Geometry Dash

Geometry Dash is a side-scrolling platformer.^[1] The player takes control of an icon and must navigate through levels until reaching the end.^[2] Classic gameplay^[3] uses an auto-scrolling camera,^[1] requiring the player to use a single button to complete each level. The level restarts from the beginning if the player collides with an obstacle.^[2] A practice mode option allows the player to place checkpoints that can be restarted from.^[1] In platformer mode, players can move left or right without the auto-scrolling camera and can access preset checkpoints without using practice mode.^[3]

Various gameplay elements can affect the movement of the player's icon. Jump Orbs^{[T 1]} can allow the player to gain extra height mid-air.^[2] Speed changers affect how fast the icon moves.^[4][5] Portals allow the player to teleport,^[6] switch the direction of gameplay,^[4] and change the player's gravity, size, or game mode.^[5] Some game modes, known as vehicles, change the form of motion of the icon: for example, the Swing game mode allows the player to move in an arc,^[7] while the Ship and Jetpack allow the player to hover in midair. Of these nine total game modes,^[5][8] the Jetpack is the only one exclusive to platformer mode.^[8] The Dual game mode duplicates the icon, allowing the player to control two icons at once. In Two-Player mode, the duplicated icons can be controlled separately.^[5]

Each level has an accompanying song. The player's timing and rhythm are crucial; the music often synchronizes with a level's gameplay and design elements.^[1][9] Geometry Dash includes 26 developer-made levels, four of which are platformer levels located in a special section called "The Tower".^[10][3] Each level is assigned one of six difficulties: "Easy", "Normal", "Hard", "Harder", "Insane", and "Demon".^{[T 2]} Each contains three secret coins, requiring the player to take an alternate pathway or complete a task to obtain them.^[11][12] The player must obtain a certain number of secret coins before the demon levels can be played.^[11]

There are several collectibles and currencies that can be obtained in various ways. Completing levels will unlock icon customizations,^[4] with classic levels further awarding the player with stars, and platformers with moons.^[3] Levels will also award mana orbs, with 500 mana orbs awarding a Demon Key. Demon Keys can be used to unlock chests in the Treasure Room, which will give rewards such as mana orbs, diamonds, and icon designs.^[13] There are also two daily chests which award diamonds,^[14] mana orbs, and Demon Keys.^[15] Mana orbs^[16] and diamonds can be used in shops to purchase icon designs and other cosmetics.^[14] Vaults can be unlocked after obtaining certain amounts of collectibles, in which entering codes can award further secret coins and cosmetics.^[17][18]

Geometry Dash was created by Swedish video game developer Robert Topala. In 2010, Topala published his first video game, Bounce Ball Thingy, on Newgrounds, developing it while he was studying civil engineering. He abandoned his course as he became more interested in the video game industry.^[24] Topala operated Rune Digital with Niklas Dennerståhl and Daniel Rocque Bengtsson, developing the video games Forlorn and Kingdom Escape. Both were nominees for the Swedish Game Awards in 2012 and 2013 respectively.^[25] Forlorn won the title Best Mobile Game, but it and Kingdom Escape were never published.^[26] By May 2012, Topala had founded RobTop Games, releasing Boomlings, a puzzle video game made for iOS.^[27][28] Topala released Memory Mastermind in January 2013^[29] and Boomlings MatchUp in February 2013.^[30]

Topala only saw modest success with his previous works and was not able to retain a large playerbase. He wanted his next game to be more similar to other platformers he admired,^{[T 4]} such as the Super Mario Bros.-style games he played in his youth and more recent titles like The Impossible Game, Super Meat Boy, and Bit.Trip Runner.^[24] Development began on his new game, first called Geometry Jump,^{[T 5]} around April 2013, beginning as a template of a cube that could jump and crash.^[24] Instead of optimizing for monetization as he did with his other games, he prioritized the user-experience to increase retention.^{[T 4]} The official trailer for Geometry Dash was published on 2 August 2013,^{[T 6]} and it would release on iOS and Android on 13 August.^[c] It later released on Windows Phone and Steam on 12 June 2014^{[T 7]} and 22 December 2014 respectively.^[31]

Geometry Dash's visuals and music have been praised. Matt Purslow at PCGamesN considered the music to be a high point of the game.^[46] Andrei Dobra at Softpedia praised the animations and vibrant colors, finding the music, although at times repetitive, to be phenomenal and a complement to the visuals.^[1] Jeuxvideo considered the first few levels to be bland-looking but the later levels to be works of art, also enjoying how well the songs were integrated into each level's design.^[4]

The gameplay was met with mixed regards. Its high difficulty has been criticized, with Chris Morris at Common Sense Media describing it as maddening,^[45] and Dobra and Jeuxvideo finding Geometry Dash potentially too hard for some players to enjoy.^[1][4] Pocket Gamer listed Geometry Dash to be among the hardest mobile games.^[47] Rob Rich at 148Apps also felt it to be frustratingly difficult, although argues that the satisfaction of completing a level still made the experience worth it.^[2] Dobra similarly expressed that it can feel too difficult at times, but that it never felt unfair.^[1]