Geometry Dash Demonlist (2024)

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The Geometry Dash Demonlist is a website that lists 150 Demon levels in Geometry Dash in order of difficulty standing based on player opinions. The official list was originally a topic on gdforum, historically a community hub for the game; it later moved to the independent pointercrate.com website and has been receiving updates since April 2015. Currently, the list classifies Tidal Wave as the hardest Demon level in the game.

The 150 levels are divided into two lists: the Main List, consisting of the 75 most difficult Demons and player percentage records on each, and the Extended List, consisting of the next 75 most difficult Demons and exclusively player completion records on each. The list has a leaderboard system titled the Stats Viewer, where each player who beats a level on the Main/Extended List will be awarded Demonlist points, and the player's rank on the Stats Viewer is determined by how many points they have. Currently, the Individual Stats Viewer classifies Trick as the player with the most Demonlist points, and the Nation Stats Viewer classifies the United States as the country with the most Demonlist points, sitting at the maximum possible amount of 10000.

The Demonlist is considered one of the most influential creations in Geometry Dash history,^[1] establishing a competitive scene in the game and having widespread effects on level creation, completions and content creation, for which it has also experienced significant criticism.

Overview[]

The Demonlist displays all 150 most difficult Demon levels. Each section leads to the page for the respective level; these are not permanent links to the specific levels, but to the ranking on the list. On a level page, the level's name, publisher, and verifier are listed at the top, followed by the video of the level's verification. Under the video, the Demonlist score awarded for completing the level and for reaching the minimum record percentage are listed. The next section, Position History, lists historical placements for the level as well as the reason for changes (e.g. the placement of new levels or shifting of existing levels). The last section, Records, describes the threshold of progress for record qualification (e.g. 55% or above for Tidal Wave), the number of records and completions, then a list of records including the holder, their nationality, the progress, and video proof of their record.

History[]

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The Demonlist was initially prototyped by loogiah as "Impossible and Very hard Demons Records!" on gdforum.^[2] loogiah's inactivity led to several successors^[3] before the creation of the "NEW Extreme and Insane Demons Records List" the verification of Bloodbath by Riot in collaboration with the player R4Z0R following the former's verification of Bloodbath; this list became the first iteration of the modern Demonlist.

The Demonlist formerly sorted out a total of 50 Demon levels, extended in October 2017 to 100 and in June 2019 to 150, when the list was divided into a Main and Extended List with 75 levels each.

The community's eventual shift to higher refresh rate monitors and the usage of tools such as the FPS bypass allowed players to complete levels that had not been finished before due to the limitations of lower refresh rates.

List[]

The Main List and the Extended List include subjectively ranked Demon levels, added as a result of the average sentiment of the players given the time that had to be put into the levels and the skill required to complete them in normal mode. As a method of management, the lists are split into two, each containing 75 Demons. The Legacy List contains Demons that occupied the list but were pushed off as new levels were annexed. The Legacy List does not follow any order and receives updates when new Demons are moved down.

Staff[]

The Demonlist is led by a handful of people known as list editors and helpers. They have a public Discord server in which people can get involved in evaluations of the list via polls that they occasionally post as announcements.

Submissions[]

Each Demon level annexed into the list has an independent overview and the records set, including a link to the achievement's video. To submit a record, it must comply with the following criteria:

Demon rules[]

• Demons need to be rated to be included on this list.
• If a level was hacked to change the difficulty, even if the hack-verifier made it easier, the Demon will be moved straight to the bottom of the Legacy List as a punishment. Notable examples are Zodiac, Arctic Arena and Furious Flames.
  • If a Demon gets a hacked update before being list-worthy, it will not get added.
  • If a Demon has a secret way, it will not get added.
    • Despite this, Limitless is currently on the Legacy List and is famous for its secret way.
  • A Demon for which the original verification was hacked will still get on the list, provided it is list-worthy, rated and has at least one legitimate victor. Notable examples are ZAPHKIEL, Athanatos and Slaughterhouse.
  • A Demon that has been removed from the servers or unrated will be moved straight down to the bottom of the Legacy List. Notable examples include Astral Divinity (then known as God Eater), Wasureta and kowareta.
• 2-player levels verified by two or more people will not get on the list, meaning levels like Bang Gang and We Are Not the Same will never make it on the list despite both being verified legitimately and being difficult enough to place on the Main/Extended List. However, a 2-player Demon level will only get added if it is verified by one person, such as Elite Z Rebirth, CholeriX and Codependence.

Submission rules[]

• Records must be legitimate and uploaded to a streaming platform.
• Posting illegitimate recordings and passing them off as legit will punish the submitter by removing their records from the list. Illegitimate records include but are not limited to using speed hacks, noclipping, autos, nerfs, macros, etc. Currently, the rules allow for a framerate bypass of 360.
• Records must be made on the normal mode and the live version of the level or an appropriate bug-fixed/low-detail copy of said level.
• The record holder must meet the percentage requirement of a level to be added to the list for said level.
• Videos that are submitted require clicks to be added.
• If a level receives a buff update and is moved up the list, all records previously added will get wiped as they were not achieved on the official version of the level. It does not apply if the update's purpose is to nerf. If it is drastic enough to move the level to the Legacy List, no new records will be added.

General guidelines[]

• Verifications are not counted as records on the list but still award points.
• Being in a group in which people beat levels for the same channel will cause your records to be temporarily removed from the list.

Bugfix and LDM guidelines[]

• Records using a level's built-in LDM are always eligible.
• Records on appropriate LDM copies of levels are eligible. Please contact a List Moderator if you are unsure which decorations can or cannot be removed. Generally speaking, an LDM copy should not remove decorations that obstruct the player's vision, blind transitions, flashes, or boss fights, for example. Referring to the first guideline, if the previously stated decorations are removed in a level's built-in LDM, it is perfectly fine to use the copy.

Records on appropriate bugfix copies of levels for different refresh rates are eligible. Please make contact with a List Moderator if you are unsure of what is or is not a bug.

Source: https://pointercrate.com/demonlist

Reception[]

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Though the Pointercrate website's interface and feature suite were met with general praise, since moving to Pointercrate, the Demonlist has received significant criticism, including by Riot.^[4]

Impact[]

Players[]

The Demonlist gave way to players known as "list grinders", who play Geometry Dash primarily to complete levels placed on the Demonlist.^[4]

The guidelines imposed by the Demonlist are effectively considered empirical in the modern community, and gameplay in violation of them is passed off as illegitimate.

Level creation[]

One of the most widespread criticisms of the Demonlist is a perceived oversaturation of ranked levels.^[5] Between Updates 2.1 and 2.2, nearly 500 new levels were placed on the Demonlist at an increasing rate per year; around 100 of these levels after 2020 placed approximately in between Zodiac and Plasma Pulse Finale, respectively #1 and #12 at the time. Numerous Demons are accused of being created with the primary intent of receiving placement on the Demonlist, including Avernus.^[6]

Toward the end of Update 2.1, players began to note the ever-escalating difficulty of the Demonlist; Main List level difficulty officially began to exceed that of popular formerly impossible levels, starting with the placement of Silent Club at #15. With prohibitively difficult gameplay elements such as frame-perfects and extreme straight-flying becoming more prevalent in List levels, players began to question the accessibility of the Demonlist. As of the start of Update 2.2, all of the top 4 Demons (Avernus, Acheron, Silent clubstep and Abyss of Darkness) have received significant criticism from victors for their lack of enjoyment.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Top 1[]

Main article: List of Top 1 levels

The #1 position on the Demonlist is popularly referred to as the "Top 1" level. Since its advent, the list has dictated for much of the community the hardest rated level in Geometry Dash.

Mod vote process[]

A vote occurs among victors of new candidates as to where they should place the level to democratise the placement of levels on the Demonlist. This process has received criticism for its slowness and potential bias.^[4] Notably, this process has led to such situations as when Silent clubstep, a former impossible level and fan-favourite contender for #1, was swapped with Slaughterhouse, the #1 at Silent clubstep's release, only after both had been surpassed by Acheron.^[11]

FPS bypass[]

Main article: FPS bypass

The invention of the FPS bypass to decrease input lag led to a significant controversy spanning 3 years in which players debated whether the tool should be considered illegitimate. The Demonlist's guideline against FPS bypass was finally lifted on 25 November 2020.

Trivia[]

• The Demonlist has been acknowledged by RobTop himself, as in the Geometry Dash 10th Anniversary video, he congratulates Acheron for being the hardest level in the game.

References[]