what do you think makes a good secret
coin in geometry dash it's a hard
question but i feel like there's some
ground rules that everyone can agree on
in my mind coins should offer an
additional challenge in the level that
feels more rewarding to pull off my
favorite coins are the ones that you
notice during casual gameplay but have
to take a moment to think about how
you'll actually get it for example the
second coin and geometrical dominator
may look out of reach at first but it's
pretty easy to figure out that all it
takes is an extra jump or the third coin
in cycles seems completely out of bounds
until you run through it in practice
mode and realize that there's a bunch of
spikes missing
ultimately players should notice a hint
in their first playthrough then go back
and examine it the second time around
maybe even brainstorming ideas before
they even get there and then once they
collect the coin they should want to try
and get it in future playthroughs as
well sometimes creators make coins that
are really excessive and if people never
want to get it again it means that
they're doing something wrong
so do the coins in the official levels
do a good job at this for the most part
yes not all of them are perfect like
there's a couple coins where you just
have to randomly fall
but otherwise wrapped up coins are
absolute bangers a lot of them are
really clever
oh yeah hi uh i'm here now i got tired
of talking over a black screen when i'm
not sure what to edit in so
woof still not a furry by the way that's
different anyways yeah i really like the
official level coins so then what's the
problem
[Music]
jump just sub-zero is a free
ad-supported expansion app of geometry
dash developed and published by
wrapped-up games and released on
december 21 2017. geometry dash is back
with a brand new adventure and this time
there's three more full-length levels
which just so happen to have nine more
coins to collect overall sub-zero is an
extremely good spin-off game the levels
are really fun to replay and it does a
good job showing off all the potential
that 2.2 will have when if it comes out
obviously there's the big stuff like
going in reverse but i'm personally more
interested in how these mechanics will
actually affect modern levels for
example most of power trip is in three
time speed and while that's normally
really stressful this time it's easy to
sight read because the camera zoomed out
so yeah subzero is good it holds up
really well
it's just that the coins are how do i
put this nicely
absolutely terrible but why am i making
a whole video on this it's because i'm
worried if robtop was able to screw up
the coins on three levels back to back
then who knows how you're going to get
the coins in the new 2.2 levels every
update only adds more and more new
features and just because you can use
them to hide coins it doesn't mean you
should with that being said let's run
through each of sub-zero's coins and
i'll try to prove my point
the first coin in all of sub-zero is
located in this little ship part and
press start did you catch it no well
it's behind this little hill thing over
here you'll notice it's missing a few
spikes which is a somewhat decent
giveaway that it's hiding something it
encourages players to pay attention and
investigate for anything strange and if
we go by that logic it's a fine coin the
reason i don't like it though is because
of what happens when you compare it with
previous coins for example back on track
is a similar coin but this one is way
more obvious and i know it's because
it's already such an easy level but have
you ever stopped to think that the
reason the coin isn't hidden well is
because it couldn't have been when
secret coins were first introduced there
were no alpha triggers or secret tiles
or anything like that nowadays you can
completely blend in the secret path with
the rest of the level and then only
reveal it once it's been found is the
missing spikes here enough of a giveaway
probably although i wouldn't complain if
it was also hinted in the glow or
something otherwise it's alright and i'm
only complaining because it's gonna set
the bar for the remaining coins also i
have to give credit words due this one
syncs with the music
[Music]
right after press starts first coin you
go through this short back and forth
section that's split up into two mini
stages and sure enough there's a coin
hit in here in fact we already passed it
to get this one you have to skip the
last orb of stage one which shifts
around the platforms below and reveals
the level secret coin let me repeat that
it shifts around the platforms then
reveals the coin and you're supposed to
know it's there because it's the only
place where you can safely fall off the
normal path but there's no reason to try
that because there's seemingly nothing
there just a big wall to crash into if
you want to come across this coin
without looking it up you have to go
through the level thinking about all the
possible ways that you could break it
then the level goes wow you thought you
were so clever by going this way here's
a coin for your hard work how are you
supposed to know that it's there you
shouldn't have to spend your time
searching for invisible coins by dying
at every obstacle in the level what i
would have done is make the coin visible
from the very start but keep it out of
reach because at least then you'd have a
reason to look around but no that would
be too much of a giveaway apparently how
about we just make it materialize into
existence instead
this is only the second coin in the game
you know what the last coin's fine you
clearly see it on your first attempt
then you know for next time to stay
above the laser and fly a little more
carefully it's almost exactly the same
as deadlock's last coin but it's alright
because they both work really well it
offers an optional little challenge it
feels rewarding when you get it and it
feels tempting when you don't get it in
my eyes that's a good coin now all we
have to do is apply that knowledge to
the other levels in sub-zero how hard
could it possibly be
just relax craig
it's just a game
everything will be fine
uh where do i even begin with knock em
oh my god
it's not a bad level in fact it's
probably my favorite of the three but
it's just that the coins are so well we
already passed the first one we're five
seconds into the level you know where
the coin is oh i don't know how about
this random hanging wall over here
there's not even the tiniest visual
indicator in fact it looks identical to
the previous pillar and you don't even
realize that there's a coin there until
you've already found it if the coin was
floating there out of reach then maybe
it would have been justified but no the
only way to find this coin is by ramming
yourself into a random wall and it's in
a spot where nobody would even think to
jump i know it's supposed to be a secret
coin but it's so different from all the
other coins in normal levels for example
the seven seas does something similar
but at least there you know exactly when
you've passed the coin
anyways
obviously these can't all be winners
let's just skip and take a look at the
next one
all right right off the bat i have some
good news about the second coin
look you're given a hint you'll see that
key even if you're not going for the
coin and it's pretty hard to miss so i'd
say we're off to a good start or maybe
my expectations are just really low
anyways if it's not obvious you get the
key by flicking yourself up at the start
of the ship part then you can move on
with your life i like this i think it's
in a good spot it flows well with the
level but you still have to go out of
your way and challenge yourself to get
it and it's definitely more tricky than
it looks it reminds me a lot of the
first coin and next step except this
one's a two-parter so once you have the
key a new path will open up in the
ballpark shortly after and you can swoop
down and pick up the coin if you miss
the key the coin will still be there but
not the platform so it's fine then right
the key is always visible the coin's
always visible and it's a nice little
challenge
well
sure but why is it a key why couldn't
the coin be put right in the ship part
keys can sometimes be cool but in this
case the coin is completely free once
you pick it up so why even bother now
you can argue that deadlock does the
exact same thing with the first coin in
fact gameplay wise it's extremely
similar to this one but i'm actually
gonna give deadlocked a free pass just
because it was the first level to ever
use the key gimmick it was cool the
first time but now that so many creators
have started throwing in useless keys it
doesn't feel special anymore all in all
the second coin's passable but there's
room for improvement in my opinion it's
still the best coin in sub-zero but it's
also the hardest
all right for this last coin i want to
see something readable something fun
something rewarding honestly i'm
comfortable with anything as long as
it's not hidden behind a wall or
something stupid like that
for the love of god yeah good job robtop
you really knocked this last one out of
the park
get it knocked it out i don't even think
i have any criticism for this coin that
hasn't already been said any sort of
visual indicator is probably going to be
too obvious because of how few colors
there are so honestly i would make the
coin completely visible but throw in an
extra challenge just like the other
coins this one isn't even hard there's
no skill involved it's just annoying to
find it's yet another case of bump into
every obstacle in the level and maybe
you'll find something it's not a
challenge if it's only hard the first
time i want a coin that's repeatedly
hard to get not some kid's secret
minecraft base you don't feel any sort
of gratification after picking this coin
up in fact it's two less clicks than the
normal route i'm looking for a coin
that's fun but instead you give me
platform nine and three quarters this is
why a game needs play testers and
quality assurance why don't you run your
coins through i don't know viprin he's
good with these things he's like the
game's official pr guy look at all these
detailed essays he leaves
sorry that that got a little heated
there's only one more level we can do
this
so
power trip
i don't know what it is about this level
but it's just not as interesting if i
had to guess it's probably because the
last two levels already showed off all
the new mechanics so there's nothing
particularly groundbreaking about this
one anyways first coin it's floating up
there and you're down here so far the
coin's off to a great start because by
looking at it you immediately start
coming up with all sorts of interesting
ideas for example to get the coin you
most likely have to skip the blue
gravity portal so maybe there's a hidden
orb over here that you can click or
maybe it has something to do with this
spike oh or what if it's an entirely
alternate path that you find earlier in
the level unfortunately robtop decided
to crush all of our dreams and just made
a couple blocks passable again and this
time it's even lazier the blocks don't
even fade out when you pass through them
and once again you don't feel good about
yourself after getting the coin it's two
less clicks just like last time as far
as actually fixing the coin goes there's
not much to work with but maybe visually
change the blocks you pass through a
little you could darken them or shift
them to the side a little bit actually
even mirroring them might look good in
this case but put something imagine if
the first coin of stereo madness looked
like this there's only nine coins in
sub-zero and this is already the fourth
one that you get by passing through a
completely normal looking wall on the
bright side it can't possibly get much
worse than
wait is that the second coin already
it's been nine seconds
right off the bat this coin looks
exactly the same as the last one it's
still floating out of reach and it's got
the same circle outline around it at
this point i wouldn't even be surprised
if it's like platinum adventure where
it's literally the same coin but i can
assure you it's not so like before let's
pause and think this one through this
section is clearly playing around with a
gimmick where you warp from the top of
the screen to the bottom so that
probably means the coin has something to
do with it maybe with proper timing you
can warp in a specific way so that you
pick up the coin but where else is there
to jump i guess you could always try
wait no no please don't tell me you just
fall through this wall
[Music]
that's it i i don't know what to say
anymore that's five coins that's more
than half of the coins in the game
i can't do this anymore i really can't
i'm not even joking i i don't know what
to do anymore
rocktop you had something going with
this whole screen warping thing there
was so much potential for a really
interesting coin but you did the exact
and i mean exact same thing as the last
coin which was nine seconds ago do you
find this funny there's no way you
didn't know exactly what you were doing
here i'm telling you we're officially
doomed for 2.2 you're going to have to
run into every wall in the level and if
you're lucky you might find i don't know
one tenth of a coin
wrapped up how much time did you even
spend on these coins you probably gave
them like three seconds of thought and
then called it a day and went back down
to your gym for six more hours of
lifting maybe the next thing you should
work out is better places to put these
stupid yellow circles
oh yeah and if you're playing on ios you
can't even get this coin remember when i
said this is basically the same coin as
the previous one well that wasn't a joke
it literally is the same coin i looked
in the level data and on ios both of the
coins have an id of one which means that
on ios the level doesn't even have a
second coin it has two first coins if
you pick up either of these coins it
counts as coin one this was fixed on
android but still next time maybe you
should play test the freaking game
before sending it out to apple
with that being said
there's only one more coin
let's just get this over with
so this last coin is certainly
interesting it's just given to you for
free at the end of the level but this
isn't a generic custom level so there
actually is a catch you have to make it
here without falling during the robot
part and skipping the entire rest of the
level that's right you actually have to
play the game
oh yeah and more importantly it only
appears if you click a couple times when
this text pops up earlier on yeah what i
know it's fun to click during pauses in
the level but do you really need to
reward people for it and why do you need
to wait until the very end of the level
to hand out the coin you could have just
given it right there
even if there's an indicator for when
you click during this part you don't
realize it's for a coin until you reach
the very end i don't know i really can't
wrap my head around why you unlock a
coin by doing this i have no
constructive criticism for this coin
because it's completely beyond saving i
would just scrap it entirely and put a
new one in the spider part or something
kind of like finger dash but this time
at triple speed the other two levels in
sub-zero were really good but power trip
feels extremely lazy and rushed it's
plagued with bugs and oversights and
boring ideas and feels so much more
empty compared to its predecessors look
at all this beautiful air deco
so what have we learned today although
robtop is getting better at programming
he's somehow getting worse at hiding
coins he introduces lots of cool
features like the alpha trigger but then
proceeds to use them in really stupid
ways sub-zero is the tiniest taste of
what's coming in 2.2 so it's gonna take
a miracle for the upcoming levels to
have coins that are even half decent
whatever happened to the third coin in
stereo madness or the second coin in
theory of everything coins used to be
good they used to feel good to get the
ones in sub-zero just leave me empty are
there custom levels with worse coins yes
absolutely but you're a game designer
rob top you've been doing this for
almost a decade i love your work but i
know you can do better so yeah sub-zero
is a good game it may be a little rushed
but it's nothing to be ashamed of the
problem is that these are without a
doubt the worst coins you've ever placed
i know on the surface this just felt
like a joke video where i yell over
something i don't like about a game but
if you look beyond that it's a deep dive
into game design and how to add
collectibles that feel fair and
rewarding maybe you can take away some
of what i said and find ways to apply it
to your own levels but anyways thank you
so much for watching i know i went on
for surprisingly long but if you're
still here that hopefully means you
enjoyed it at the end of the day i'm
still very excited about 2.2 and i'm
sure i'll have more good things to say
about it than whatever i did here
also 50 000 likes and i'll make a tier
list of every coin in the game