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Geometry Dash
2013 music-based platformer video game From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Geometry Dash is a side-scrolling platformer mobile game created by Swedish game developer Robert Topala. It was released on 13 August 2013 for iOS and Android, with versions for Windows and macOS following on 22 December 2014. The player controls an icon to navigate music-based levels, avoiding obstacles like spikes.
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The game comprises 26 full-length levels created by the developer: 22 are auto-scrolling, and 4 are 'platformer' levels. The game includes a level creation system, enabling players to design custom levels, share them online, and play levels created by other users. Players can collect in-game currency—such as stars, moons, coins, mana orbs and diamonds—from official and user-generated levels or chests.
Three spin-off games accompany the main series: Geometry Dash Meltdown, Geometry Dash World and Geometry Dash SubZero. Geometry Dash Lite is a free version of the main game that removes certain levels and icons, the level editor, and many online features. Both the spin-off games and Geometry Dash Lite contain advertisements.
The game was praised for its challenging but addictive gameplay. It has spawned a large community of players and creators.
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Gameplay
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Geometry Dash can be played using a touchscreen, keyboard, mouse or controller. The game's control scheme is extremely simple; there is only one button the player can use to control their customisable icon, navigating through auto-scrolling levels until the end is reached.[1][2] The level restarts from the beginning if the player collides with an obstacle, such as a spike or wall. A 'practice mode' option allows checkpoints to be placed that the player can restart from, although this prevents the player from completing the level in 'normal mode'. In normal mode, the player can listen to a song that is unique to each level. The in-game music's timing and rhythm are crucial, often synchronising with each level's gameplay and design elements.[1][3] Update 2.2 introduces the 'platformer' mode, where players move left or right without the auto-scrolling camera and access checkpoints without using practice mode.[4][5] Platformer mode features the same gamemodes as in regular Geometry Dash, with the exception of the 'wave' and the 'swing', which are absent, and the ship, which is replaced by the similarly functioning 'jetpack'. There are four official platformer levels which are located in a section of the game called 'The Tower'.[5]
Besides obstacles, other gameplay elements also affect the movement of the player icon, including portals, pads, and orbs that change the player's gravity, speed, size, and gamemode.[1][4][6] The player's gamemode, or vehicle, determines the motion of the player icon; for example, in the default "cube" gamemode, the player jumps a predetermined height upon a single input. The "ball" gamemode lets the player change gravity, while the "ship" gamemode allows the player to fly.[2][7]
The full version of Geometry Dash includes 26 main levels, 4 of which are platformer levels.[4][7] Each level is assigned one of six difficulties: "Easy", "Normal", "Hard", "Harder", "Insane", and "Demon".[2] Each main level contains three secret coins, requiring the player to take an alternate pathway to obtain them. There are three demon levels among the main levels, and the player must obtain a number of secret coins before they can be played.[1][8]
Beating levels will reward the player with various collectables, such as orbs, diamonds, keys, stars, moons, and more.[9] Orbs, diamonds and keys can be used to unlock customization options for the players icon, including the icon's design, primary and secondary colors, death explosion effects, and ship trails. Outside of levels, there are also shops and secret areas where customization options and other rewards may be purchased or unlocked.[9][10]
User-generated content
The full version of the game features the ability to upload and play user-created levels. These levels may use music from the official levels or feature custom music that can be imported from Newgrounds.[7] In update 2.2, 10 artists were gradually added to a new music library,[11] as well as over 1,500 song from the NCS (NoCopyrightSounds) library.[12] User-made levels of sufficient quality may be "rated" by Topala after being sent to him by an in-game moderator. Only rated levels award orbs, diamonds, stars, and moons. The amount awarded to the player corresponds to the difficulty of the level, and can only be obtained by making progress in the level.
Certain user levels also have 'user coins', which are collected in a similar way to secret coins.[6] User-made "demon" levels are divided into five additional difficulties: 'Easy Demon', 'Medium Demon', 'Hard Demon', 'Insane Demon', and "Extreme Demon'; many of them are significantly more challenging than the three official demon levels. Parts of the community are invested specifically in creating levels to be as difficult as possible. As of July 2025, the hardest rated level in the game is 'Amethyst'.[13]
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Development
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Pre-Geometry Dash
Geometry Dash was created by Swedish video game developer Robert Topala, known professionally as RobTop. On 6 June 2010, Topala created his first video game, Bounce Ball Thingy, on Newgrounds, developing it while he was at university studying civil engineering. He abandoned his course because he became more interested in the video game industry.[14] Topala decided to work alone, founding RobTop Games in 2012. The first video game he produced under RobTop Games was Boomlings, a puzzle video game released on 5 November 2012 for mobile devices.[15][16] Topala continued to create video games, including Memory Mastermind (2013) and Boomlings MatchUp (2013).[17][18]
According to Topala, the game began as a project that could have moved in any direction. He remarked, 'It simply started as a template with a cube that could crash and jump'; 'There really was no detailed plan'.[19] He previously developed it for the computer and later altered his plan and made attempts to make it a mobile game. The Impossible Game inspired Topala, and it took about four months to create the game and bring 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.[20] A trailer was released on 29 April 2013, featuring a level using the song Ultimate Destruction (made by Tmm43). The song is not present in the final game, however the level was later redesigned into the fifth official level, called Base after Base.[21]
Upon its release, Geometry Dash had seven levels and two game modes.[6] It gained popularity worldwide, especially in Canada, becoming the most popular paid iPhone app in June 2014.[22] There are four free versions of the game, one being Geometry Dash Lite, which includes 23 levels from the full version, including the tower levels.[8]
Post-release
The game has received regular updates, adding new levels, game modes, player icons and other features.[6] Sneak peeks are released on YouTube, showing clips of features from new updates. Spin-off games were released in order to promote some updates, with Meltdown, World and SubZero, featuring content from versions 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2, respectively.
After multiple delays, update 2.2 was released on December 19, 2023, for all platforms. The update was heavily anticipated, taking over 6 years to develop. The update added a brand new platformer mode, allowing the player to control the character's horizontal movement instead of the level automatically scrolling. Upon the release, the game hit a peak of 80,000 simultaneous players on Steam, a new record. With the updated level editor having numerous additions, people were able to recreate entire games, such as Super Mario Kart, using only in-game objects.[23][24][25]
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Reception
The game received generally positive reviews from critics. Softpedia complimented the game's style and the challenge 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."[26] 148Apps also 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."[27] Geometry Dash has 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".[28] Geometry Dash was the second-best and seventh-best-selling iPad and iPhone game in the App Store in 2018.[29]
Spin-offs
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| 2013 | Geometry Dash |
|---|---|
| Geometry Dash Lite | |
| 2014 | |
| 2015 | Geometry Dash Meltdown |
| 2016 | Geometry Dash World |
| 2017 | Geometry Dash SubZero |
Since the release of the original game in 2013, four spin-off games have been released. Unlike the original, the spin-offs are free to play and contain ads.[30][31][32][33] Geometry Dash Lite was the first spin-off to be released, being done alongside the original on 13 August 2013.[34] The three other games released since then primarily served as teasers for upcoming updates and features in the full game.
Geometry Dash Lite
Geometry Dash Lite is a free version of the game with advertisements and gameplay restrictions, released on 13 August 2013.[30][35] Lite includes only main levels 1-19, all tower levels, and a few selected levels that are either Featured, Daily, weekly or Event levels but does not offer the option to create levels or play most player-made levels. It also has a significantly more limited selection of character customisation options, lacking many icons, colours, and other character effects in the full game.[30]
TechRadar called the game 'addictive' but was critical about the high amount of ads and the difficulty of the game making playing frustrating at times.[30] Playlab! was similarly critical about the ads, also adding that the game "does not perhaps live up to the hype it used to have", citing the lack of variety in its gameplay.[35]
Geometry Dash Meltdown
On 16 December 2015, Topala announced a spin-off game, Geometry Dash Meltdown,[36] which was released on 19 December 2015 for iOS and Android.[37][38] It includes three levels featuring songs by F-777. The game showcased new icons and features in levels added in version 2.0 of the original game.[38]
Gamezebo highlighted the game's visual effects and music, saying "The audio and the visual effects are synchronized together in a way that makes playing Geometry Dash Meltdown a standout experience all on its own". They noted that this was not always true of the gameplay though, which made playing feel disorienting at times.[39] Reading Eagle noted that the addition ads in the game was a degrade from the original, but that the fast-faced and challenging gameplay still made it worth playing.[31]
Geometry Dash World
On 21 December 2016, Topala announced a second spin-off game, Geometry Dash World,[40] saying it would come out on the same day. It includes two five-level worlds, introducing features that came to the original game later in update 2.1.[41][42] It also features a selection of levels created by other players.[42]
Gamezebo praised the game's captivation and decent gameplay, although noted that it was not the "most interesting looking game out there", having a bland color palette.[43] AndroidGuys disagreed however, commenting that "the game is dominated by vibrant colors against a black background. From the main screen to the gameplay, everything is done in a very bright way". They also praised the soundtrack and level design, saying that "you get a huge feeling of accomplishment" when completing a level.[32]
Geometry Dash SubZero
On 12 December 2017, Topala announced a third spin-off game, Geometry Dash SubZero,[44] which was released on 21 December 2017.[45] SubZero showcased many elements of the 2.2 update and contains three levels with music from BoomKitty, MDK, and Bossfight.[33]
Android Police stated that while the ads in the game were annoying, its short length and free price made up for it, saying that "if you are looking for a quality rhythm-based platforming game that offers quite a lot of challenge and won't break the bank, Geometry Dash SubZero is a great choice".[33]
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