Geometry Dash Subzero Retrospective

Yesterday I wrote about GD World, the second Geometry Dash spin-off game, which came out exactly 9 years ago from yesterday. Exactly a year later, on December 21, 2017, the third — and as of yet final — Geometry Dash spin-off came out, and I wish to reminisce about it today: Geometry Dash Subzero.

GD Subzero combined elements from the two other spin-offs, Meltdown and World. The game featured three standard-length levels just like GD Meltdown, but contained new features teasing the upcoming update just like GD World.

This time it teased features for the 2.2 Update, which at the time seemed pretty small and like it would come soon. In reality it ended up taking about 7 years to release after this game came out, and almost 8 since Update 2.1.

Because of this it served as a very small sneak peak, that got smaller and smaller as time wore on, to the point where the features shown in the game were vastly out-numbered by the ones we didn't have access to.

The only additions at the time were a new desert-like background (which I really like), the random trigger which was luckily only used visually in the game, camera controls which allowed the camera to move in multiple ways, and the ability to go in reverse.

The only features shown that were not in Subzero were the new swing gamemode, and the free fly mode.

As for the levels themselves, although they did seem a bit rushed, I actually really enjoyed them! These still remain some of my favourite levels RobTop has made, and absolutely some of the most fun. They all show those early 2.2 features, but use them very sparingly to the point it's not overwhelming at all!

The first level was Press Start, which is probably the most dense of the three in terms of new content, but also the easiest.

It featured all of the new features except from the random trigger. It introduced camera controls with very simple zoom-ins and outs during fitting parts of the song, and it has a small dedicated section where you go back and forth in sort of mini-stages within the level.

This level is quite easy, but still super fun! It uses a large variety of gamemodes, has pretty nice decoration, introduces the new changes very well, and it even has a constant motif of skulls which culminates in a huge skull popping up and following you through the latter half of the level! It acts as a sort of boss, which is a very fun addition, despite being quite easy and only directly attacking at the very end.

The next level is Nock Em, which features a more consistent tech-y style, with the same blocks as Airborne Robots from GD Meltdown. It also adds in some black sections with just spikes and block outlines, which I have always been a big fan of!

As for gameplay, it does feature quite a few camera movements, including a lot of static shots which flow super nicely, and a bit of reverse gameplay in a couple of parts.

Also, despite having a relatively simple theme on paper, it executes it super well! With the regular and dark sections lining up very well visually with the corresponding parts of the song, and having quite a bit of flair to it as well with stuff like Rub's letters, custom portal walls, and cool teleporters.

From what I've seen around the community this is probably most people's favourite, and I have always understood why!

The final level of the game is Power Trip, which is probably the weakest of them all but definitely one I've always enjoyed, and it's also the hardest.

It doesn't have as interesting of a design as Press Start or Nock Em, in fact it has a dark section that looks almost identical to Nock Em's, with the teleporters and everything. Regardless, the main design of the level with those tube-like blocks is one I really like! Especially with the specific colours used for it, and I am also a big fan of the pyramid background.

This level does have quite a bit of flair as well, with a wave section that suddenly goes in reverse that was teased by a smiley face, some randomized text that changes every playthrough (which was this game's only showcase of the random trigger, thankfully), and also an accidental way to skip the last quarter of the level (LMAO).

Also this level has probably the best actual use of camera controls in the game! Most of the level is at 3x speed, which is usually pretty daunting and almost impossible to sight-read, however most of it is quite zoomed out, so you can actually tell what to do with relative ease!

This level is probably not as much of a spectacle as the other two, but I've always found it just as fun regardless!

And that's it for Geometry Dash Subzero! Or at least my thoughts about it. Although GD World was definitely my favourite when these first came out, I cannot pick any favourites over these nowadays.

All of these games were incredible, all for different reasons, and GD Subzero was a nice — albeit eventually irrelevant — teaser for the 2.2 Update, and still remains an extremely fun spin-off with some of the best levels of the series despite all that!

Also it released the day before my first visit to Canada, which was very fitting and set me in the right mood for it, lol.