'Luminescence' (Insane Demon) by gradientxd | Geometry Dash 2.11

I've verified 2 levels by gradientxd in the past, TENDO and LUKOJE, and both were very good quality. He did gameplay in only the latter, but decoration in both. Luminescence is his new solo level, and I was very excited to check it out because of my past experiences with his works. I'm glad he reached out to me to verify this as well. However, I was unable to do it as I'm home for Christmas break and have a worse setup, which made this a bit too hard. It's definitely around Insane Demon difficulty. Arb did some playtesting on this, making him a good choice for the verification. Special thanks to him for giving me the footage to showcase the level on the channel.

This level's design isn't too different from his previous works. You can tell that it's a gradientxd level, and that's definitely not a bad thing when it looks this good in my opinion. He makes block designs and structures in a very distinct way, utilizing a lot of slopes for detail. The way everything is put together makes for some very clean designs. Aside from that, there's also his colors, which I find very appealing. The colors of the foreground are often very vibrant while the background is either black or white. In this level, it starts out with a black background and gets brighter and brighter towards the climax, in which the background is pretty much white. This can be seen around 1:10. With such a distinct style, there is always the issue of different levels feeling a bit too similar and repetitive, so you have to change it up in some ways. That's done in 2 ways here. Firstly, gradientxd plays with aspect ratio throughout, which is something I've commented on in recent videos. While the novelty is wearing off, I'm glad to see more creators doing that. Secondly, there's a part that's essentially split in 2, which starts at 0:27. You can easily see how the top and bottom contrast in color and/or brightness at all times depending on which part your icon is in. This is an interesting concept that I wouldn't mind seeing used even more further into the level.

In terms of gameplay, this will be an Insane Demon as mentioned earlier. The limited aspect ratio plays some part in that as it limits how much of the coming gameplay you can see, but it's mostly due to fast timings. It gets progressively faster to the song, which ends up in the gameplay around 1:10 being very hectic. This synchronization to the song makes it very satisfying to beat parts and probably even more if you beat the full thing. All in all, this is pretty much what I've come to expect from gradientxd. It's a very clean and colorful design level with enjoyable but fast and tricky gameplay. I'm glad he did some things a bit differently here, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does in the future. Luminescence deserves an Epic Insane Demon rating in my opinion.

- VIDEO INFO -
Game (version): Geometry Dash (2.11)
Level: Luminescence by gradientxd
ID: 87381537
Music: Protoflicker by Silentroom

- OTHER -

#design

[gradientxxd]

Special thanks to Meekah for helping with gameplay, and luckyii for absolutely nailing the song cover for Newgrounds. Here's hoping my next project won't take 10 months (it will)

[eeeeeeepy]

man the effort in this level is just crazy, love how each part quality is proportionally balanced in general

[wwyvernn]

Literally one of the most fun experiences I’ve had playtesting a level, this is seriously one of the most enjoyable demons out here. Highly recommended whenever it comes out 🔥

[Leetransform]

Man I feel like Gradient isn't talked about enough, I love his style as well as how recognizable it is like you mentioned

[rocipher_gd]

Gradient has shown so much potential as an amazing creator over the past year or two, and seeing this level fully come to fruition is really awesome! This is definitely some of his best work, and I'm definitely hoping to give it a shot!

[msm_]

This looks so cool! I love the colors and everything's really dynamic. Awesome work!

[iidokigdii]

It's good to see levels with the theme of pulses and alpha commands and both the gameplay and the style that is maintained is very outstanding. Although I would like him to add more effects to bring the level to life. But still good Video Viprin ♥️👍.

[Komatic]

Gradient single-handedly made me change my opinions on design thanks to this level

[wihtgd]

The effort and dedication put into this level is incredible!, I loved the level design. Thanks for bringing us this virpin.

[dawnfall_gd]

gradient is certainly one of my fav design creators lately, what a masterpiece

[ttimonseneryt]

GG Viprin 😉👍.
Tienes buenas habilidades, cosa que a mi me sorprende 😲.

[tmngaming]

might be one of my new favorite design creators lowkey

[XVM]

Yo, I’m so god damn level excited for the level It looks sick.

[czodi]

What a level to start with 2023! I love it 😍

[reinbinalay]

I just finished watching Recrystallize and this popped up. Damn that's nice

[creativeusernam]

What a unique looking level! Its not often that there are levels I enjoy enough to play, but this might be one of them.

[Nerhy]

glad this is out! I hope my contribution to the level made it better!

[AutumnFlowa]

Will also personally mention an amazing gp creator by the name of meekah build some gp in this :>

This level is incredible, glad i was able to playtest it

[ChoiceGD]

i love colors, the design, everything. its so cool ngl, gg to gradientxd. great way to start 2023 journey!

[tricipital]

The gameplay in this looks crazy cool, well done gradient