LIMBO (2024)

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LIMBO is a 2.1 Extreme Demon mega-collaboration hosted and published by MindCap, co-hosted by Djoxy and verified by BUNNYGRAM on 26 November 2022 after 109,490 attempts.^[1] The level is designed in a 1.9 style with a mix of indigo, dark blue and red, similar to the last 25% of weoweoteo's Extreme Demon Marathon but more detailed. The theme is also similar to both Hinds' and Vlacc's parts in Cybernetic Crescent. It is made to be the hardest memory Demon without relying on visual interference while implementing unique gameplay mechanics.

MindCap had stated that the version of the level from January 2022 would probably have fallen into the Top 20-30 of the Demonlist. Some playtesters had stated the buffed version that followed to be Top 1 difficulty. Due to its memory, LIMBO's relative difficulty is uniquely challenging to gauge.

On 27 August 2022, BUNNYGRAM returned to the level and started his verification of a further buffed version that he, at the time, believed to potentially be harder than Slaughterhouse, the #1 level on the Demonlist at the time. This version ended up being verified by BUNNYGRAM and placed at #7.

LIMBO received acclaim from players for its concept, design, decoration, effects, gameplay and music, and is widely considered one of the best top Demons in recent history and one of the best levels of all time.^[2][3][4]

Lore and Story[]

LIMBO is themed around being trapped between heaven and hell. With the player not knowing where to go, it is up to them to decide their fate as they venture through the wonders of different technological and demonic hallucinations.

The story of LIMBO is about a steel factory manager in the 1980s who hired a scientist to create artificial intelligence that would solve the dangerous situations of the factory. The steel factory suffered ten casualties whilst some workers quit due to the hazardous conditions they worked in; therefore, the manager decided to replace all the factory workers with artificial intelligence capable of performing all the tasks at once.

The creation was finished and named EAM-17. It was considered the scientist's greatest invention. It took him around 17 prototypes to create the final product; however, he thinks his creation is not yet ready for commercial use. The manager replied that it was indeed a marvellous machine, exclusive to his company. The manager ensures that the scientist should not worry about making profits with this machine since he will soon build an 'unstoppable team'.

The scientist then reminded the manager there is a failsafe in the form of a combination code, which perhaps activated with a key in the control room. However, the manager replies that he has not seen the machine work in real-time yet, so he demands the scientist get it working. The scientist then responds about the purpose of the machine itself and expresses his concern towards the workers who have families to raise and the fact that he is monopolising the industry.

The manager exclaimed the scientist to silence, telling him a naïve young man like him would never understand this would be the new direction towards the future. Everything would become automated, and personnel would no longer have input. It is a sacrifice through every big step. The manager also added that he dislikes how the press pushes him into talking about how he treats his employees. The scientist calls him out that his greed would force thousands into destitution through this cruel means. When the manager reminded him of his sick mother, Betty, the scientist told him not to remind him of her. They continued to prepare for the machine's operations and reminded him about the safety precaution key. The manager calls the weird-looking key an 'elaborate gag' of his due to the colours. The two then started EAM-17 to work, hoping that the manager would gain profit.

Six days have passed, and the machine functions according to plan, with increasing sales of the factory going on a long shot. However, at one point, it malfunctioned and stopped completely. The manager called the scientist to check on the machine, and then he headed towards the control room to assess the situation. Before he could do so, suddenly, a gigantic claw made out of improvised objects from the factory grabbed the scientist. The scientist yells to grab the keys at the table and focus. However, the manager is confused as to which key is the one that would activate the failsafe. There were too many identical keys to differentiate. The malfunctioning robot kills the scientist by violently throwing him against the wall. The manager then tries to make a run for it and call the authorities, but the machine shuts down all the doors and kills him.

In the aftermath, the AI blends the entire factory like an abandoned facility every time they are threatened, ready to kill everyone who dares to enter its territory. The investigation of the deaths involving EAM-17 shows that the bodies were never recovered, and the police declared the manager and the scientist missing. Around 30 years later, a cube emerges, which is the reincarnation of the scientist.

The cube was sent to the same spot where he had died outside the factory, with his only goal being to prevent more casualties to the sentient AI and RETURN 0. He must overload its resources and take the right key to shut it down. On the other side, the manager woke up elsewhere, yelling for anyone around. He has woken up in his factory, where everything is strangely bluish and distorted. As he ventures through the factory, he touches a spike and reacts in pain, telling himself that he is back from the start.

Now, the manager's only goal is to find what lies at the end. Otherwise, he will be trapped forever.^[5]

Gameplay[]

• 0-4% (Findexi + Juhou): The level starts with a normal speed cube and a series of slopes with lots of fake spikes, holes and teleporting portals. The next section requires the player to go through a series of blocks and then upside down under reverse ramps, having to remember which orbs to hit.
• 4-8% (Lumpy + Failure444 + CuLuC): This part of the level is entirely wave-based at varying speeds. While the area itself is not tight, balls consisting of small spikes float across the screen from all angles at increasing speeds and amounts throughout the part. This part ends with the word 'FOCUS' flashing on a black screen, signaling the drop and transitioning to the next part.
• 8-14% (th31 + Lieb): This part starts with a triple-speed ship that must go through gameplay that constantly switches from one set of gameplay to another at a regular interval. The part involves using three consecutive dash orbs, and at one point, the player must go to the ground, which looks as if it would kill them. There is a brief interval of using yellow orbs inside gravity changes in a tight slope corridor before transitioning into a ball. The ball contains many trigger orbs, only some of which the player shall click to make their way through. This ball section contains no other orbs or speed changes.
• 14-19% (Pennutoh): The player must first jump onto a green orb but click the trigger orbs on both sides of it. Otherwise, the next green orb (which must be used) will be toggled off. There is a lot of gameplay in other areas of the screen that is not involved in the only passable route but is only there to confuse the player. After a difficult blue orb click, there is another trigger orb the player needs to hit to activate a blue gravity portal, which will allow them to continue the part. Once again, the player must avoid what looks like the actual route to go into a fake block and allow them to continue. The player then enters a spam-based part involving blue pads with orbs on the top, where the player only needs to hit the first one to get into the wall above where a ship portal is (the ship portal is not part of the correct route). Below this, Pennutoh's icon can be seen. Jumping out from here, the level's objects will move toward the player from behind to hit a black orb that was previously out of reach. The black orb is positioned directly below a platform, meaning the player will automatically jump as soon as they land and line up for the next green orb. The last bit of this part is a mini-UFO that contains no indication of where to go, and the only two portals not forced on the player are fake and will kill them if used.
• 19-23% (Vismuth): This section features a normal-speed ship segment where the player must know which orbs to pick while avoiding the moving structures scattered around the screen. The player occasionally switches size and teleports all over. After the ship segment, there is a double-speed cube section with many circles of orbs. Each circle has four orbs, and each orb rotates around each other to confuse the player. Occasionally, the circles have gravity portals and tiny little structures. The section ends with a tight timing into the next section.
• 23-28% (Jenkins + Saria + GrenadeOfTacos): The next section begins with a normal-speed ball part. It is somewhat similar to the previous section's cube segment, where there are many different circles of rotating orbs. However, instead of four orbs on each circle, there are eight on each circle. In addition, some orbs have invisible blocks that the player can land on, and the player must remember which orbs have invisible blocks and which orbs do not. Directly following the ball segment, a wave segment has three different corridors constantly moving around. Because there are small spikes scattered throughout each of the corridors, there are invisible spaces through the walls that the player can go through to avoid them. However, the player must remember their location to pass the section. At the end of the section, the words 'GP BY JENKINS DECO BY SARIA' are shown on the walls of the corridors.
• 28-32% (Jeyzor): Jeyzor's part is one of the more infamous parts of the level due to its constant lagging effect, tight timings and invisible obstacles. It takes the victors of the level a very long time to learn this part. The first half of the part is a double-speed cube segment, where the player has to hit orbs and jump in unconventional places. Many of the spikes throughout this section are either fake or have landing pads on them, but in addition, there are invisible spikes the player cannot see. While the player must concentrate on where the spikes are located, the decoration, including their icon, is constantly blinking, lagging and moving around to substantially throw off the player. If the player passes the cube section, they meet a tight normal-speed ship segment with constantly moving structures. Orbs and gravity portals scatter everywhere, and the player must remember which ones to hit. Once the player passes the ship segment, a very brief cube transition is shown. If the player were to proceed through the ship segment without hitting the last yellow or red orb with a trigger orb inside it, they would teleport to a joke area leading to their death.
• 32-36% (Ryder + Goose): Directly following the cube transition, the player is thrown into a double-speed mini-ball segment. The section is highly complex, as there are many layers of block decoration, but only some of the blocks are real. While the player must remember which blocks are real or fake, they must hit certain orbs and avoid spikes scattered throughout to pass through. Once the player passes through the ball segment, there is a quick normal-speed cube transition with three orbs. Although containing some tight timings, this transition requires no memory. Then, the player meets a double-speed spider segment similar to the previous ball segment. The player must remember which blocks are real while avoiding spikes and hitting certain orbs. The part ends with a normal-speed cube landing.
• 36-42% (KrmaL + flash): This section is entirely in the triple-speed cube game-mode. Throughout this part, the player must remember which platforms to land on, allowing them to hit orbs and enter portals. However, every single platform is quickly moving left and right, and trigger orbs scatter throughout that the player can hit. One of these trigger orbs stops every platform (represented by the pause symbol on top of them), and the other trigger orb flips the direction of every platform (represented by an arrow pointing in which direction they are going to move if the orb is activated). The player must remember which trigger orbs to hit at the exact correct moment. In the end, the player enters a safe corridor for a moment, where they can see the words 'KRMAL' and 'FLASH' in large text.
• 42-47% (Stormfly + ZephiroX): The next section is entirely in the double-speed cube game-mode. It begins with the player being launched off of a red pad into a handful of very large rotating circles of different sizes. All of these circles have blocks scattered throughout their area, and the blocks are constantly circling at very high speeds. In addition to these blocks, the circles have a couple of orbs and portals. Most of them are unused, but some need to be hit for the player to continue through the section. Once the player passes the five circles, the section ends with two yellow orb timings, with two blue orbs almost being layered on top of them.
• 47-52% (Stormfly + SleyGD): The following section, which continues Stormfly's gameplay from the previous section, is entirely in the mini-wave game-mode. The first part features many wave corridors on the top and bottom of the screen. The player must memorise which corridors they must enter through, similar to 91% on Rearmed, but what is inside the corridors is quite complex. It features tight slope timings, but every slope has a D-block on it, which allows the player to land on them safely without dying. Because of the D-blocks, the section would be nearly automatic, but each corridor has little spikes scattered throughout them, forcing the player to memorise where to hold and where to not hold throughout each of the corridors. Then, the level speeds up to double-speed, and the player enters a dual portal. Now, the player is faced with many different spike pillars with three different spaces each. Each pillar either has two safe top and bottom spaces or only a safe middle space. The player must memorise where to go on each of the six pillars. Then, the section ends with a triple-speed memorisation segment. It features many slopes, but only half the slopes have D-blocks on top of them. The player needs to memorise which slopes have D-blocks on them and which slopes do not. Finally, the section fades to white.
• 52-58% (xStep + KWMS): As the screen fades out of white, the level speeds up to triple-speed as this section begins. The first half of the part consists of the cube game-mode. There are many platforms the player has to land on, but every platform is moving at a different speed. Some move extremely slowly, but some are only on-screen for a split second. Not only are the platforms moving, but also the orbs and portals move. The player must memorise which orbs to hit, portals to enter and which platforms to land on or jump off. Once the player passes the cube segment, they must pass a ship segment with the same concept. However, the player can go inside the moving platforms to create more memorisation in this segment. If the player manages to pass the ship segment, they are transitioned into the next section with the border decoration closing in on them.
• 58-64% (para + Th04): This section is nearly entirely in the UFO game-mode. There are a handful of real and fake structures for the player to land on or throw off the player. In addition, the screen moves around a handful of times from the UFO portals dispersed throughout the section, and there are also invisible orbs, portals and pads the player needs to hit. This section is especially complex because of the fast pace, the click patterns and the invisible objects. It concludes with a brief wave segment at double-speed that requires little memory.
• 64-69% (Giron + Temp): Then, the song goes through a key change, and the level becomes somewhat more intense. This next section is entirely in the double-speed mini-cube game-mode and targets nearly every gameplay aspect. There are structures placed everywhere, and they all have different shapes and designs. The player must know which orbs to hit throughout the section and where to jump. The full section ends with five blue pads, transitioning the player into the next section.
• 69-74% (Surv + nyab): The next section contains many different game-modes at fast speeds. First, the player is entered into a brief robot with a couple of jumps to switch gravity and then transitions into a mini-cube. Then, they must jump a couple of times and hit an orb before transitioning into a short ball segment. The ball segment contains many fake blocks and orbs, and the player has to memorise where to click. Afterwards, the level slows down to double-speed, and the player enters a cube segment. Here, the player must simply jump on platforms and hit a couple of orbs, but there are many fake blocks the player has to memorise. The full section ends with a brief triple-speed UFO segment.
• 75-82% (weoweoteo + pocke): The player hits a yellow orb and then enters a section similar to Betrayal of Fate's memory cube gameplay (which is weoweoteo's level) but a lot more confusing. It contains fake blocks that constantly move, mixed with real blocks and flashy decorations. There are triangles attached to form diamonds constantly flying at a diagonal velocity. The player passes through two platforms with pocke's and weo's names and enters the next part. It is an orb maze where the orbs constantly change to another type. During this maze, the player changes into the cube many times, and many decoration arrows point in different ways, making it more confusing. After the maze, the player goes into a simple asymmetrical ball dual, changes to normal speed and then quadruple-speed with an auto blue pad part.
• 82-87% (Evasium + PokeChatt): As the level ramps up the intensity, the memory aspect of the level becomes considerably more complex. Evasium and PokeChatt's section starts with a double-speed cube section containing moving pillars, flying orbs and teleportation portals. Almost every decoration is fake, with the only real blocks being the ones on which the player must land. Then, the level slows to normal speed, and the cube becomes mini-sized. In the second half of this section, many tiny corridors are constantly moving up and down. The player must simply know when to jump. There are blocks with arrows on them that move in the direction to which the arrows point to throw off the player. After four seconds, the screen fades to black to set the stage for the final section of the level.

• 87-100% (crohn44 + MindCap): The LIMBO keys, the most famous section of the level. As the player navigates a simple mini-wave part, eight keys, the correct one briefly pulsing green, appear to the right and shuffle their spots consecutively similar to a cups and balls game. The keys here and the shuffle are completely randomised, meaning the key placements will be distinctive every time. Therefore, the player has to be consistent when manoeuvring through the obstacles as a triple-speed mini-wave. For the first half of the section, the player must manoeuvre the wave through circular structures located on the top and the bottom. The background has many moving and rotating lines that align and pulse in the shape of a pentagram, then an All-Seeing Eye. From the second half, the player must consistently spam between two rows of spikes, and the background begins to flash pictograms of each section in the level from the start to here. When passing 3/4 of the section, the player stops making new inputs as they hold into an D-block that hovers the icon above a spike, preventing them from pausing without dying as they continue tracking the keys. As the song ends, the keys form a circuit, and each key glows periodically for the player to select. The player can collect their targeted key by releasing the control as soon as that key pulses. Upon selecting a key, a fake end-screen appears for a few seconds. Then, the player falls from the heights to the ground. If the player does not collect the correct key, they will die to the row of spikes on the floor. Otherwise, they will float on the spikes and move over them, bringing the player to the end of the level as it fades to black.

Wins[]

• LIMBO became the hardest level currently beaten on 144Hz, following LuigiDB's completion on 5 April 2023.^[6]

Trivia[]

General[]

• The password for the level is 772002, which refers to MindCap's birthday, 7 July 2002.
• The level contains 392,425 objects.
• The level is 3m 27s in length.
• The level was rated on 4 December 2022 and received an Epic rating.
  • LIMBO is currently the second hardest on both being an Epic-rated level and without a lowercase letter after KOCMOC.
    • Ironically, KOCMOC also pushed LIMBO out of the Top 10.
  • This level and Collab Level were two of MindCap's levels rated on the same day.
• The level was ranked #2 in GDToday's 100 Greatest Levels of All Time list.
• The level was nominated for and achieved Best Demon Megacollab in the Geometry Dash 2022 Awards.^[7][8]
• In Catholic theology, Limbo is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. It is the first layer of the Nine Circles of Hell.
• The level brought back some old creators such as Evasium, weoweoteo and Surv.
• Several parts were replaced.
  • EndLevel used to have the gameplay for what became Findexi's part.
  • Vlacc used to have the gameplay for what became Jeyzor's part.
  • Prism used to have the gameplay for what became xStep's part.^[9]
  • XLSpiral's decoration was replaced by SleyGD.
  • GDSkele's part was replaced by KWMS.
  • Toxic's part was replaced by para.
• Three players have a part to themselves: Pennutoh, Jeyzor and Vismuth.
• Xanii's reaction to beating the level, in which he repeatedly yelled the phrase 'It's blue!' (referring to the correct colour of the key at the end of the level), gained popularity across social media platforms, particularly TikTok.
• The level was given the nickname 'Memory Titan' after one of MindCap's tweets garnered attention from the Twitter community. The tweet was about GDToday, the most followed Geometry Dash news account on Twitter, and their potential reaction if BUNNYGRAM had died at 97% on the level, stating that they would have likely dramatised the death with high vocabulary as they usually do. The example MindCap gave was: 'BUNNYGRAM has fell victim to the ruthless 97 spikes at the end of the memory titan, LIMBO'.^[10] The usage of the term is rarer nowadays.
• Pennutoh made a joke video titled 'How hard is LIMBO?'^[11] which shows the level's supposed end-screen.^[12] However, MindCap stated on Twitter that it is not getting used.
• There was going to be an official end-screen created by DienID for this level, shown in the LIMBO full showcase video. Unfortunately, the host discontinued it due to the high number of groups used, which may cause performance issues. The end-screen featured a giant 'fountain' or 'vortex' in the centre with the letters L, I, M, B and O and a key revolving around it. The key itself also rotated.
• The anti-cheat system in MindCap's part was installed after he showcased his decorated part on YouTube, which initially did not have it. The reason is that people commented that they could pause the game and watch the replay precisely.
  • A column of fake spikes appears at the fourth quadrant of MindCap's part. When the player reaches the column, they have to hold as the spikes become a D-block, which the player must hold into. There is a spike below the player, so they cannot release, even if they attempt to pause. The block and spike follow the player until the end of the song when the player can choose the key (through the method mentioned in this page's 'Gameplay' section above), where the spike fades away.
• Failing to obtain any key in MindCap's part will kill the player. If Auto-Retry is disabled, a flashing screen with the words 'PICK THE KEY COWARD' and 'DON'T LET IT WIN' can be seen. The message is implied to be directed to the player character, the reincarnated version of the scientist (coward) from the manager killed by EAM-17 (it). The Easter egg was revealed by MindCap on 8 January 2023.^[13]
• MindCap hired Vepium to make an official Isolation remix.^[14]
• There was a 17-minute-long sequel to LIMBO called RETURN 0. It has since been cancelled, but MindCap stated it will be revived after he finishes ORBIT.
• LIMBO has many remakes by other creators, like HERCULANEUM, Broken Roulette, Abyss Switch, BIMBO and Isolation.
  • Mulpan made a level inspired by Limbo, with the level consisting of everything being Orbs.
• LIMBO was set to be reverified by BUNNYGRAM to be possible on Update 2.2. BUNNYGRAM had since lost the bet, and there has not been much said about the re-verification process since then.^[15][16]
• LIMBO is influential with the keys at the 87% mark, also being the most popular part of LIMBO.
  • MindCap stated in their making of LIMBO that this part was because he didn't want to end the level in a Michigun (triple spike) or a straight fly.

Demonlist[]

• The level was initially placed at #7 on the Demonlist on 1 January 2023, above poocubed (#8) and below Firework (#6).
  • This addition pushed Calamity into the Extended List and Photovoltaic II into the Legacy List.
  • Although it was placed in 2023, it was still the last level on the Demonlist to be placed in 2022 due to depending on other time zones in other places.
• ViperVenom95 became the first victor of LIMBO on 8 December 2022, completing it after 13,028 attempts before being placed on the Demonlist.^[17]
• The placement of KOCMOC on 16 June 2023 pushed LIMBO off the Top 10 of the Demonlist.
  • KOCMOC also ironically surpassed LIMBO for being the hardest on both being an Epic-rated level and without a lowercase letter.

Gallery[]

Art[]

Parts[]

Videos[]

• Verification

• Showcase

Demonlist[]

References[]