Top 20 Best GAUNTLET Levels

Edit:

You might notice this blog has weird spacing issues. This is likely because of the ments being included in these types of posts now. Just letting you guys know (so you don't blame me for it, pretend there's a strikethrough through these parentheses).

Also, the 10,000 word goal has been reached! My next post definitely won't be this spectacular, but hopefully, it'll be something you guys still like.

Hi!

I'm Joltik, and I'm back with another post, made partially to break ten thousand words in a single blog, but also to showcase my favorite gauntlet levels!

Now, some of you may wonder, "Joltik you made a post rating all the gauntlet levels so why can't we just use thaaaaaat???". Well, my opinions have changed a bit since. I've made quite a few changes to my ratings, and I'm a lot happier with these, thus justifying a reason for this post.

And I'll only talk about the best levels because I don't want to make a post highlighting the worst. The only way I'll likely ever talk about a level I dislike is in a ranking post, and there's too many Gauntlet levels to rank (78, including the deleted ones).

What do "Level #B mean?"

Under each level is a tag for what gauntlet the level is in. It looks like this:

______ Gauntlet: Level _

If that tag has "Level _A" at the end, then that means the level was removed (DELETED, not 'changed location') at some point.

If the tag has "Level _B" at the end, then that means the level was swapped in for a deleted level.

How The System Will Work

Under ever level's written review is two sets of scores: New and Old. The "New Score" is my current score of the level, on a scale of 0-10. My "Old Score" represents the score I gave the level in my "Every Gauntlet Level Reviewed in 10 Words or Less" blog.

Below is my 0-10 rating system in a bit more detail. The examples are a bit different in this post than in the "Every AlterGame Ranked" post.

0/10

This score goes to levels that are abysmal beyond the "quality" of the level. Maybe there's some history behind it that puts it at this spot, or maybe they're insultingly bad in a way.

Examples: PeanutButter by CodeN & Peton, Buff This by BoyOfTheCones

1/10

This score goes to levels that are either fully boring or frustrating with loose redeeming qualities in the visuals. Most generic levels will have this score.

Examples: Vulgarity by Creatorlings, Confuzion by TheRealRow

2/10

This score goes to levels that have a redeeming quality in them that's worth mentioning, but everything else is still either visually appalling or frustrating to play.

Examples: Fukuoka Rush by Alkali, Wild West by DanZmeN

3/10

This score goes to levels that are similar to 2/10 in a lot of ways, but they're a lot better to play or much more visually interesting. You'll normally see levels like this either have a 2/10 or a 4/10. In other words, you won't see this score from me much.

Examples: Rising by Alderite, Dead Lands by Flukester

4/10

This score goes to levels that are barely teetering on 'able'. These types of levels will usually have something about them that bothers me enough to consider it a 'bad' level, but occasionally, levels like these will be leaning a bit closer to 'mediocre' than 'bad', but still not good enough for a 5/10.

Examples: Flatline by Alkali, Mantis Showdown by Tongii

5/10

This score goes to levels that I'm indifferent on in regards to whether I enjoy it or not. This will almost always be the score for a mediocre level, but it can also slightly lean toward 'good' or 'bad' and still have this score.

Examples: Alphabet Soup by Echonox, Motion by TamaN

6/10

This score goes to levels that have enough redeeming qualities to be considered a 'good' level. While levels with this score can still slightly lean toward 'mediocre', most levels with this score are 'good'.

Examples: Master of the World by ViPriN & Terron, Slap Squad II by DanZmeN

7/10

This score goes to levels I have a huge liking to. It's either fun to play or pretty to look at, but either way, both gameplay and visuals will take the spotlight.

Examples: Dinosaur by Alkali, Kotoruption by Alex1304

8/10

This score goes to levels I 'love'. The level has charisma and originality, and it's really fun to play. The score only goes to levels that are simply great overall.

Examples: Flax by Thomartin, Anatomic by Lemons

9/10

This score goes to levels that do something outstanding, something that separates it from other levels. These levels have one big thing holding it back from a 10/10, but it's still a fantastic levels.

Examples: Alula by Jayuff, X by TriAxis & TamaN

10/10

This score goes to levels that may not be perfect, but excel in every aspect. Negatives are either very minor or nonexistent. These levels are true masterpieces.

Examples: Fiji by Nasgubb, Black Blizzard by Krazyman50

Before we begin, I'd like to give four honorable mentions. These were levels that almost made the list, but barely missed it.

HM #1: First Race by Stamina

Fire Gauntlet: Level 3

This is probably my favorite level from one of my least favorite gauntlets, and sadly, that isn't saying much. I think the gameplay is pretty fun, but the visuals are pretty bland, and I feel like I originally gave this level too much credit.

Old Score: 6/10

New Score: 5/10 (-1)

HM #2: Fear Zone by GD Jose

Shadow Gauntlet: Level 4

This is another level I think I gave too much credit to. Unlike First Race, this level actually excels in the visuals but sadly fails in the gameplay. I like the concept of having a switch that toggles some objects on and off, but I don't like the 'Screamroom' area.

Old Score: 6/10

New Score: 5/10 (-1)

HM #3: Shuriken by Ferdefunky

Death Gauntlet: Level 2

Shuriken is a bit bland gameplay-wise, especially the bossfight area. It has the cool effect of 'hiding', but other levels have done this similar concept in similar ways (like Under by Serponge). The cyberpunk visuals look pretty cool, though, except for some of the colors.

Old Score: 5/10

New Score: 5/10 (±0)

HM #4: Crystal Fusion by CastriX

Crystal Gauntlet: Level 2

I'm still very indecisive on whether I actually like this level or I hate it. It's a generic 'CastriX glow-spam' level, but there's lots of really amazing cave-themed art, and the gameplay, while not great, isn't terrible. But one thing I really wish for is better optimization, that's easily the worst thing about this level (if you don't count the song).

Old Score: 2/10

New Score: 5/10 (+3)

#20: Danger Zone by GD Jose

Lava Gauntlet: Level 5

This level was certainly something great at the time it was made, as you can see by the number of the daily, but it doesn't hold up as well anymore. And it's not like how levels like Sky Party and Underground, 2.1 fanmades made in 2.0, just look terrible now that the update is out. It's more like how Optical's early 2.1 levels just look empty and bland now, but used to look outstanding.

Let's just start at the beginning. The start of the level looks pretty alright. I think the black rods and constant moving objects fill up the level enough, and the gameplay is pretty fun. I also like the color scheme, and how it flashes red at the high notes in the song. But otherwise, the sync isn't very good.

The spider part doesn't look very good. The glow looks weird because of the waterfalls shooting up the spikes. It just looks a bit weird, and a bit indescribable, but I think you'll be able to see it if you look hard enough. Speaking of "looking hard enough", if you look hard enough to the left at the spider - ship transition, you can see one of the bats is still on screen. Also, you can see the dash orb wear off and the spider fall to the ground as the screen is fading to black. This part is weird, I don't like it very much.

I freaking love this ship part. I love the rotating 'planet'-like structures, and the bright, cool colors on the screen when the song got lighter really works. Some could argue it makes the level seem inconsistent, but I think that's an issue with the song choice. I think Jose found a really cool way to work around the high pitched vocal break in the heavy, dubstep-y song, and I love it.

The transition from break to drop is kind of weird. It looks like the original, but slightly worse, though the gameplay is a little bit more on point.

The drop is why this level has a 5/10 instead of a 7/10 like it used to. It relies heavily on straight flying and the shake trigger, and while I like what it does with the shake trigger, the straight flying is so unnecessary, and it's topped off with very copy-pasted, bland visuals and even a dash orb in a wave part.

So yeah, the ending was a bit rough, but there's a lot of things I like about this level. The gameplay, for the most part, is pretty fun. And the level has lots of creative ideas and visuals. It's an all-around pretty average level, and still one of my favorite daily levels from January 2017. It's just...there's better out there.

Old Score: 7/10

New Score: 5/10 (-2)

#19: Aquarius by Skitten

Magic Gauntlet: Level 2

This is a pretty cool level, with a decent underwater theme. The concept was pretty new at the time, and I think it was executed pretty well.

The level starts with a very empty visual design and slow, bland gameplay. The sync isn't very good here, and the visuals are overall really bland, but the art is really good, and I like the color scheme. All the colors really work together.

The mini drop is pretty forgettable in both aspects, but it's not too bad. I like how there's more than one background, and while the gameplay is pretty bland, and the color scheme kinda drifts away from the aquatic theme, the sync is a lot better (though that's not too much of a saving grace, I didn't say this part wasn't bad, just not tooooo bad).

The part right after is easily my least favorite in the level. It looks out of place, having an odd color scheme and incredibly boring gameplay. In addition, this part is really empty visually. I like the bubbles with Skitten's icon inside them, but that's all to see here.

I fricking love the "go!" transition in this part. Everything about it. The colors, the text shaping, the use of the move trigger, everything.

The drop has some pretty bland gameplay, and the underwater theme isn't really present anymore, but I like the visuals anyway. They're bland occasionally, but there are some really good-looking block designs and effects.

Overall, this level has cool art and occasionally decent visuals, but the things that really stand out in quality only happen once in a blue moon.

Old Score: 5/10

New Score: 5/10 (±0)

#18: Timeless by SirHadoken

Time Gauntlet: Level 3B

I think Timeless is definitely a level that's aged a lot better than something like Danger Zone. I mean yeah, it's not perfect, but it's an alright level.

The beginning looks a bit bland. I like the pulsing hexagons and maybe the block designs as well, but I think this part is really empty overall and the gameplay is very uninteresting and slow, in a bad way.

The title card looks cool.

The next part with the clocks is easily my favorite in the whole level. I love the design of the clocks and how the hands rotate, and I love the experimental block designs. The black/white aesthetic also works in this level, and the gameplay is really cool. The only lackluster thing here is the sync.

The spider part is a bit bland. The background effect looks really cool, but the gameplay is really unimmersive and the air decoration is definitely lacking.

The drop, with the rainbow effects and the white spinning pinwheel, looks really cool. If you look closely, you can see the rainbow background is pulsing as well. And the gameplay, while not great, is fun. The sync is still a bit lacking though.

The following wave part is, again, bland with cool background effects. The background is mildly synced with the song, but the rest definitely isn't. Though I think the block designs shine the most in this part than in the rest of the level, excluding the black/white part.

Most of the quality comes from the background effects in this level, while everything else just falls a little bit short. Mostly the sync, but also the block designs and gameplay. It's an alright level, but not one I'd come back to. Although this level is MUCH better than Vulgarity, let me tell you that.

Old Score: 6/10

New Score: 5/10 (-1)

#17: OMG Aliens by DanZmeN

Monster Gauntlet: Level 2

OMG Aliens is a pretty alright level. I think it's fun to play and it has a cool theme, but there's a decent number of things holding it back.

The level starts with a pretty decent-looking underground segment. I like the design of the sewage, as whill as the block designs and the designs of the monsters. The sync is also pretty good. The gameplay is also pretty cool here, except the 4x wave segments.

I think the buildup to the drop overall is a bit weird. This part looks extremely bland and empty, and the gameplay, while alright, isn't great. The rainbow part looks even worse, as it's just one-color lines.

"go tbh"

The drop has fun gameplay. I think the design is a bit odd, but I think the gameplay and sync make up for it immensely. And even the visuals aren't that bad, there's some cool designs for the monsters and spikes, and the color scheme looks weird, but it works.

The part afterward is odd. It's mostly just orange flashes. This part is probably the least fun in the level, and the design is also very lacking and kind of drifts from the monster theme.

The design of the alien spaceship is really cool, and also the green monsters, but the fact that it's hard to see where to go makes this part all the more irritating.

The best part about this level is definitely the beginning, as it excels in both visuals and gameplay. The drop is fun, and the rest of the level kinda fails for being either annoying or straying from the theme. I think this level could've been a lot better if it was just more consistent.

Old Score: 8/10

New Score: 6/10 (-2)

#16: Mind Control by Darwin & G4lvatron

Time Gauntlet: Level 1

Aha, yes! Darwin finally made a good level! Well, with G4lvatron's help. This definitely isn'ty favorite Darwin level, despite how few of levels I actually like, but I still think this is one of his best: it's really cool.

The level opens with some awesome-looking block designs and a cool new design for the jump orbs. The gameplay isn't noteworthy here, but I can give credit to the block designs.

I really like the design of the globe in the background. My biggest complaint about Darwin's levels like Glitch Gremlin are that they just have glow spammed everywhere without really anything creative done with the glow. I'm happy to say that the glow used in the globe is really creative. And while some might say it's similar to what Darwin did in his level Perception, it's actually not, because the globe in this level spins around on the X axis, while the globe in Perception is just stationary. This part is also surprisingly well optimized. I also really like the vanishing portals in this level. It's not like they're completely invisible or like they're wave portals, they're size portals for the UFO, making it really easy to react to the portal disappearing, and that's what I like about this part.

The next part with the breakable blocks is...awful. It's extremely, extremely bland in of visuals, and considering there's no indication on where you'll go or when you have to react when you fall, this part becomes a pure memory segment, and levels that are purely memory don't tend to be any good (*cough Meowterdash*).

I really like the next part, particularly the background. I don't like how the blocks appear from out of the ground, but I like the background design, and how the player touched the bg spikes on the X-axis, but doesn't die, meaning they're recreated with non-solid blocks. I also like how there's layers to the background.

The next part is pretty much ripped straight out of Horizon by Mylon, which is a really fucking amazing level, by the way. The effect gets pretty annoying, as it basically requires the song to be ed in order for it to work, and it's also very confusing where to jump and move, especially during the ball part.

The wave part is really cool. The color of the circles in the background look faded, but clearly aren't. And it looks kinda cool when they move around the screen. The wave gameplay isn't anything special, though.

The next part is outstanding. Again, the gameplay isn't special, just being a symmetrical cube dual, but the background effect looks outstanding. When the glow goes through the triangle, it becomes colorful. I can't even begin to comprehend how Darwin could've achieved this.

The last part is a unique 'circular' type of gameplay. It's pretty buggy and annoying, but I like the pulsing visuals in this part.

This level is clearly Darwin trying to do something new, and I think it works. Obviously, this level has problems, but it does look pretty good overall, and the gameplay is...well, uh...let's not talk about the gameplay.

Old Score: 5/10

New Score: 6/10 (+1)

#15: Sidestep by ChaSe

Demon Gauntlet: Level 1

I've seen some people say this level sucked because of the gameplay, but I think this level is a really above-average space themed level. It's also really well optimized!

:OOOOOOO A Chase level that's optimized?!?! Yeah, I know. Amazing, right?

This level kinda looks the same the whole time, so I'll just talk about the design as a whole, then the gameplay. I don't 'love' how glow is used in this level, but the so-called smoke in this level is at least better looking in this level than in pretty much anything by Darwin. In addition, I like the 'tech' lines throughout the level. And not only are the block designs are very unique and creative, but the colors also really work, consisting of mostly red, blue, pink, and purple.

The gameplay in this level is actually pretty fun. While the introduction is definitely a bit annoying overall, the gameplay certainly improves during the drop.

The drop is a lot more fun. My favorite thing about the drop is the 'moderate' speed of the gameplay. It's not annoyingly fast (*cough Holy Power*) or annoyingly slow (*cough Piccadilly Circus*), it's just the right speed.

I think if a level manages to do ship parts well, it's destined to succeed in the gameplay. While there's a ton of tight spaces in this level, there's a very consistent rhythm to it, and the sync is definitely what bumps up the quality of the gameplay.

"Every demon needs a triple spike." ~ Chase, 2016

I love the dual part afterward. It's not a bland symmetrical dual, but it's a more creative assymetrical dual ball. I like the part when the both the balls are affected by normal gravity, rather than one of the balls being upside down and the other right side up.

The rest of the level is probably the worst. It has the tightest spaces, and it's at the end of the level, so...no points there.

Overall, there's not toooooo much to say about this level, but there's tons of things to enjoy about the visuals and gameplay, especially. I think this is a really fun level.

For anyone who cares, I'm very inbetween on whether I think this should be an Easy or Medium Demon. What I would do is create a "Very Easy" Demon rating, rerate demons like Impact X and Slap Squad II to VE Demon, then make levels like Sidestep and DeCode and Easy Demon. Oh, and this is NOT the hardest Easy Demon, even back before it was rerated to Medium. There are levels like Heart Beat by RyanAB that are rated Easy Demon that make me want to die. It might actually be Hard Demon worthy, though that's a debatable notion.

Old Score: 6/10

New Score: 6/10 (±0)

#14: Blade by PotatoBaby

Chaos Gauntlet: Level 4A

I bet you probably forgot this level existed. It's a shame, too, because this level is SO much better than damn Drippy Dub. I wanted to put Dark Drop here, as it's used to be my favorite level in the gauntlet, but looking at it now, it hasn't really aged all that well. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay is great, but the visuals are a bit...eh. I think Blade has not only slightly better gameplay, but also better visuals.

Back to Blade. The cube part is...fine. It's decently fun, but it could be a lot better with less timings. I think the design is also pretty cool, as it's anything but generic with a really cool style at first, and it only gets better.

The next part up until the drop is probably my least favorite part of the level. It's not terrible, but I'm not a fan of tight spaces during slow speed. But it does look kinda cool, with the fading colors and the "den-like" part of the music playing in the background.

The drop is what won me over. People have said the level is annoying, but I found this level to be incredibly fun. The visuals also look pretty great for a 2.0 level. Some might say they're generic, but I absolutely adore all the detail and the limited change of color.

And that's pretty much all there is to say. Every part in Blade looks the exact same, not to mention it's just barely a minute long in length. But that's not to say this level doesn't deserve any sort of recognition. The design is pretty alright, and the gameplay is lots of fun. If you didn't get the chance to play this level while it was in the gauntlet, you definitely should now. Well, not now. You gotta finish reading this first.

For those curious, I think this level is better than Sidestep because there's less things I dislike about Blade. Sidestep has a few moments in the gameplay I don't like. Also, if you don't think this level should be on this list (because it's not actually in the gauntlets anymore), then consider Shuriken to be #20, and move everything else up by one.

Old Score: 6/10

New Score: 6/10 (±0)

#13: Infernal Arena by SUOMI

Lava Gauntlet: Level 1

A lot of you might've picked up from chatrooms that I like this level. A lot. I talk about it all the time whenever I refer to level remakes, seeing as this is a Viking Arena remake, and a great one at that.

I think I'll just get all the negatives out of the way first. The biggest problem with this level is definitely the gameplay. For 1.0 gameplay, it's pretty good, but for 2.0, it's really slow and boring. There's also just very little variation, seeing as the gameplay is all 1.0 based. It's also slightly empty visually. Also, this level does look really empty visually.

Now let's move on to the beginning of the level. The "Rubrub is Illuminati" text was really funny, and the anarchy symbol is actually really good looking. I think the beginning of this level also does an amazing job of setting up the 'satanic' theme of the level. The rest of the part looks pretty bland, and I don't like the block designs.

The next part looks pretty cool, especially in of colors. While it is a bit bland in of air deco, it's a lot better in of gameplay, and the fire looks really cool, despite how obsolete the default fire object is.

The next segment just looks like a recolor of Geometrical Dominator. The gameplay is...meh.

The next part is bad. I like the moving platforms, but I hate the gameplay here, as it's literally just nothing but straight flying (plus a coin that's easier than the normal route). Although I will say, in of air deco, this segment looks a lot better than the beginning of the level.

The last part has really cool block designs, and the gameplay is pretty good for the difficulty. Though I don't like how the background flashes but the foreground doesn't. It's pretty noticeable here, if it's not done at any other point in the level.

This level is a huge mixed bag, having some good gameplay and some bad, along with some good visuals and some bad. But in both aspects, there's more good than bad, though the bad things are PRETTY annoying. I'm happy I looked at this level again and lowered the score, as an 8/10 is a bit unbelievable. Despite that though, this is definitely still my favorite level in the Lava Gauntlet, and I can easily still call it one of my all-time favorite official level remakes.

Old Score: 8/10

New Score: 6/10 (-2)

#12: Lustre by G4lvatron

Crystal Gauntlet: Level 1

Are there really even crystals in the green part of this level?

This level decides to go all out at the very beginning and starts with a beautiful crystallic block design, as well as a really good-looking background and fairly decent gameplay.

The ship part afterward...I don't like the text. I think the color looks weird with the dark blue. Also, this is probably one of the hardest coins out of all the gauntlet levels, though the pressure plate one is definitely harder in my opinion. If you're not going for the coin, the ship gameplay is...alright. It's not great, but it's not bad at all.

The next green segment has an outstanding 4D background design with gorgeous block designs. The level doesn't even look that empty. The gameplay is also really fun for a 5-star level.

But this part goes on for foreeeeeeever. And when you reach the next part, which has another 4D background with the same block designs as the ship part before this, it becomes evident that this level doesn't really have anything else to offer.

The last part actually looks butt ugly. The colors (gray, purple, and orange) don't work in the slightest, and this part looks severely empty. At least the gameplay isn't that bad.

This level could've been something amazing, and it started off that way, and the creator even made the song himself. But sadly, this level rapidly declined in quality at around the halfway mark. And unfortunately, I have to take off points for that. This was the #6 level at one point, by the way.

Old Score: 8/10

New Score: 7/10 (-1)

#11: Odyssey by ViPriN, Chromatik, Joshenjol, OSIRIS GD, Deadlama, & CX Random

Magic Gauntlet: Level 4

It wouldn't be a DubstepJoltik list without the controversial opinion! (Even though I'm pretty sure Blade is one too, and me not putting any AbstractDark level on this list either.)

This level is goooooorgeous. The best thing about this level is easily the art. While Empyrean just had horrible gameplay and art that honestly wasn't even that good, this level has fairly decent gameplay (except the transitions) with gorgeous visuals.

Let's start with Chromatik's part. This part definitely looks a bit glow-spammy, and the gameplay isn't very good. I guess maybe the colors are okay? But overall, it's not a great way to start off the level.

But Joshenjol's part absolutely blows me away. The book art looks beautiful, and the colors are noticeably stunning. I also love the block designs and the gameplay.

OSIRIS GD is the creator of one of my favorite Weekly Demons of last year (2017). And even though that year only had eleven weeklies, it's still a pretty decent weekly (Saguaro). And I thought the skeleton art was outstanding. The tree looks absolutely gorgeous, and the air decoration is a lot better than in Josh's part. The gameplay here is probably my favorite in the level. It's pretty fun, despite some blocks being a bit difficult to see.

Deadlama's part is a lot emptier than Chromatik's, and the gameplay is of about the same quality. Not even the colors work in this part, it's just empty, and I hate it.

I'm torn on whether I like CX Random's part or not. I think it looks cool, but the color scheme is way too bright for the dark tone this level set up already. I also don't really like the block designs very much.

Like Lustre, this level could've been something amazing if Chromatik and Deadlama weren't involved in it (this level was seriously at the #2 spot at one point). But at least it's better than Empyrean. The best thing about this level is the color scheme for sure. The worst thing, by far, is the song. I absolutely hate this song, and Etzer's music just isn't my cup of tea overall.

Old Score: 10/10

New Score: 7/10 (-3)

#10: Prismarine by SirHadoken

Crystal Gauntlet: Level 4

I was really inbetween whether to put Blade above this level or not. And while I eventually decided to put it above, the characteristics of each level made the choice all the more difficult.

The start of this level is probably the worst. Not the cube part, but easily the ship part. While the cube part is just "average", and looks good for a crystallic-styled level, the ship part looks very bland. And on top of that, the gameplay is confusing, as it's hard to tell what kills the player and what doesn't. Maybe if the cart was in 3D instead of 2D, it would look more threatening.

I like the UFO part. The gameplay starts to improve here, and the darkness combined with the floating lights and vibrant colors look really cool. The block designs in this part are among some of my all time favorites. The layers of crystals in them look absolutely gorgeous. There's also vibrance and color in the crystal designs. The only complaint I have about this segment is that it's a little bland in of air deco.

The next (wave) part looks a lot like the beginning, but with some really decent crystal art on the side. The sync, though, is pretty bad.

The next part has pretty boring gameplay, but I like the design. The block designs look similar to the wave part before this, but the crystals look really good when inside the block designs.

The final segment of this level has fantastic borders to the block designs, but the interior of the blocks looks very empty and bland. The gameplay, though, is pretty good for a slow cube.

The ending title card looks awesome. It's full of color and layers.

This level is one of my favorites for being so colorful and vibrant, on top of having mostly decent gameplay and gorgeous art. Is this SirHadoken's best? Probably not. But this is easily one of his better moments, especially during a period of time where he was seen as more of a generic creator. This level is full of personality and vibrance, and it deserves to be in the Top 10 for sure.

Old Score: 7/10

New Score: 7/10 (±0)

#9: Ghoul by DesTicY

Death Gauntlet: Level 1

Choul.

...

Yeah, that's not even worthy of the Seinfeld theme playing.

Alright, this level sets the theme really well at the beginning, with a creative 'dark' theme. I personally think the next level does a better job of setting the theme, but I think this level does well, too. The gameplay in the first cube segment is also pretty fun.

Let's start with the general color scheme. It's easily the worst part of the level. It's incredibly dark, and the color of the lava especially looks really bright and kinda weird. Unless it's green, in which case, it actually looks kinda cool.

Now the general decoration. The designs of all the monsters and ghosts look amazing. As for the regular air decoration, it looks kinda...meh. But all the monster designs, especially the boss, look outstanding. I also like how all the objects move. They make the level seem more dynamic, but don't deplete the value of the gameplay.

Oh yeah, this level has gameplay. It's actually pretty fun, especially the bossfight. You would think the moving objects would make this level more annoying, but that's not the case at all. It's still very easy to understand where to go (though it's debatable for the bossfight).

The bossfight in this level is really cool. I don't like how the boss changes color from black to white, it looks weird. But I like the fireballs rotating around the player. And the way the boss moves and attacks the player looks amazing.

So yeah, that's Ghoul. There's very little to say about this level, but that doesn't really make it bad. Is it may favorite level ever? Definitely not. Should it have placed in the gauntlet? Sure, why not, though there's definitely better that both made it in and didn't.

Old Score: 7/10

New Score: 7/10 (±0)

#8: Buried Angel by f3lixsram

Doom Gauntlet: Level 2

I was originally a bit uncertain on this one. It wasn't on the list at all at first, but at one point, I decided to play this level again, and, well, these are my thoughts on it.

The first ship part is kinda cool. The spaces are kinda tight, but I really like the visuals. This part absolutely sets the tone for the rest of the level. This is actually my favorite "opening" for a level out of all the levels on this list. The music in the background, the dark colors, the doom-like designs, and the tight ship gameplay work together beautifully.

The drop is when the level starts to take a turn for the worse. There's lots of obvious copy paste here, but I think it's fine because of the style this level is going for (f3lix calls it "symmetrical core, like what MaJackO used to do"). The sync is definitely a bit better here than at the start, but the gameplay is definitely worse, because it's a lot more 'closed in' and there's far less room to move, on top of the numerous auto segments. I also don't like the color scheme too much. It reminds me of Mechanical Showdown and how the level is just nothing but gray with almost no variation, except the red flashes.

As I stated above, the transitions are a bit static, meaning there's little movement, in of color. MaJackO had lots of color in his transitions, but this level can't really do that because of the "doom" restriction. I like the Japanese text, but I don't like the borders and the squares around the 'frame'.

The next part is basically the same as the part before the transition above. The highlight here, though, is the 'smashing blocks' effect, though it's definitely copy pasted a few times throughout the level. The blocks aren't even structured differently.

The 'black borders' throughout the drop change in every segment, and I think they look cool, especially the 'gear-like' border during the second part of the drop. It also adds to the atmosphere, as the level is supposed to be pretty dark. And in of gameplay, the drop overall is...alright. I wouldn't call it fun, as there's lots of speed changes and vehicle changes, but it's nowhere close to the field of 'annoying', and the transitions really aren't that bad if you know what to do.

The final part feels like it fits more with the start of the level (with the orchestral music) than the ending (with the music box playing). The heart in the background looks gorgeous, but that's kinda it. The border on the left feels out of place in of color, and the gameplay actually isn't very good here. It's a bit tight, and being at the very end of the level, it puts a damper on the quality. The ground is also very clearly copy-pasted, only F3lix can't really use the "symmetrical core" excuse here.

Overall, this level has lots of cool things going for it, especially at the start of the level. The symmetrical core style works for part of the level, but not the whole thing. The art is definitely the highlight of this level, but given it only appears during the transitions and ending, it's not exactly a huge factor in the level. The gameplay ranges from bad to good, and the design ranges from outstanding to borderline lazy. I think it is good enough to be in the gauntlet, though. No, this level isn't amazing, and it has a lot of copy paste, but that's the style this level is going for: symmetrical core. And the art is just beautiful.

I don't regret looking at this level again. At one point, it had a 5/10, and at one point, it was at #15.

Old Score: 5/10

New Score: 7/10 (+2)

#7: Predator by Samoht & Xenoteric

Death Gauntlet: Level 3

Now we're getting into the really good levels. This level astonishes me with its...ironically dubious beauty. This is a very weird one, but in a good way.

This level decides to get the second worst part out of the way. I really don't like the solid white blocks. However, I do like the 'security camera' aesthetic. And the gameplay actually isn't even that bad, it's pretty alright. And considering that's my second least favorite part of the level, you can surely grasp how awesome this level is. I mean, it's still #10, so clearly there's things I dislike about it, but we'll get into those.

The next segment is a sort of empty 'heartbeat' segment. The gameplay is actually kinda fun here. This is definitely some of the more fun "ship gameplay" on this list. The colors are also kinda nice to look at.

You would think the next part would be memory hell because of how the blocks vanish and change locations. It's actually not, there's arrows indicating where to jump. They're not even hard to see (unless you're watching a video, but if you're playing the level, you'll see them 100%, trust me). I like the "radar" effect in the background as well.

By now, you've probably grasped that this level is full of original concepts, all of which have had their own ways of succeeding, but the gameplay has been a bit "average", though. So why is this level better than Mind Control, which did the exact same thing? I'll tell you why.

The bossfight's design. The gameplay? At its worst, for sure. It's very confusing, and some of the boss' attacks are just stupidly hard to avoid. The boss itself is also really static and doesn't really do much. Most of the difficulty comes from the obstacles within the level, not the boss' attacks. The boss' design looks butt ugly, yes, and the color scheme looks kinda gross, but what I love about it is that unlike levels with gross color schemes like Under, this level actually does something with the "grossness" and makes the predator look like a science experiment gone wrong, which is kinda what the level's theme is, so this level DOES SOMETHING with the hideous design. It's not just "this design is gross but I put lots of effort into it". No, this level KNOWS it's gross, and puts a clever spin on it.

The next part of the level is weird. It's like a drug trip, honestly. It doesn't really belong in the level, and the gameplay here actually kinda sucks.

The part with the blood cells looks amazing. The gameplay is also kinda meh here, but I just love the design.

The last part also reminds me of Mind Control. The saving grace here is the TV static screen and the error page.

Overall, this level looks really gross, but in a way that's clever and special. The gameplay isn't always good, especially during the bossfight, but there are some parts that are pretty fun. And this level has tons of creative and well-executed concepts and visuals. I actually kinda love this one.

Old Score: 8/10

New Score: 8/10 (±0)

#6: Spooky Light by Serponge

Shadow Gauntlet: Level 1

I was gonna put this one higher, but there's a number of things I don't really like about this one. But it still made the Top 10, so it's really not that bad.

The level starts with a really cool haunted house segment. I also really like the design of the character you play as. And while the level does get dark at times and the blocks start to fade into the darkness, it's still very alright gameplay (if you take out the long, awkward auto sections). I also like the design of the ghosts. Is it original? No. But for 2.0, it looks pretty alright.

The next part is just as cool. You have to fly as the ship and grab the lanterns to illuminate the path ahead of you. But I like how you can avoid the lanterns and still make it. It would've been awesome if a coin could've been achieved that way. I also really like the colors and the pixelated block designs. The only problem is that the gameplay itself is really boring.

The bossfight against the ghosts has a very clear objective, and it's a lot of fun as well. I like how the ghosts completely change color to red after the light is shone onto them.

The forest segment is...uh...weird. I like the designs of the trees and wooden planks, and the gameplay is very 'alright', but the forest segment just feels out of place. There's no Mario levels which take place in a haunted house which contain a forest segment. I know there's at least one haunted house which takes place within a forest, but none of them have a forest-like area. So this is...kinda weird.

So yeah, this level is really unique compared to most, but its mediocre gameplay and out-of-place forest segment bring down the quality of the level a bit. But I still think it's worth being in the Top 10, because it's very creative and visually interesting.

Old Score: 9/10

New Score: 8/10 (-1)

#5: Carnation by IlhamAulia

Ice Gauntlet: Level 3

This level is NOT better than Amplification, I have no idea what the appeal is to that level at all. You would think the community would be more fond of the effect level over the level with a very static design.

Lots of people have said this level looks empty, and I can agree with that...for the most part. The beginning definitely looks empty. The block designs aren't very good, and even the background effect looks a bit bland. The gameplay is definitely the saving grace here, though. It's really fun.

The next part isn't too dynamic, but the art on the right side looks really good. Notice how it's clearly NOT copy-pasted (this isn't sarcastic, by the way). The dual gameplay is also really fun, despite it being almost completely symmetrical.

The UFO gameplay is pretty great, but enough about the gameplay, just look at the art! Keep in mind that this level was made during 2.0. It looks great for a level from so long ago (well, HeLL does too, but still). I also really like the color in this part, more than before.

The next part has easily the best design. The music line in the background could be thicker, but it's still very dynamic and exciting to look at. I also love the rest of the background. It inadvertently gives off the ice aesthetic, but also looks really good.

The gameplay is at its weakest just before the drop (not counting the part in the above paragraph), as there are some transitions I don't like, and the visuals are extremely bland as well. There isn't even a background.

"for olympics cc2"

The drop has a little bit of size portal spam, but it's actually not that annoying. I really like the effect in the background, as usual, and the gameplay is fun.

The last part is the part that looks the least empty. It's also a shame this is the shortest. The gameplay is fine here.

What makes this level better than Spooky Light? Both levels are a bit empty, but at least Spooky Light has better art, right? Yes, true. But Carnation has much better gameplay. I'm not saying I like gameplay more than decoration, I'm saying that Spooky Light excels in the visuals but kinda fails in the gameplay occasionally, while Carnation has a bit of both. Neither level is worthy of being in the Top 5, but I think both do care very close.

For those who are curious, this level placed 5th in Olympic's CC2. I mean, at least it got SOME sort of deserved recognition.

Old Score: 9/10

New Score: 8/10 (-1)

#4: HeLL by Serponge & Shig

Demon Gauntlet: Level 5

Two Serponge levels in a row. Makes you wonder: how didn't Serponge get any gauntlet levels AFTER these? I'd rather have preexisting levels than any more official contests, actually. And despite this level being so notorious for having "bad gameplay", I actually think it's okay.

The level sets up the theme really well at the beginning. It's certainly not a "hell-themed" level, but the color scheme definitely resembles this. The gameplay is pretty fun for a start to a demon. I also love the effect going on in the background.

"prepare yourself"

The song is right. Prepare yourself for the worst part of the level: the notorious first wave. This part is really annoying, especially if you suck at the game (like me). I like the bloody effect, but yeah, the gameplay is trash. But not as trash as the part right after: the next ship segment has tons of flashes, even on LDM, and it's almost impossible to see where you're going with the visuals blocking your view.

The next part is kinda empty visually, but it has really noticeably great block designs and background effects. This part has really confusing cube gameplay. Especially with everything going on at once, you'll crash here at some point.

The ball part afterward is also a bit empty visually, and a very...weird background effect. Not weird in a good way, weird in a dumb way. They're just poorly drawn crosses. It's also really hard to see because of the annoying flashlight effect.

The last part before the ending is easily the most fun in of gameplay. The background effects are fine in the robot/UFO part, but they're really confusing in the wave/cube part, as the background flashes a color that's the same as the color of the blocks. The level is also very noticeably empty in of air decoration in this part.

The last part is definitely the most stressful, especially after doing the first wave and mini ship countless times with succession. Thank god I never died here, lmao. This part is basically just straight flying on a black screen concluded with two triple spikes, but with a weird-looking background. The block designs look alright, but not all that special. It also sucks that 2/3 of the coins are in this area.

The best thing this level has to offer is definitely the color scheme. There's some effects that are kinda meh, but the color schemes are amazing throughout the entire level. I complained about this exact same color scheme when talking about Predator, but this level actually manages to make the colors look really good.

Overall, this level has a lot going on in the background, and a lot going on in the foreground, but there's not really anything inbetween. By that, I mean the air decoration is very lackluster. It's pretty good at the start of the level, particularly the first wave, but the level is noticeably quite empty later on. The gameplay ranges from fun to terrible. This level does ultimately have a lot to offer, and it is easily the better of the two Serponge levels, but is it Top 5 worthy? Actually, yeah.

Old Score: 9/10

New Score: 8/10 (-1)

#3: Desert Bounce by Dashtrict

Spike Gauntlet: Level 4

Top 3 time, woohoo! Desert Bounce is one of those levels that only really exists because of the song, at least according to the songs. These types of levels are always a mixed bag (Chord Cutter, Holy Power, Fire Level, etc).

The level starts with a silhouette cow skull art. It actually looks pretty good for a silhouette design. It's basically straight flying, so I can't say good things about the gameplay, but this segment is at least short.

The backgrounds are fairly simplistic, but they look beautiful, especially the first one. The first part didn't set up the theme well, but this part definitely does. It has 'alright' gameplay, and sync quite well (I sure hope it would, as the level is made FOR the song). I also really love the color scheme used here. If there's anything I don't like about this part, it's the yellow flash.

The colors in the next part are really exciting, and I love how there's a new background, when the level could've really easily just reused the one in the last part. And again, the gameplay is pretty alright.

I'm very unsure on whether I like the rainbow flashes on the sides of the screen during the drop or not. I like the train background, but I'm not sure about the sides of the screen.

The next wave part has some pretty bad gameplay. I love the background, once again, and this part honestly doesn't even look that empty, but the transition from ball-wave is really bad, and the wave gameplay isn't very fun.

I really like the nighttime sky background in the spider part. The colors especially. The gameplay is also better.

The biggest issue with this level is that the gameplay is kind of...eh. Could it be worse? Absolutely. But it's just not thaaaaat fun. So, as gorgeous as the art is, and as how exciting the colors are, the gameplay is what ultimately brings this level down. But thankfully, it's not by much, so this level still makes the Top 5, and still gets a fricking 9/10.

Old Score: 9/10

New Score: 9/10 (±0)

#2: Rose by TheDevon

Time Gauntlet: Level 5

Woahs. (Say this out loud, then play Seinfeld music afterward. Or don't, because it's not even that funny.)

Let's start at the...well...you get it. The gameplay is basically auto (there's one part where you can crash if you do nothing, but otherwise, it's an auto intro). But visually, this level looks pretty good. Not masterful, but it looks pretty good.

The black and white looks really cool because of the background. It's not your average generic Hyenada design, this level does something new with the black/white trope, even if it's a small thing. The gameplay is kinda weird, though. I don't think a robot works for gameplay most relying on jump pads.

It's also very clear at this point that this is more of an experimental level, and it doesn't really have a style.

The next part has a color scheme you think would be terrible: green and black with red glow. But this level somehow manages to pull it off incredibly well. The gameplay is also really fun.

The next part is eerily similar to one specific part in Mind Control. While I like the glow and the block designs in this part, it's definitely my least favorite because of how empty it looks, and how weird the background is. If this was cube gameplay, I'd like it more, but it looks kinda weird considering there's a cube-based background in a wave segment.

The next part looks kinda bland, and the gameplay isn't very good. But thankfully, it's short.

The next part was a big surprise. I like the black/white ground under the player as "Focus!" appears, and the clocks everywhere look really good. I don't really like the use of glow in this part, but I love the flashiness of this part. It's not distracting at least, which would make the already kinda bland ship gameplay even worse.

The next part is basically the part I mentioned just before the drop, but with slightly better gameplay, though I'm hesitant to call it that without a real reason.

The level ends on a very high note with a really decent city background and a gorgeous art of a rose and text which states the name of the level.

This level is filled with utter beauty. Like in Mind Control and Predator, it excels in not just the concepts, but also the execution, the biggest difference between the three definitely being the gameplay. The biggest reason Mind Control is so low on the list is because it has crappy gameplay. Predator didn't make the Top 5 because the gameplay wasn't that great. But this level is really fun to play. And that's why this level deserves to be this high on the list.

This is almost as good as the gauntlets get.

"Almost".

Old Score: 9/10

New Score: 9/10 (±0)

More Honorable Mentions

Before I reveal the #1 best level, I'd like to at least acknowledge a series of levels which did not make the list in order to avoid comments 'correcting' me. "AHHH YOU FORGOT NOWISE IT'S A GOOD LEVEL," basically. I personally don't really enjoy any of the following levels, or at least don't find them as appealing as the rest of the community does. I won't talk about them or rate them in this post, I'll just mention them. And I'm not saying you can't still mention these levels and why you like them in the comments, I'm just saying "I looked at these levels, so don't assume I skipped over them". These are in no particular order.

> Slam by Rafer (Monster Gauntlet: Level 1)

> Sanctuary of Light by AbstractDark (Crystal Gauntlet: Level 3)

> HellGate Menace by ChaSe & Braikmain (Monster Gauntlet: Level 5)

> Darkness Keeper by AbstractDark (Doom Gauntlet: Level 5)

> Nowise by Darwin (Doom Gauntlet: Level 4)

> Amplification by Berkoo (Ice Gauntlet: Level 1)

> Powerful by GD Jose (Spike Gauntlet: Level 5)

> Empyrean by ViPriN & More (Magic Gauntlet: Level 5)

> Kalaxian by Thomartin & JefryNeko (Magic Gauntlet: Level 3)

> Rising by Alderite (Bonus Gauntlet: Level 2)

> Half Past Twelve by Hyenada (Time Gauntlet: Level 4)

> Kappaclysm by Glittershroom43 & Evasium (Chaos Gauntlet: Level 4)

> Dark Drop by Alkali and Natdak (Chaos Gauntlet: Level 5)

> Dangerous Spikes by DeCody (Spike Gauntlet: Level 1A)

> Ominous by Hyenada (Shadow Gauntlet: Level 2) (I wrote a long elaboration for this level and ended up deleting it lmao)

These are levels I just figured I'd acknowledge so you guys wouldn't think I'd 'forgotten' them or anything.

Now, without further adieu, here's my favorite gauntlet level:

#1: Monster Mischief by MrKoolTrix

Monster Gauntlet: Level 3

"Who says I can't enjoy dumb fun?" I still have tons of love for this level. Is it my all time favorite? Not actually, but this level will always have a special place in my heart.

This level has a very consistent, gorgeous cartoony style. The colors work really well together, even when they shouldn't look like they should (orange/gray, blue/gray, etc).

And the design of the monsters are actually pretty impressive. If I were to rank the bossfights' designs for each Monster/Death Gauntlet level, the bossfight in this level would probably be the 2nd best, right behind the one in Ghoul. I love the flying vehicle the orange monster drives in, especially. It looks like the kind of thing Bowser Jr. would use if he was a SEGA character, and that's not a bad thing at all (depending on how you interpret it, but I mean it in a good way).

The gameplay? A m a z i n g . This level is a crazy amount of fun, one of the most fun levels I've ever played for sure. If there's any complaints I have about the gameplay, it's that in the spider area during the bossfight, it's really hard to see where you're supposed to teleport. And that's pretty much all I dislike about the gameplay. I really love the part at the beginning of the level where you have to hold the dash orb on the platform instead of in the air, like most levels do it, if not all.

The bossfight against the blue monster is also a crazy amount of fun. I love how the player can open up a pitfall, causing the super oblivious monster to fall inside, and if you don't press the custom orb activating it, the monster kills you (not shown in the video, bummer, it's really kool).

What an incredible level! It has fun gameplay, it has great visuals, it has the art, it's creative, it has unique concepts, and it's just an all around wonder. If you haven't decided to look at the gauntlets after you were disappointed by the Doom Gauntlet contest results, at least check this level out. Really, it's worth your time..

Old Score: 10/10

New Score: 10/10 (±0)

And that's all!

I didn't give any level a 10/10 in my AlterGame rankings. None of them really stood out well enough to justify such a high rating. But thankfully, there was at least one level (Monster Mischief) in the gauntlet that really spoke to me in a beautiful way. It was so fun, creative, and gorgeous that I had to put it with some of my all time favorite levels (like Fiji and Black Blizzard). Is this my favorite level of all time? Absolutely not. I think both Fiji and Black Blizzard have elements in them that are even more impressively creative and fun. But this level is up there with them. And that's not to say there weren't any other levels that were close. There were a decent number of levels with a positive score, way more than I thought there would be. There's levels like Rose and Desert Bounce that had something holding them both back from being "perfect", but both levels are still absolute gems within a pile of general mediocrity. Even the levels lower on the list like Shuriken (which was an honorable mention), Odyssey, and Aquarius have things that I really love. Even levels I dislike such as Nowise, Sanctuary of Light, Magmatic Sanctuary, Amplification, and Generation Retro have distinction and are very special in their own way. And I think that's the best thing to take from this: each level is special in its own way, and that's pretty much the reason the gauntlets exist. I mean, if we can stop having Gauntlet Contests, I'm all for it, but I think the gauntlets are something that should keep being celebrated, as they exist for a different reason than Map Packs. So yes, they deserve to exist more than the Map Packs do, as they have far more potential, are better received, and promote levels with personality, distinction, and character. Even if the levels aren't always good, they always have some sort of distinction, and we need more of that in Geometry Dash rather than a string of genericism and non-Darwin glow spam.

Thanks for reading, and, until next time, goodbye!

Credits for assets in thumbnail/bg:

> Serponge art by CapnColbyCube

> All other player art by the corresponding creators (Darwin, MrKoolTrix, F3lixsram, & DanZmeN)

> All 'level character' art by the corresponding creators (DanZmeN (OMG Aliens), Dashtrict (Desert Bounce), Skitten (Aquarius), MrKoolTrix (Monster Mischief), & Serponge (Spooky Light))

> Dragon design by some random dead guy

> Thumbnail background gameplay by Maksimym200 (Odyssey)

#CuratorReview