The Tower (Geometry Dash 2.2)

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The Intro

This is The Tower. It’s a short platformer game that comes bundled with every copy of Geometry Dash 2.2, and it is some of the best official content I’ve ever seen for this game. Admittedly I’m a little late to talking about this, but I’d still consider the Tower somewhat relevant so I wanted to put together a brief review. I’ll try and touch on everything, from gameplay to coins to overall creativity, but this is by no means a full breakdown. Anyways, I think gameplay is a good place to start since it’s what I consider the most important.

The Gameplay

So, in a nutshell, this little campaign serves as the introduction to Geometry Dash’s platformer mode, which is one of the most defining features of Update 2.2. While this game was initially built around constantly moving forward and dying to every little obstacle you touch, platformer mode gives you a perfect chance to just, chill a little bit, and take things at your own pace. Before the update came out, this really worried me because I thought the game was straying away from what made it unique. But despite this huge change to movement, every level of the Tower still felt so much like Geometry Dash.

And I know that sounds… obvious. After all, mechanics like orbs and spikes are still present in these levels. But I think it goes deeper than that. If we took a classic Geometry Dash level like Fingerdash, and took our time in platformer mode, you can see that it’s very focused on just jumping from platform to platform. There’re no enemies to fight, there’s no puzzles to solve, and there’s usually no big moves that you have to brace yourself for. And sure enough, this is the gameplay style that the Tower is built off of. It’s so much easier to feel it than try and explain with words, but I’ll try and break it down anyways. The whole first level feels a lot like a classic scrolling stage, but it slowly weaves in a couple of obstacles where you have to wait a moment or jump back and forth.

It builds up to this final challenge with rotating platforms, and while the cycles can be a little bit odd, I think it does a relatively decent job at testing your platformer skills without ramping up the difficulty too much. I wanna believe that beating classic levels will definitely help you finish this one more easily, since the player physics are identical, and in a way, even some of the jumps you’re making. This sort of simplicity continues into the first half of the Sewers, but it feels a little less linear because it’s vertical. As long as you aren’t in a rush, it’s really difficult to mess this up. But then we get to this elevator… thing. And it’s quite the difficulty spike. Unlike everything that came before, you’re not going to beat this part first try, and that’s very clearly by design. However, it’s not punishing in the sense that you can just immediately give it another try. If you had to replay the level from the beginning every time you died here, this part would leave a very different impression. But otherwise, it’s simply an autoscroller that you get better at one attempt at a time.

Just like… Stereo Madness, Back on Track, Polargeist, Dry Out… This is Geometry Dash being Geometry Dash, in a slightly more interesting way. You know how to jump, and you know how to not touch spikes… I think that’s all you need. It’s also just… fun! And very well designed! Out of all the elevator rooms RobTop has made… uh, well I still think it just barely falls in second place. There’s no denying that this section is a little difficult for level 2, but then again, the Tower is only four levels so this is like the miniboss at the halfway point. And honestly, this level is so short that I would say that the elevator part IS the level, and the first half is just a bit of fluff to set the scene. I definitely think there should have been lots more gameplay before this section, but I also don’t mind the fact that it gets right to the point. The way I see it, level 1 teaches platformer, and this level tests it. Which actually makes sense, because the next level changes you into the robot game mode, which is a totally different playstyle. I don’t think there’s too much to comment on here, since it takes the logical step of adding new obstacles and making jumps a little more precise. Once again, there’s no enemies or fighting, it really is just you versus the level design, which is what Geometry Dash is all about. This level is significantly easier than the Sewers, but if you treat the elevator part as a miniboss, it’s actually a perfect next step. Finally, The Secret Hollow gets crazy with it. I still think that as long as you take your time you shouldn’t struggle too much with this level, which, again, is one of the things I love about platformer mode. It’s super chill. There’re tons of interesting ideas in this level, from fireballs, to conveyors, to a whole Pac-Man part with the ball. It’s super creative, and equally fun to play.

It’s also long enough that The Cursed Thorn boss fight doesn’t feel like the entire identity of this level, which is something the Sewers definitely struggled from. Speaking of the boss fight, it’s… interesting. You attack it by running into these green things, and it makes this part feel a lot more interesting than a fight where you just dodge attacks until the boss gets tired. This sounds great on paper, but realistically I think this fight is far from perfect. You have to keep in mind that the only controls in this game are move and jump, so the boss has to be designed with that move set in mind. And while all these levels did a great job at showing off just how much you can do with such simple controls, I think this boss fight instead reveals you how LITTLE you can. Because all you really do is… dodge fireballs. And then a couple of lasers. And then this final attack is the equivalent of… jumping over a single spike. But worst of all, the boss is really long, and since the gameplay wasn’t interesting I just found myself thinking “how many more times do I have to hit these green things”.

There’s so much that could have been done here, whether it’s changing game modes or adding some more platforms that could be utilized. Oh yeah, one more thing… there fight has minimal music sync. We’ve got this banger track playing in the background, but nothing is really done with it. There’re no visuals to compliment it, and the attacks don’t have any sort of sync. Which is actually highlights a problem with platformer mode as a whole. Music sync is very difficult, because if your level has too many conditional events, it’s next to impossible to detect what part of the song you’re at. Anyways, do I hate this boss fight? No! I know how hard this stuff is to make, especially in Geometry Dash. The fight is okay in the sense that it’s super simple, but I think that’s just as much of a downside. A good example of a fight for this game would be something like one of the overworld sections of Just Shapes & Beats, which manages to do so much with an equally small move set. The minibus in the sewers hit that mark PERFECTLY, but I can’t say the same for The Cursed Thorn. That pretty much sums up all my thoughts on the Tower from a purely gameplay standpoint, but there’s still a lot more to discuss.

The Checkpoints

Like checkpoints! The first two levels absolutely spoil you with checkpoints, but they slow down after that. Like what is this checkpoint in the sewers accomplishing… it takes ten seconds to get here. The good news is, a big part of game design is understanding when NOT to put checkpoints, and Rob Top did a good job in that field. If there’s too many checkpoints, you’ll never really feel at risk as a player. Yes, losing all your progress in the elevator can suck, but the lack of checkpoints adds a lot more thrill to the section and in turn makes it feel way more rewarding. And the same can be said about The Cursed Thorn, though I do think the fight should have been little shorter.

Whenever I play platformer levels, I always see so many hate comments over the lack of checkpoints, and each time I read one, a part of me dies inside. If you want checkpoints, play in practice mode! But there has to be some level of challenge when you try the real thing. Otherwise it encourages you to be reckless. A good rule of thumb is to split your level into “sections”. If you die before a section is finished, well, it makes sense to go back to the start. And if you’re not sure what actually counts as a section, well, get play testers! If you notice that people have to keep replaying a long and annoying part to get to the area they actually died at, you have to decide. Do you add a checkpoint, so they spend less time retracing their steps? Or, do you leave it out, in order to up the stakes when they actually get back there? There’s no correct answer to this! It’s entirely up to your judgment. Look, as the certified #1 Geometry Dash YouTuber of 2023, thank you for that by the way, I want to take a moment and use my status to say… stop bullying creators over checkpoint placement.

You guys are so much better than this. I get that platformer levels aren’t rated very consistently, and that losing a lot of progress can make you angry… but try and consider that maybe there’s no checkpoint to help balance the level, or make it feel more intense. And if you really think there should be one, you can say so respectfully without being such a jerk about it. This game is literally built off of long levels with no checkpoints. If people don’t want to use them, I think that’s valid. Play something else, just like you would with a bad XL level or something. Please, no more checkpoint hate. Sorry, what was I talking about again?

The Secret Coins

I don’t know, but I have a sudden urge to talk about coins. Okay, so the Tower has some yellow coins scattered across all the levels, and these blue ones which made me realize that I’m not the only thing hidden in your walls. In case you need a refresher, every platformer level has 3 secret coins. One for finding all the yellow coins, one for finding the 3 blue coins, and one for beating the level within a tight time limit. I actually predicted this back in 2.1 and I will never shut up about it. You can tackle these objectives one at a time, or challenge yourself to do all three in a single run.

But whatever it is, these coins serve two very important purposes. The yellow coins are there for the sake of pacing, and the other two secret coins are tied to replay ability. In other words, the game wants you to get the first coin, but expects you to revisit the level for the other two. These yellow coins are pretty much impossible to miss. They’re always right on the main path, and the only way you’ll miss them is if you’re intentionally trying to speed through the level. But if you were to do that, you would quickly realize that each level is like, less than a minute long. Which is why I strongly believe that these yellow coins are here to make you slow down, take your time, and appreciate the level a little bit.

It also makes you a little more willing to explore the level, which ultimately leaves you more satisfied. Otherwise it’s like running through a Mario stage without hitting any of the blocks or checking any pipes. Once you’ve beaten the level and have a general understanding of its layout, that’s when the speed run coin comes in. You probably took your first run pretty slowly, which is why it’s fun to see the game invite you to do the exact opposite and absolutely book it across the level without caring about any of the secrets or details. It adds an extra layer of difficulty without actually changing the gameplay, and lets you be the judge on which risks you want to take. The levels themselves are also just, very speed runnable. When it comes to custom levels, I don’t think you can throw a speed run coin onto any level, especially if it’s too long or difficult shut up I know it’s bad I won’t do it again People also aren’t as willing to replay online levels compared to official ones, so you want to make sure they appreciate your work at a good pace rather than rushing through everything for the coin. That leaves us with the blue coins. They’re basically the 3-star coins for the level, and unlike yellow coins, almost none of them are out in the open.

There’s a very easy one in level 1 to teach you how blue coins work, but after that, uh, suffer. I really don’t feel like analyzing these coins one by one, but if you want my actual opinions on them, then… Much like a secret coin, a blue coin can’t be too obvious, but it also can’t be too hidden. A good baseline is like a strawberry in Celeste or a star coin in Mario. You want to walk away thinking “wow, that’s a cool spot for a secret”, and not “why is there a coin here”. And a lot of them seem to miss that mark, probably because they were rushed. A lot of the blue coins remind me of those cheap hidden walls, or layer zeroes, from New Super Mario Bros. But like, the really bad ones. Because realistically, most of these are still better than what the Tower has.

But I think the most prevalent issue is that there just isn’t much to these coins. Take this secret wall in Celeste for example. Is there a collectible hidden behind it? Nope, it’s an entirely new section… that leads to a collectible. And I think this is exactly what the blue coins lack. Platformer mode means that you can just add new sections off the main path, but none of these levels really do that. They focus on simply finding secrets, rather than making them lead to something interesting. The closest thing we have is the first two coins in The Sewers, and sure enough, they’re my two favorite coins. I especially like this second one, because instead of just giving you a coin there’s a fun little cutscene to go along with it. I want to quickly single out this coin in The Cellar for its… uniqueness. It’s kind of random, and definitely a hard one to judge, but I think it’s creative enough that I’ll give it a sort of pass.

The Creativity

Actually, that’s a good segue into the next thing I want to talk about. The sheer creativity and craziness of these platformer levels. I love it. So much. See, one of the reasons platformer mode still feels so much like Geometry Dash is because every level is still made in the same editor. And this level editor is NOTHING like a traditional platformer editor. You’re given a couple very basic mechanics like orbs or portals, but pretty much everything interesting has to be made entirely from scratch. Moving platforms, obstacles, enemies, doors, you get the point. This can sometimes suck since you have to put in a lot more work, but on the other hand, you get full creative freedom over how to implement these things! Take these fireballs for example. You probably won’t find this in any other level, and even if you did, it probably won’t have the same textures, particles, colors, sound effects, movement speed, charge animation… whatever you make, it’s yours my friend. Not to mention, with all these objects in the editor, you can decorate your level in any way you imagine.

This is why a lot of platformer levels feel like short games rather than Geometry Dash levels. But the shared physics and core mechanics definitely help keep things a bit organized. Ultimately what I’m trying to say is that these platformer levels can do anything. And they absolutely NAIL it. You have to strike a good balance between keeping your mechanics predictable and easy to learn, but also making sure they’re not… boring. And the Tower does a good job at that! When you see conveyor belts you probably know how they’re going to work, but it’s just done in a way that’s so fun and charming. Everything leaves you with so much inspiration for your own platformer levels, and that’s clearly something that these levels were trying to do. I just love everything so much. You’ve got the whole dungeon art style for these levels, where everything has so many little hand-placed details. The robot guy that like, scans your face or whatever.

This jetpack guy in level 2 that welcomes you then shows up again in the elevator. The freak in’ crates floating up and down. Oh yeah, the elevator! The whole hacking elevator! Like look how cool this part is!!! And it doesn’t just look cool, it’s genuinely really well put together! You’ve got all these robots watching you climb up the cellar, and there’s that part at the top with Rattle dash where you grab a bomb and actually no I don’t like that part. Oh yeah, this entire section in the Secret Hollow with conveyor belts, and turning into a ball to get granted access.

Even the small things like this whole cage sequence! Look at the way the cage breaks apart when you jump around! Is that not… awesome? Look, I just, really like these levels. It is truly Rob Top’s creativity at its absolute best. And like I said before, everything is perfectly designed. I feel like some custom levels don’t hit as hard because their gimmicks are too confusing, or they’re trying too hard to show off, or their pacing doesn’t feel right. Rob Top has truly perfected all of these little things. *Almost all of these little things. Are there too many different ideas crammed into a single level? Possibly. Do I care? No, it’s way more entertaining than just… platforming. You know what’s also really fun?

The Lore

The whole lore going on with these levels. Geometry Dash has played with a bit of storytelling in the past, and I have a huge soft spot for how it never takes itself too seriously. This is a square game; my immersion isn’t going to be ruined because a monster was locked in Flubdub’s basement because he wanted chicken. The Tower is more or less the same idea. It’s held together by a very basic story, but cares more about it being fun than… captivating.

If you actually recommended the Tower to someone for its story, then… I wish I was as easily amused as you are. Oh yeah, there’s also a couple voice lines, but they’re just pulled from a stock library meaning that it’s less about the script and more about the general message it’s trying to send. I think there’s a lot of charm to that. So, for the story, long story short, it’s an abandoned tower. You explore a bit, and this GLaDOS-looking guy is like “you what are you doing here” and drops you into the sewers. Then the fire in the hole guy says hi to you, you free this monster from a cage, you’re introduced to the main character, Rattle dash, the robots get angrier and give you a whole lecture about “defying the lord of darkness”, then you’re forced to commit a horrible act of violence against Rattle dash who was just chilling there!!! Uh… this part’s kind of boring. you get locked up for trespassing, but the cage sucks, so you find your way out, and then… boss fight.

There’re probably some important parts that I missed, but I don’t do plot summaries in my article reviews. As much as I like these little bits of storytelling, I think I would have enjoyed it more if they didn’t take up weirdly long amounts of time. If you’re trying to speed run, the cutscenes in level 1 actually take up more time than the gameplay itself, because this scanning bit drags on for way too long. And the same goes for this guy’s yapping in level 3, especially when he isn’t really saying anything meaningful.

The Audio

You know, one of the reasons 2.2 was delayed in the first place was because sound effects were supposed to be a 2.3 feature. But without them, platformer levels would have sucked. So here we are, 15,000 sound effects later. And it was so worth it, because the sound design in the Tower is phenomenal. Everything sounds really natural, and it makes the levels feel so much more alive. Every sound also has its volume and pitch perfectly balanced, which takes a lot more effort than you might think. And lastly, all the important actions always have really satisfying sound effects attached to them for feedback.

Like picking up a coin, a blue coin, the last blue coin, a secret coin, a checkpoint, unlocking a door, and so on. I guess I should also mention the music for the Tower, which is… interesting. Unlike the rest of the game which pulls from New grounds, most of these songs are just like, Casual Game Music 09 from the Unity Asset Store. At the end of the day, the composers of these songs are still just independent artists who like to write music, but I still think the energy is… different. Especially when this is Geometry Dash! I guess I just wanted to see more original songs, or familiar artists like Water flame, who had a seemingly commissioned song that only got used as loading music for a sneak peek of the Sewers. You know, the level that uses Scheming Weasel.

That being said, the music still works. The benefit of having such a large music library is that you can find a song that fits pretty much any situation. It’s much easier to find a stock track that matches “mysterious dungeon” than to scroll through every Boss fight track looking for one that barely fits. All the music choices ended up being fantastic, and Casual Game Music 09 honestly slaps. It’s just the perfect “no thoughts, head empty” song… One complaint, I do think resorting to two Kevin MacLeod songs is a little lazy. And also, most importantly, there’s no gameplay built around the music, which is Geometry Dash’s whole thing. You’d expect there to be little things like background pulses, or traps going off in time with the music, but nope.

In the Tower, the background music is unfortunately just, background music. And it kind of sucks. But we can’t forget the boss tracks, which obviously stand out a lot. The Cursed Thorn fight uses Tomb by Boom Kittty and Skyth, and I like that because it’s the perfect place to slip in the kind of Geometry Dash-core track we all know and love. Meanwhile in the elevator, we have Stranding by Sebaravila, who writes really awesome Doom-inspired tracks for FPS games. Which makes the fact that it got picked up by Geometry Dash… kind of hilarious. There was definitely room for a more traditional GD song, but Stranding is still a great choice and it shows people that there’s lots of really talented artists in the music library. Well, that’s pretty much everything I wanted to cover in this short review.

The Next Floor

Or at least, I meant for it to be short, and then I… said a lot of words. That seems to be happening a lot now, isn’t it? Overall, the Tower’s awesome, but this is just floor 1, and I’m sure there’s going to be lots more to come. So, I figured I would end with my Wishlist for floor 2 of the Tower. Firstly, I want to see the jetpack. Floor 1 only uses cube, robot, and ball, which makes sense since they’re like the primary platformer modes. But I would love to see what can be done with flying vehicles, since they’re such an integral part of the base game. At the end of the Secret Hollow you unlock a jetpack, and I think it would be super cool if you actually busted it out in the next level. Secondly, I want better blue coins. I think Rob just needs to do some homework on how other games hide their collectibles, because there’s so much untapped potential. Like I always say, there should be an interesting challenge attached to them, don’t just hide them in a wall. Thirdly, I just want to see more… fun. The Tower has so many fun and random ideas, and I’m sure there’s lots more planned.

I don’t want to be able to predict what’s coming in the next floor, because that would mean it’s boring. Fourth, more challenges. Aside from the bosses, I didn’t find any parts of the Tower to be particularly tough. So, I think it’s time for a general difficulty ramp-up. Tighter jumps, more obstacles, less breathing room, but still in a way that’s fun and fair. And finally, better bosses. The Cursed Thorn is a good starting boss, but I hope we get more interesting stuff going forward. Maybe like an autos roller that’s synced to the music. Or maybe using your jetpack to survive long enough in a Just Shapes & Beats-like bullet hell. I want the floor 2 boss to blow by mind. Maybe instead of The Cursed Thorn it’s like… the Blessed Rose. Keep in mind that these are just the things I want to see officially.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, the Tower is great, the levels are creative, and I’m excited to see what we’ll get next. There’re obviously some minor flaws, but it’s still an awesome experience nonetheless. So as a reviewer, my final rating for the Tower is…