icons. The game also features the ability to upload and download user-created levels, however this is not possible in Geometry Dash Lite or the spin-off games.[5] The player must complete their level with all coins in normal mode in order to ensure that it is possible to beat before it can be uploaded. Changes after the verification will render it unverified.[4] The difficulty setting is determined by Topala. The creator of a given level, its players, and the game's moderators can influence this decision.

Development

According to Topala, the game began as a project that could have moved in any direction. He made the remarks, "it simply started as a template with a cube that could crash and jump" and "there really was no detailed plan".[6] He previously developed it for the computer, but later altered his plan and made attempts to make it a mobile game. Topala was inspired by "The Impossible Game" and he took about four months to create the game and take it to the App Store and Google Play Store. In the beta version, the game was called Geometry Jump, but was later changed to Geometry Dash.

Upon its release, Geometry Dash had just seven levels, which are now currently free to play on the game's free version, alongside six other levels released in later updates in the full version. It soon gained serious popularity around the world, especially Canada, where it achieved the title as the most popular paid iPhone app in June 2014.[7] There are four free versions of the game, one being Geometry Dash Lite which currently (as of Lite's update 2.2) includes the first 13 levels from the full version.[3]

Soundtrack

The Geometry Dash soundtrack is by several music artists, including ForeverBound (Stereo Madness), DJVI (Back On Track, Polargeist, Dry Out, Base After Base, Can't Let Go, Cycles, and xStep), Waterflame (Jumper, Clutterfunk, Electroman Adventures, Hexagon Force, Blast Processing, Space Pirates, and Striker), DJ-Nate (Theory of Everything, Clubstep, Electrodynamix, and Theory of Everything 2), F-777 (Deadlocked, The Seven Seas, Viking Arena, Airborne Robots, and Monster Dance Off), Dex Arson (Payload, Beast Mode, Machina, Years, Frontlines, Embers, Round 1), Morgan David King (Fingerdash and Press Start), Bossfight (Nock Em) and BoomKitty (Power Trip).[8] In addition to the official songs, usage of most songs on the Newgrounds music portal is also available. Since it is common for users to abuse the portal to upload songs not made by them to use in Geometry Dash, Topala implemented a manual approval system to prevent this, where he would choose what artists' works are allowed to be used in-game.[9] There have been cases of songs being banned after levels using that song were made, which would lead to those levels having no music.

Reception

The game has opened to generally positive reviews from critics. Softpedia complimented the game's style and challenge that it brings up, saying, "While it can get a bit frustrating sometimes, you can always complete the stages using the practice mode and then jump into the many different user-generated levels."[10] 148Apps gave the game a positive review, stating, "Geometry Dash provides all of the challenge expected from an "impossible" game while also making it more accessible to newcomers."[11] Geometry Dash has also been listed by the reviewer Chris Morris on the website Common Sense Media as a child-friendly video game that parents could let their children play on, stating that the game was a "good way to handle frustration", and that "families can also talk about rhythm and the joy of dancing in time with music".[12] On the App Store, Geometry Dash was ranked 2nd for the app's Top 10 Paid iPad Games and 7th for Top 10 Paid iPhone Games in 2018.[13]

Other editions

For Geometry Dash World, Gamezebo praised the game's captivation and decent gameplay styles, though the reviewer noted that it was not the "most interesting looking game out there".[14] Gerson Noboa from AndroidGuys praised the Geometry Dash spin-off, stating that, "Geometry Dash World is a worthy addition to your game arsenal. Thanks to tightly connected graphical and sound elements, the game provides an awesome, integrated experience that is rarely seen in Play Store games".[15]

Spin-offs

Geometry Dash Lite

Geometry Dash Lite is a free version of the game with advertisements. Geometry Dash Lite has 13 levels, and lacks the ability to create and play custom user-generated levels. It also has a much more limited selection of character customization options, missing many of the icons and colors that can be used in the full game.

Geometry Dash Meltdown

On December 16, 2015, Robert Topala announced a spin-off game titled Geometry Dash Meltdown, which was released on December 19, 2015 for iOS and Android. Currently (as of update 1.0) it includes 3 levels (featuring the songs of F-777) with new icons from version 2.1 made to showcase the 2.0 features to those who do not own the full version.[16][17]

Geometry Dash World

On December 21, 2016, Robert Topala announced a second spin-off game titled Geometry Dash World, saying that it would come out on the same day. Currently (as of update 1.0) includes 2 worlds with 5 levels in each world, new 2.1 icons, a shop, a new vault, daily quests, levels & rewards, and secret chests made to showcase some of the new 2.1 features that were included in the update of the full version.[18][19][20]

Geometry Dash SubZero

On December 12, 2017, Robert Topala announced a third spin-off game titled Geometry Dash SubZero, which was released on December 21, 2017. It consists of three levels.[21][22] It is currently the latest stand-alone game released in the series,[23] and the first to offer some features of the main game's unreleased (as of January 2021) update 2.2, including features from the update such as new icons and camera control triggers.

References
  1. "Track of the Day: 'Geometry Dash' by Robert Topala". The Atlantic. 24 August 2017.
  2. "Geometry Dash Review". Softpedia. Andrei Dobra. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  3. "Geometry Dash: Best tips, tricks, and cheats!". imore.com. 7 May 2017.
  4. "Geometry Dash Review". Bio Gamer Girl. E.J. Smith. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  5. "The Version 2.0 Update For 'Geometry Dash' Just Hit The App Store". toucharcade.com. 26 August 2015.
  6. "Smart strategies fuel Geometry Dash's slow jog to success". Cult Of Mac. Luke Dormehl. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  7. "'Geometry Dash' top paid iPhone app in Canada". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  8. Geometry Dash, 2013
  9. "Geometry Dash + Newgrounds – RobTop Games". robtopgames.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  10. "Geometry Dash reviews for PC". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  11. "Geometry Dash reviews for iOS". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  12. "Geometry Dash App Review". commonsensemedia. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  13. Baptiste Su, Jean (4 December 2018). "Apple Unveils 2018's Most Popular iPhone And iPad Apps: Fortnite, YouTube, Minecraft And More". Forbes. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  14. "geometry Dash World reviews for iOS". Metacritic. 16 January 2017.
  15. Noboa, Gerson (1 May 2017). "Geometry Dash World (Review)". AndroidGuys. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  16. "'Geometry Dash Meltdown' Trailer Released, Coming December 19th". toucharcade.com. 16 December 2015.
  17. Christiansien, Tom (31 December 2015). "Geometry Dash Meltdown Review: Squarely A Challenge". gamezebo.com.
  18. Noboa, Gerson (1 May 2017). "Geometry Dash World: A short but exquisite musical adventure (Review)". androidguys.com.
  19. "Geometry Dash World expands on the frantic music-runner gameplay of the original". androidpolice.com. 26 December 2016.
  20. "Geometry Dash World Tips, Cheats and Strategies". gamezebo.com. 2 January 2017.
  21. "Geometry Dash SubZero", Pdalife.ru. Review on Android and iOS. (in Russian), 22 December 2017, retrieved 5 January 2018
  22. Aubrey, David. "Geometry Dash SubZero tips and tricks - How to clear "Press Start"". Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  23. "'Geometry Dash SubZero' is the latest stand-alone expansion for RobTop Games' Geometry Dash series". androidpolice.com. 22 December 2017.
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