@@ForeverFractal117 that's kinda the idea to make the fear internal rather than external for example when i played eternelle vehemence, last 25% cranks it up to 11, then the last 10% slows down but gives you that weird, almost scary music, which really hits you when you're near the end because you know you can screw this up at any moment even though you have learned that part, you're just this close and yet feel that anxiety... it was far from being my hardest and yet it hit so insanely hard, almost got a heart attack out of that XXL levels are a completely different thing, ngl
@@quin131 Yeah. It’s either a 1 frame or a 2 frame, and you have to click late to get the 2 frame. It’s not nice either way. I’ll check if a 3 or 4 frame is possible in a bit.
@@quin131 I checked. The most that you can get is two frames, so it’s not great. Also, it’s general position based, not alignment based. The timing is based on how far to the right you are. Alignment is the phase of the repetition of the player’s position per frame.
I feel the biggest problem with a lot of other horror levels and too kid friendly specially, is that even with how violent the imagery is, it still manages to be too immature to be genuinely scary. When i see a corpse in a level like this, it rarely feels like an actual mature attempt at conveying the horror of what a corpse represents, it just feels like it was only plopped in there because "dead people are scary", and as such it feels like it's trying too hard and it ruins any chance of being scary. It's like when creepypastas just throw extremely violent imagery at you for no reason, it's not scary because it has zero buildup or any actual attempt at presenting the horrors of it, so you're just left with an unnecesary disgusting description that adds nothing.
I think another thing than makes horror levels hard in Geometry Dash right now is that every level has to be on rails. Additionally, we are also at the mercy of the song at use. Either you already know the song or someone creates one. This means that the experience will be the same everytime, which is probably why Collab Level used so many jumpscares and so many levels use shock factor. You have very little control and can't really change where the level is going. But in 2.2, we have platformer mode and the music and sound effects triggers, which in combination could be used to make some really cool horror.
my collab level experience was the funniest thing ever, I scrolled down to look at the comments right before the first jumpscare, and when I scrolled back up and saw a syringe and realistic flesh I was more confused than scared
I remember there being a bit of drama about the premiere on Twitter (like everything else, but still). I don’t think it made for a good April Fools joke but I still like to watch Juniper’s reaction every now and then
I've never stated this publicly, but I'm a little bothered when people lump too kiD frIEndly and Mr Crazyhands in with the "horror" levels, because everyone acts like I (and sometimes others) built them with the purpose of making a scary level. Neither of them were ever intended to be "scary". I don't have a "scary" style. Mr Crazyhands was just to make something cool. Too Kid Friendly was...I don't even know, to shock? It's a pretty lame attempt. Anyway, this may come across as sarcastic, but I appreciate the raw, unfiltered criticism. I'll do something with it someday.
honestly I didn't even know they weren't attempting horror. because everyone treats them like they were. either way I have a lot of respect for them due to the uniqueness.
@@NothingIsScary Don't even worry about it. Like I said, this was never public knowledge, how could you possibly have known? For real though, I do respect the brutal honesty, and I'll take your critiques into account if I do one day attempt a "scary" level.
Fun Fact: The eyeball part in Collab Level is a reference to the game “Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion” in which when you die to Ben the Merchant, that execution plays out
its not a reference, its straight ripped from the game, a reference would give some kind of credit in any way or be different in some meaningful way, its not a reference, its a copy.
that would be true if mindcap in the original showcase for it didnt credit the references in the desc of the vid. obviously you didnt bother to look tho so i cant blame you for thinking that ^-^@@jay1724
Jesus christ in the castle genuinely scared me and it fully got me when nexus looked at the painting. One of the things about that is how i never watched an actual gameplay video of in the castle, making it MUCH worse.
i agree with you on the sewer slide imagery, like depending on the person it's either not scary at all, or a PTSD trigger, neither are fun, what's the point
I completely agree with what you said about the trend of "exit game" imagery in horror, I come to horror to be scared or unnerved for the fun of it, but that kind of stuff isn't scary or enjoyable in any way it just reminds me of past traumatic experiences and makes me depressed. I really hope this trend dies out (also in "in the castle" that face in the boss fight is literally from omori lol, i don't know why so many prominent horror levels in gd literally just take scares from other horror games)
I was really hoping you mentioned “Save As” as I feel like there are different categories that should go into horror, specifically “eary, on your edge feeling” and “Unsettling visuals”, the problem is there is not any unsettling visuals in save as but there is an on your edge feeling during it, a feeling that makes you feel like youre being crushed in a way
ikr its not scary like gore but it represents an actual thing, called Alzheimer's Disease. It's a form of dementia, and the level is meant to represent that.
horror just doesn't mix with geometry dash. the game is about beating levels and, more likely than not, that is what you're aiming for. you won't feel scared in the first place if it isn't actually on your mind and the music just doesn't match up with what you're seeing. when 2.2 comes we might see horror levels actually work with platformers.
10:36 as i have said before, the eyeball scene is p much copied directly from specimen 6's death screen in spooky's jumpscare mansion. the eyeball doesn't get visibly injured in collab level because it didn't get visibly injured in SJSM. if you have issues with that, complain about SJSM, not collab level.
The random triggers in 2.2 will give you a rare chance to make a jumpscare when you die, and in least expected manner because it's rare. I would put that in my level.
This is the first time i see the level "The castle" Even if it was a video, scarynothing said that it was scary, it still made me actually be scared in a way that worked, it was scary because of the ambience, not cause "Boohoho scary blood jumpscare dead booo is scary blood get scared booo" Good video👍
The church hall personally makes me ( a person who's scared of being watched and being in the dark) very unnerved it makes me extremely scared that someone is watching me in the dark.
very good video. it’s worth noting that the only level that really worked was the platformer one - i think the way you have to replay normal levels over and over really ruins the chance of any horror actually working, unless someone makes a full-on movie or something but even that probably wouldn’t work at all. it’s a lot easier to build an atmosphere when your icon isn’t constantly moving forward
The only levels that terrified me is Save as and Man man. For save as, If the context of that level for some newcomers are understanded, then it's becoming for them terrified even tho some ppl might find that music scary and unsettling. PAHC achieved the made representation of person having Alzheimer's disease in stages! For man man though the creativity worried me from that awesome creator (on positive way bc its effective), the gore scary and unsettling and weird atmosphere makes that raw feeling. Creator (2003devin honorably) has made a lot of levels and those levels achieve the feeling, that raw feeling. It's insane. :o
In The Castle has been out for a few weeks now, and I was really happy to finally play it. Then I get the easter egg ending… and I see a hanging body, with nooses as the attack. Suicide isn’t scary, it’s just sad, especially as someone that thinks about it constantly. I don’t even want to play the level with the secret ending anymore, which is a shame because the ending was absolutely amazing before it got ruined.
I’m going to be honest. Too kid friendly might be one of my least favorite levels in the game. Not only because of its stupid edginess, but because it paints “self unalive” in a really weird light. This comes from someone who has greatly struggled with mental health and been in that place. It treats it almost as a joke, all the characters being silly dancing around right after one of them h*ngs themself. It feels so disheartening. It feels insensitive man. Just want this out there, stay safe
one of the themes of too kid friendly is that someone is trying to hide the truth from you so i think the song choice is justified in the sense that the song has that theme aswell also the song is 30.000 by colbreakz
heres what i see makes effective horror: playing with tension in the player like a puppet on a string you dont fling the puppet back and forth rapidly, the viewer cant tell whats going on enough to care you dont leave it floating in the air motionless, any anticipation will be dissolved after enough time passes keep the puppet moving, but let it take *some* time to let gravity take its course any big swings cant be immediately met with an equally large swing back, it needs to cement its place past the initial motion
In terms of atmospheric horror, Euphoria by Insxne97 has that down. I’m making a level similar to that but in my bizarre design style that nobody can seem to replicate. I’m going to add good imagery because of this video. Thanks for making the video.
You were absolutely right in the beggining. 2.2 levels that are horror are absolutely peak. Like "koshmar" (which means nightmare in russian and bulgarian) is a horror level with actual atmosphere and real jumpscares. Three nights at home is also a level thats good for the same reasons.
Man man and red rooms aren't scary to me unlike something like collab level, but the reason i think man man and red rooms are masterpieces of art and collab level is because they're not trying to trick you by saying that "i'm such a friendly level! Play me!" And then go jk i'm scary now. They are Honest about what they are and because of that they focus on making the decoration fantastic all the time that sticks in your mind even after you're done watching/playing the level and not half assing the deco on the not scary parts and then make a jumpscare that's incredibly detailed but won't stick in your mind after they're done.
Red rooms and man man are pieces of art. In my opinion, i think they aren’t supposed to be horror levels, but more of a level that’s actively trying to disgust the player, and that’s why I love it.
mr crazyhands is made by the guy who made too kid friendly, crazyhands is a pretty well made level made with care while too kid friendly is the creator doing a devin2003 and making a shitpost
Ok but do horror GAMES scare you? Like genuinely? I've never been actually scared by a horror game, the only good horror games are the ones that aren't even true horror, the ones that just are so incredibly melancholy. also Too kid friendly is literally the worst popular art level of all time so like
This video was actually helpful, i was just thinking about making one but not just some jumpscare gorey crap and i found this video while looking for a song and literally emphasised my points
I partially don't like Too Kid Friendly because it is physically a mess. There's gaps in the deco EVERYWHERE, particularly on the monsters, the deco looks like 2.0 done by someone who just started creating, in the first days of 2.1. It's like the worst of badly done peaceful remakes in one level. Man Man is one of the worst things I've ever seen in the community. It goes WAY too far, and it reminds me of adult cartoons that be "adult" by throwing in violent, sexual imagery, capped off with a naked woman decapitated with her arm ripped off and people were like "wow this is so cool because we've never seen this before!" and I'm like what do you people even see in this? Can we not praise things for "doing something new" just for doing something new?
10:36 the eye stab scene is actually ripped straight from spooky's jumpscare mansion, which is a reference to the ben drowned creepypasta. The scene cuts off because that's exactly how the game does it too. I would recommend Spook's Jumpscare Mansion, great game!
it only makes sense that platformer mode allows for more potential. Even In The Castle feels a bit underutulized in the horror aspect, but an autoscroller ust doesnt work ehen it comes to creating tension.
I think this is not just a problem in games, but also why the horror industry in general is pretty garbage. It relies too much on gore and jumpscares, in which the first one is gross, but not scary, and the second one just exploits a shock reaction from your body. Also too many horrors try too hard to the point they don't feel scary anymore, which is why horrors with extremely fictional characters just don't do it for me. Horrors need to build suspense and to focus on something that works around with real human emotions. If you want horror to be effective, it needs to feel real to some extent, or use real emotions or experiences in order to have an impact on the person, and not just someone randomly dying. This is why games like Omori or Subnautica feel much more effective to me than games, which are trying to be actual horror games. It's because they don't try to be purely horror, it's just a part of the game that uses some of these elements to build an atmosphere, and focus on something that you may be able to relate to. Omori touches a lot of difficult, but real topics, and a game like Subnautica wasn't even intended to be scary, but the atmosphere and survival aspects are so well done, that even if it's a fantasy world, the idea of exploring deep underwater worlds uses fears that a lot of people share - a fear of the depths, and the unknown.
I think 2.2 with sound effects can make horror levels have a shine especially because the normal music isn’t gonna scare you and making your own music is really hard
i remember when i was like 9 years old and i wanted to play some really chill levels so i searched up "peaceful levels" on youtube and absolutely shitted myself
The only level I fing scary/disturbing is this one level called Krasiny Tuman. I haven’t seen it much in a long time but all I remember is it being a little unsettling. Although the level is banned off the servers so the only way to see it is through a video which is very upsetting to be honest. Good video by the way ;)
To be honest, a level that genualy hit me was save as, like thinking that what happens in the level can actually happen to you is pretty scary for me, but it wasn't mean to be scary tho.
i think Man Man is genuinely pretty unsettling, any time sexual themes are combined with gore it just feels...uneasy. the level does what it's supposed to and i really admire it for that reason
comment section be like: "well your name is NOTHINGISSCARY so it makes sense that NOTHING IS SCARY to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHA IM SO FUNNY FDFVGYEJIOVHIJI"
The random trigger might make horror levels a bit un predictable and make it so that your not expecting a jumpscare at a certain Percentage of the level so it would be more replay able while I don't like jump scares the random trigger is going to do some good for them yeah a lot of horror levels are just really edgy people killing each other or themselves there was a horror level that wasn't mentioned PIX by gloryEX it was a level I found whilst star grinding it isn't really scary just unsettling it has a sense of nostalgia an loneliness and the song while not scary goes really well with the level and fits it really well.
A good horror game it’s not a gd level it’s called “still wakes the deep” an actual proper game but the way it subverts your expectations and tells it’s story is so perfectly crafted it’s actually insane and kinda scary as well it’s probably more scary playing it then it is to watch but still, and it’s story is insane the way it progresses and the way it takes everything you think will happen and does the complete opposite to the point where it’s so mysterious and open ended you don’t even know what to guess is up ahead. The voice acting is amazing as well you can hear the genuine fear or worry in the way they talk, not only that but it’s genuinely sad in some parts of the game you could be scared half to death to crying over something you probably knew was gonna happen but still feel helpless, and finally the music the music is outstanding with when it’s played and the instrumentals and how it’s used to make a false sense of relief or to make things intense or probably my favourite use of it, making sad scenes so much more emotional
Excuse me for this insanely long comment but I absolutely love horror so I have to share my opinion and bring up some of my of points My main issue with GD horror so far is that a lot of it is cliche and predictable, and most of it doesn't keep the suspense, hell that's actually an issue I see with most modern horror games, not many keep the suspense, nothing makes you more scared than the unknown, too much of horror now reveals too much too quick, the instant you're shown the monster is the instant you understand it and it stops being frightening. The unknown is scarier than anything known, keeping you guessing as to what's going on, what is causing it or if it's even a thing that is causing it makes your brain come up with things much scarier than what anyone could make, as you're creating your OWN fear in your own head. And another issue is how LOUD people make horror, loud can be scary, but most of the time if it doesn't scare you it just makes you annoyed and have more of an "ugh" reaction and ruins the entire mood, something unnerving, disturbing sounds of things in your ears makes you way more on-edge. Good example of unintentional horror with sounds is Stellaris with the ambience that the Prethoryn Scourge endgame crisis has, it's disturbing, it makes you feel at unease. A bad example of intentional horror is with the traditional screamer, many use human screams which while scary with the right context, often times falls flat if you're dwelled in horror media for longer than like a week, since every single scare uses the same screams. This issue comes to GD in the sense that many use the same horror songs, and many fail to incorporate the songs in a good context. Collab Level is definitely the best we have so far, but the issue is the most efficient scare is the first one, but it falls flat from being LOUD, annoyingly so, if it was, silent with some ambient disturbing sounds, not much movement during it, it'd be so so so much more efficient at being a proper scare. It makes you instantly unease, you have no clue what's going on, you can look at it but nothing is truly explainable there's nothing "human" about it but yet there's too much human about it too. The hallway/church in my honest opinion was the weakest, and the only reason it was the weakest was since seeing the monsters go past you, pitifully slow, is like the funniest thing you can do, even if it's unintentionally funny, and it just drags on and on. The update to collab level is fantastic though, I absolutely love the "Wake up" section, it's exactly what I wanted out of the first version's first scare. AND I definitely agree with the issue that too much GD horror relies on themes of, well, undoing yourself. Also this was the first time I saw In The Castle, good GOOD atmospheric horror, the first really quick scare got me, but the rest failed to do what the first one did as I now expected them, and they happened too often. But yes! More of that would absolutely be amazing. I will gladly await for the day we get proper, good horror. also as a sidenote I think one of the best horror is stuff made by Kitty Horrorshow, if you don't know em do check it out, their stuff is great, probably the only stuff that made me want to stop playing a game
I think platformer levels will be the future of gd horror because i believe regular levels dont have enough time to tell a story unlike with a platformer level, i think thats why these throw these jumpscares at you immediately But idk im not the best person to ask about this topic
And Man, i do know no good horror level has been mqde in 2.1, but I think this is more because no one has done a really good attempt at it? Like you can see a ""drug"" theme executed really well in gd (murmansk specially), so I just think no one had the ideas and bothered into making it. Imo.
I feel like too many people tried to copy the idea of peaceful. Like peaceful was great, but then people just started making basically the same level but worse.
Not surprised this is coming from someone named “NothingIsScary”
beat me to it
honestly my first thought when i saw this
damnit
@@miserablecardinalsfanagreed
Darn
the real fear is when you're getting far in an XXL level and the level goes absolutely insane with its atmosphere to make you freak out
Nah the real fear is not getting a heart attack on future funk
@@ForeverFractal117 that's kinda the idea to make the fear internal rather than external
for example when i played eternelle vehemence, last 25% cranks it up to 11, then the last 10% slows down but gives you that weird, almost scary music, which really hits you when you're near the end because you know you can screw this up at any moment even though you have learned that part, you're just this close and yet feel that anxiety... it was far from being my hardest and yet it hit so insanely hard, almost got a heart attack out of that
XXL levels are a completely different thing, ngl
Save as be like:
nhelv
*ahem* eon
I’m scared of acropolis, the pre drop is terrifyingly unbalanced
same here
The 144hz 2 frame timing at the coin at the ball:
@@Periwinkleaccount ok but it's alignment based
@@quin131 Yeah. It’s either a 1 frame or a 2 frame, and you have to click late to get the 2 frame. It’s not nice either way. I’ll check if a 3 or 4 frame is possible in a bit.
@@quin131 I checked. The most that you can get is two frames, so it’s not great. Also, it’s general position based, not alignment based. The timing is based on how far to the right you are. Alignment is the phase of the repetition of the player’s position per frame.
I feel the biggest problem with a lot of other horror levels and too kid friendly specially, is that even with how violent the imagery is, it still manages to be too immature to be genuinely scary.
When i see a corpse in a level like this, it rarely feels like an actual mature attempt at conveying the horror of what a corpse represents, it just feels like it was only plopped in there because "dead people are scary", and as such it feels like it's trying too hard and it ruins any chance of being scary. It's like when creepypastas just throw extremely violent imagery at you for no reason, it's not scary because it has zero buildup or any actual attempt at presenting the horrors of it, so you're just left with an unnecesary disgusting description that adds nothing.
I think another thing than makes horror levels hard in Geometry Dash right now is that every level has to be on rails. Additionally, we are also at the mercy of the song at use. Either you already know the song or someone creates one. This means that the experience will be the same everytime, which is probably why Collab Level used so many jumpscares and so many levels use shock factor. You have very little control and can't really change where the level is going. But in 2.2, we have platformer mode and the music and sound effects triggers, which in combination could be used to make some really cool horror.
The only level to genuinely scare me was watching the premiere of Collab Level because of course, no one knew there would be jumpscares
but did it *scare* you, or *startle* you
@@kalenipclaw5683 ig startle. And it’s only really the first one because of the noise.
Actually yea it scared me lol
my collab level experience was the funniest thing ever, I scrolled down to look at the comments right before the first jumpscare, and when I scrolled back up and saw a syringe and realistic flesh I was more confused than scared
@@kalenipclaw5683- 🤓
I remember there being a bit of drama about the premiere on Twitter (like everything else, but still). I don’t think it made for a good April Fools joke but I still like to watch Juniper’s reaction every now and then
I've never stated this publicly, but I'm a little bothered when people lump too kiD frIEndly and Mr Crazyhands in with the "horror" levels, because everyone acts like I (and sometimes others) built them with the purpose of making a scary level. Neither of them were ever intended to be "scary". I don't have a "scary" style.
Mr Crazyhands was just to make something cool. Too Kid Friendly was...I don't even know, to shock? It's a pretty lame attempt.
Anyway, this may come across as sarcastic, but I appreciate the raw, unfiltered criticism. I'll do something with it someday.
honestly I didn't even know they weren't attempting horror. because everyone treats them like they were. either way I have a lot of respect for them due to the uniqueness.
@@NothingIsScary Don't even worry about it. Like I said, this was never public knowledge, how could you possibly have known?
For real though, I do respect the brutal honesty, and I'll take your critiques into account if I do one day attempt a "scary" level.
Fun Fact: The eyeball part in Collab Level is a reference to the game “Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion” in which when you die to Ben the Merchant, that execution plays out
its not a reference, its straight ripped from the game, a reference would give some kind of credit in any way or be different in some meaningful way, its not a reference, its a copy.
that would be true if mindcap in the original showcase for it didnt credit the references in the desc of the vid.
obviously you didnt bother to look tho so i cant blame you for thinking that ^-^@@jay1724
Jesus christ in the castle genuinely scared me and it fully got me when nexus looked at the painting. One of the things about that is how i never watched an actual gameplay video of in the castle, making it MUCH worse.
i agree with you on the sewer slide imagery, like depending on the person it's either not scary at all, or a PTSD trigger, neither are fun, what's the point
I completely agree with what you said about the trend of "exit game" imagery in horror, I come to horror to be scared or unnerved for the fun of it, but that kind of stuff isn't scary or enjoyable in any way it just reminds me of past traumatic experiences and makes me depressed. I really hope this trend dies out
(also in "in the castle" that face in the boss fight is literally from omori lol, i don't know why so many prominent horror levels in gd literally just take scares from other horror games)
I was really hoping you mentioned “Save As” as I feel like there are different categories that should go into horror, specifically “eary, on your edge feeling” and “Unsettling visuals”, the problem is there is not any unsettling visuals in save as but there is an on your edge feeling during it, a feeling that makes you feel like youre being crushed in a way
ikr its not scary like gore but it represents an actual thing, called Alzheimer's Disease. It's a form of dementia, and the level is meant to represent that.
have you heard of alzheimers
I would argue that Too Kid Friendly was intended as a UA-cam Kids parody than a horror level.
horror just doesn't mix with geometry dash. the game is about beating levels and, more likely than not, that is what you're aiming for. you won't feel scared in the first place if it isn't actually on your mind and the music just doesn't match up with what you're seeing. when 2.2 comes we might see horror levels actually work with platformers.
10:36 as i have said before, the eyeball scene is p much copied directly from specimen 6's death screen in spooky's jumpscare mansion. the eyeball doesn't get visibly injured in collab level because it didn't get visibly injured in SJSM. if you have issues with that, complain about SJSM, not collab level.
The random triggers in 2.2 will give you a rare chance to make a jumpscare when you die, and in least expected manner because it's rare. I would put that in my level.
This is the first time i see the level "The castle"
Even if it was a video, scarynothing said that it was scary, it still made me actually be scared in a way that worked, it was scary because of the ambience, not cause "Boohoho scary blood jumpscare dead booo is scary blood get scared booo"
Good video👍
The entirety of thinking space is terrifying because of how insanely horrible the level is
Exasperation for some reason gives me an untapped level of anxiety and discomfort that no other level has even come close to giving me
THAT'S A JOKE, SON, DON'TCHA GET IT?
MAMMA MIA THAT'S A SPICY MEATBALL
The church hall personally makes me ( a person who's scared of being watched and being in the dark) very unnerved it makes me extremely scared that someone is watching me in the dark.
The only level in gd that’s actually scared me was Peaceful, but only because I have trypophobia
same (i am too scared to watch a video of collab level tho)
Same (this is coming from a guy that watched collab level several times)
It mainly scares me by the way stuff moves, idk just something about how it violently sways just unsettles me
@@t00nedd00dthis and trypophobia are what make me scared of this level
"i'd be totally frank"
Your name is uh, not frank, at least yet
very good video. it’s worth noting that the only level that really worked was the platformer one - i think the way you have to replay normal levels over and over really ruins the chance of any horror actually working, unless someone makes a full-on movie or something but even that probably wouldn’t work at all. it’s a lot easier to build an atmosphere when your icon isn’t constantly moving forward
The only thing that scares me about these levels is why tf are these creators thinking about these things 💀
NOTHING is scary to you
edit: JUMPSCARE IN 2.2 IS POSSIBLE THAT WOULD BE SO COOL
Horror levels in GD are just about as scary as Sonic.exe, not scary at all
The only levels that terrified me is Save as and Man man.
For save as,
If the context of that level for some newcomers are understanded, then it's becoming for them terrified even tho some ppl might find that music scary and unsettling. PAHC achieved the made representation of person having Alzheimer's disease in stages!
For man man though the creativity worried me from that awesome creator (on positive way bc its effective), the gore scary and unsettling and weird atmosphere makes that raw feeling. Creator (2003devin honorably) has made a lot of levels and those levels achieve the feeling, that raw feeling. It's insane. :o
ngl sewerslide sounds like an amazing upcoming loltade level
In The Castle has been out for a few weeks now, and I was really happy to finally play it. Then I get the easter egg ending… and I see a hanging body, with nooses as the attack. Suicide isn’t scary, it’s just sad, especially as someone that thinks about it constantly. I don’t even want to play the level with the secret ending anymore, which is a shame because the ending was absolutely amazing before it got ruined.
Oh my fucking god I didn’t even know about that
my favourite horror level is tidal wave by onilink
Too kid friendly is so much funnier than it is scary. I just watched it and the part where they shoot that guy in the head is super goofy
I’m going to be honest. Too kid friendly might be one of my least favorite levels in the game. Not only because of its stupid edginess, but because it paints “self unalive” in a really weird light. This comes from someone who has greatly struggled with mental health and been in that place. It treats it almost as a joke, all the characters being silly dancing around right after one of them h*ngs themself. It feels so disheartening. It feels insensitive man.
Just want this out there, stay safe
one of the themes of too kid friendly is that someone is trying to hide the truth from you so i think the song choice is justified in the sense that the song has that theme aswell
also the song is 30.000 by colbreakz
heres what i see makes effective horror:
playing with tension in the player like a puppet on a string
you dont fling the puppet back and forth rapidly, the viewer cant tell whats going on enough to care
you dont leave it floating in the air motionless, any anticipation will be dissolved after enough time passes
keep the puppet moving, but let it take *some* time to let gravity take its course
any big swings cant be immediately met with an equally large swing back, it needs to cement its place past the initial motion
In terms of atmospheric horror, Euphoria by Insxne97 has that down. I’m making a level similar to that but in my bizarre design style that nobody can seem to replicate. I’m going to add good imagery because of this video. Thanks for making the video.
bro clearly hasn't played Congregation
omg true lol just the name is enough to jumpscare me
i remember this old 'impossible' level called exasperation, and being unnerved by it due to its minimal design combined with the weird music
You were absolutely right in the beggining. 2.2 levels that are horror are absolutely peak. Like "koshmar" (which means nightmare in russian and bulgarian) is a horror level with actual atmosphere and real jumpscares. Three nights at home is also a level thats good for the same reasons.
Man man and red rooms aren't scary to me unlike something like collab level, but the reason i think man man and red rooms are masterpieces of art and collab level is because they're not trying to trick you by saying that "i'm such a friendly level! Play me!" And then go jk i'm scary now.
They are Honest about what they are and because of that they focus on making the decoration fantastic all the time that sticks in your mind even after you're done watching/playing the level and not half assing the deco on the not scary parts and then make a jumpscare that's incredibly detailed but won't stick in your mind after they're done.
Red rooms and man man are pieces of art. In my opinion, i think they aren’t supposed to be horror levels, but more of a level that’s actively trying to disgust the player, and that’s why I love it.
mr crazyhands is made by the guy who made too kid friendly, crazyhands is a pretty well made level made with care while too kid friendly is the creator doing a devin2003 and making a shitpost
Ok but do horror GAMES scare you? Like genuinely? I've never been actually scared by a horror game, the only good horror games are the ones that aren't even true horror, the ones that just are so incredibly melancholy.
also Too kid friendly is literally the worst popular art level of all time so like
certain ones. omori got me pretty good
This video was actually helpful, i was just thinking about making one but not just some jumpscare gorey crap and i found this video while looking for a song and literally emphasised my points
I partially don't like Too Kid Friendly because it is physically a mess. There's gaps in the deco EVERYWHERE, particularly on the monsters, the deco looks like 2.0 done by someone who just started creating, in the first days of 2.1. It's like the worst of badly done peaceful remakes in one level.
Man Man is one of the worst things I've ever seen in the community. It goes WAY too far, and it reminds me of adult cartoons that be "adult" by throwing in violent, sexual imagery, capped off with a naked woman decapitated with her arm ripped off and people were like "wow this is so cool because we've never seen this before!" and I'm like what do you people even see in this? Can we not praise things for "doing something new" just for doing something new?
that 2.2 platformer actually really startled me lol (omori trauma)
6:33 I think you meant 30000, 10000 is a different ColBreakz song
really living up to your name huh?
This video's title is just synonyms for his name (horror levels edition)...
10:36 the eye stab scene is actually ripped straight from spooky's jumpscare mansion, which is a reference to the ben drowned creepypasta. The scene cuts off because that's exactly how the game does it too. I would recommend Spook's Jumpscare Mansion, great game!
fair enough!
it only makes sense that platformer mode allows for more potential.
Even In The Castle feels a bit underutulized in the horror aspect, but an autoscroller ust doesnt work ehen it comes to creating tension.
The real scary part of this video is the missing apostrophe in the title
Damn that castle actually kinda unsettled me for a bit
In the castle actually got me, the only level that had me kind of scared
wtf? nothingisscary doesn't find horror oevels scary? truly an enigma
idk if this is horror but SAVE AS scares me a bit
A bit?
Well yeah cuz its based on something in real life
I think save as is the most effective horror level in the game
probably because its based of a real thing that can happen to anyone
Congregation jumpscares are scarier than most gd horrible levels smh
Edit: I meant horror lmao
he literally took his name LITERALLY
For someone called "NothingIsScary" I'm really not surprised
I mean, NOTHING IS SCARY to you, so that's fair.
I think this is not just a problem in games, but also why the horror industry in general is pretty garbage. It relies too much on gore and jumpscares, in which the first one is gross, but not scary, and the second one just exploits a shock reaction from your body. Also too many horrors try too hard to the point they don't feel scary anymore, which is why horrors with extremely fictional characters just don't do it for me.
Horrors need to build suspense and to focus on something that works around with real human emotions. If you want horror to be effective, it needs to feel real to some extent, or use real emotions or experiences in order to have an impact on the person, and not just someone randomly dying.
This is why games like Omori or Subnautica feel much more effective to me than games, which are trying to be actual horror games. It's because they don't try to be purely horror, it's just a part of the game that uses some of these elements to build an atmosphere, and focus on something that you may be able to relate to. Omori touches a lot of difficult, but real topics, and a game like Subnautica wasn't even intended to be scary, but the atmosphere and survival aspects are so well done, that even if it's a fantasy world, the idea of exploring deep underwater worlds uses fears that a lot of people share - a fear of the depths, and the unknown.
I think 2.2 with sound effects can make horror levels have a shine especially because the normal music isn’t gonna scare you and making your own music is really hard
Have you seen ballistic wistfully and cyclocyc? They're very unnerving levels.
But not horror ballistic wistfully is only unsettling because of its song
i remember when i was like 9 years old and i wanted to play some really chill levels so i searched up "peaceful levels" on youtube and absolutely shitted myself
breaking news: nothingisscary thinks that nothing is scary
The only level I fing scary/disturbing is this one level called Krasiny Tuman. I haven’t seen it much in a long time but all I remember is it being a little unsettling. Although the level is banned off the servers so the only way to see it is through a video which is very upsetting to be honest. Good video by the way ;)
To be honest, a level that genualy hit me was save as, like thinking that what happens in the level can actually happen to you is pretty scary for me, but it wasn't mean to be scary tho.
21:20 this aged great
Scary living up to his name
Resentment by temp, the pitch black background and the song make it unnerving
i think Man Man is genuinely pretty unsettling, any time sexual themes are combined with gore it just feels...uneasy. the level does what it's supposed to and i really admire it for that reason
only think why peacful scares meis that that i have trpophobia ( phobia from small holes )
the most terrifying part of in the castle is that its a sequel to a level where nothing scary ever happens.
The scariest thing about peaceful is the gameplay
the real fear is when you are playing gd at gunpoint
YES I KNEW IT WAS A MICROWAVE ID RECOGNIZE THAT LOUD ASS ELECTONIC HUM ANYWHERE
As they say, NothingIsScary
The eyeball scene is directly taken from spooky jumpscare mansion btw
Everyone gangsta' until Spu7nix makes a horror level
The only level that has actually scared me was save as
comment section be like:
"well your name is NOTHINGISSCARY so it makes sense that NOTHING IS SCARY to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHA IM SO FUNNY FDFVGYEJIOVHIJI"
9 so far xd
Oh, so we got a tough guy, do we?
Do you remember secrets of wysteria? That one's pretty good imo
That boss fight gave me some omori vibe holy shit
The random trigger might make horror levels a bit un predictable and make it so that your not expecting a jumpscare at a certain Percentage of the level so it would be more replay able while I don't like jump scares the random trigger is going to do some good for them yeah a lot of horror levels are just really edgy people killing each other or themselves there was a horror level that wasn't mentioned PIX by gloryEX it was a level I found whilst star grinding it isn't really scary just unsettling it has a sense of nostalgia an loneliness and the song while not scary goes really well with the level and fits it really well.
collab level is the only semi scary level bc its super unexpected
A good horror game it’s not a gd level it’s called “still wakes the deep” an actual proper game but the way it subverts your expectations and tells it’s story is so perfectly crafted it’s actually insane and kinda scary as well it’s probably more scary playing it then it is to watch but still, and it’s story is insane the way it progresses and the way it takes everything you think will happen and does the complete opposite to the point where it’s so mysterious and open ended you don’t even know what to guess is up ahead. The voice acting is amazing as well you can hear the genuine fear or worry in the way they talk, not only that but it’s genuinely sad in some parts of the game you could be scared half to death to crying over something you probably knew was gonna happen but still feel helpless, and finally the music the music is outstanding with when it’s played and the instrumentals and how it’s used to make a false sense of relief or to make things intense or probably my favourite use of it, making sad scenes so much more emotional
18:30
Unfortunately I feel exactly the same about that unfunny sad MLG song that's been so overused now
whats truely scary is the rate standards
Excuse me for this insanely long comment but I absolutely love horror so I have to share my opinion and bring up some of my of points
My main issue with GD horror so far is that a lot of it is cliche and predictable, and most of it doesn't keep the suspense, hell that's actually an issue I see with most modern horror games, not many keep the suspense, nothing makes you more scared than the unknown, too much of horror now reveals too much too quick, the instant you're shown the monster is the instant you understand it and it stops being frightening.
The unknown is scarier than anything known, keeping you guessing as to what's going on, what is causing it or if it's even a thing that is causing it makes your brain come up with things much scarier than what anyone could make, as you're creating your OWN fear in your own head.
And another issue is how LOUD people make horror, loud can be scary, but most of the time if it doesn't scare you it just makes you annoyed and have more of an "ugh" reaction and ruins the entire mood, something unnerving, disturbing sounds of things in your ears makes you way more on-edge.
Good example of unintentional horror with sounds is Stellaris with the ambience that the Prethoryn Scourge endgame crisis has, it's disturbing, it makes you feel at unease.
A bad example of intentional horror is with the traditional screamer, many use human screams which while scary with the right context, often times falls flat if you're dwelled in horror media for longer than like a week, since every single scare uses the same screams.
This issue comes to GD in the sense that many use the same horror songs, and many fail to incorporate the songs in a good context.
Collab Level is definitely the best we have so far, but the issue is the most efficient scare is the first one, but it falls flat from being LOUD, annoyingly so, if it was, silent with some ambient disturbing sounds, not much movement during it, it'd be so so so much more efficient at being a proper scare. It makes you instantly unease, you have no clue what's going on, you can look at it but nothing is truly explainable there's nothing "human" about it but yet there's too much human about it too.
The hallway/church in my honest opinion was the weakest, and the only reason it was the weakest was since seeing the monsters go past you, pitifully slow, is like the funniest thing you can do, even if it's unintentionally funny, and it just drags on and on.
The update to collab level is fantastic though, I absolutely love the "Wake up" section, it's exactly what I wanted out of the first version's first scare.
AND I definitely agree with the issue that too much GD horror relies on themes of, well, undoing yourself.
Also this was the first time I saw In The Castle, good GOOD atmospheric horror, the first really quick scare got me, but the rest failed to do what the first one did as I now expected them, and they happened too often. But yes! More of that would absolutely be amazing.
I will gladly await for the day we get proper, good horror.
also as a sidenote I think one of the best horror is stuff made by Kitty Horrorshow, if you don't know em do check it out, their stuff is great, probably the only stuff that made me want to stop playing a game
This is why he's named NothingIsScary
I think platformer levels will be the future of gd horror because i believe regular levels dont have enough time to tell a story unlike with a platformer level, i think thats why these throw these jumpscares at you immediately
But idk im not the best person to ask about this topic
Imagine jumpscares using the RANDOM TRIGGER
And Man, i do know no good horror level has been mqde in 2.1, but I think this is more because no one has done a really good attempt at it? Like you can see a ""drug"" theme executed really well in gd (murmansk specially), so I just think no one had the ideas and bothered into making it. Imo.
Monster Mischief is pretty scary ngl
Hey he's name isn't lying though "nothingisscary
Personally the collab level update scared me more than in the castle
4:01 another good euphemism would be lateral soup.
when i played the collab level for the first time i actually got scared
Honestly collab level is the only horror level that scared me
Horror Levels dont not scare me
Says the guy named "NothingIsScary"
I feel like too many people tried to copy the idea of peaceful. Like peaceful was great, but then people just started making basically the same level but worse.