Geometry Dash

The beginning of 'Electroman Adventures', the 13th of 21 levels in the game and currently the fourth to last level of Geometry Dash Lite.

Geometry Dash can be played with a touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, or controller. The player manipulates the movement of their icon through input in the form of pressing or holding to reach the end of a level. If the player crashes into an obstacle, such as a spike, a wall or a sawblade, the level restarts from the beginning. There is also a "practice mode" in which a player may place checkpoints to survey or practice a level, but is unable to collect coins or gain progress for normal mode. The timing and rhythm of the in-game music are key parts of the game, often in relation to each other.[3]

During gameplay, the player's icon takes the form of one of seven different game modes, each of which behaves differently with each interaction. Player movement is further complicated by portals that allow the player to change between seven game modes, reverse gravity, change the size of their icon, mirror the direction of their movement, change their speed, or teleport. Furthermore, pads and orbs can be used to move the player in varying directions or change gravity.

There are 21 official levels in the full version of Geometry Dash, 18 of which are unlocked upon installation. The other three require a specific number of secret coins hidden within all the official levels. Each level grants rewards upon completion.[3][4] Official levels steadily advance in difficulty. Levels are categorized into six difficulty ratings: Easy, Normal, Hard, Harder, Insane, and Demon (which also has five sub-categories: Easy Demon, Medium Demon, Hard Demon, Insane Demon, and Extreme Demon). Players can earn achievements that unlock rewards, such as icons or colours.[5] Players may also utilize three shops that use an in-game currency to acquire icons or colours.

The full version of the game features the ability to upload and download user-created levels.[6] The creator must complete their level with all user-placed coins in normal mode before it can be uploaded: a process known as verification. Changes made after verification will render the level unverified again.[5] Some custom levels have a specific difficulty determined by Topala. The creator of a level, its players and the game's moderators can influence this decision. User-created levels can be categorized into 12 difficulty ratings, including five of the ratings used in official levels. The auto difficulty is reserved for 'auto' levels which do not require input for completion. In approved user-created levels, each difficulty rewards a certain number of stars upon completion.

The game began as a project that could have moved in any direction, according to Topala. 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'.[7] 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 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 later changed to Geometry Dash. The game is developed on the Cocos2d game engine.[8]

Upon its release, Geometry Dash had seven levels free to play on the game's free version, alongside nine other levels released in later updates. It gained popularity around the world, especially in Canada, where it achieved the title of the most popular paid iPhone app in June 2014.[9] There are four free versions of the game, one being Geometry Dash Lite which includes the first 16 levels from the full version.[4]

On 14 August 2021, Topala released a sneak peek video of version 2.2, the first major update since 2017, on his YouTube channel. The release date had yet to be announced.[10][11] On 4 September 2022, Topala released the second sneak peek, over a year after the first.[12] Topala released a third sneak peek on 15 May 2023, which showcased additional platformer mode features and a sound effect library for custom levels.[13] On 13 August 2023, as part of the game's 10 year anniversary, Topala released a 27-minute video in commemoration. At the end of the video, the release date for 2.2 was revealed as October 2023, making it the first update to be released in more than six years.[14] However, on 22 October 2023, Topala announced via Twitter that the 2.2 release date would be delayed to November due to server and bug issues.[15]

The game received 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'.[16] 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'.[17] 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'.[18] 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.[19]

Robert Nicholas Christian Topala (born 23 February 1987),[35] also known as RobTop or RubRub, is an independent Swedish video game developer who created the platformer game Geometry Dash.

• Official website