arcturus
Replacement: 895761 (deleted)
arcturus is a 2.1 Extreme Demon level by maxfs, verified by ultrakawaHD.[1] It was initially published as one of the most impossible levels in the game, even surpassing Silent Circles in difficulty. After gaining attention, maxfs created a playable version, verified by ultrakawaHD on 8 August 2021, after 129,580 attempts.
Description
arcturus begins with a mini-cube sequence featuring tight timings, quadruple-spikes, and quadruple-speed and double-speed changes. The background intermittently flashes colours to disrupt the player. It then leads into a quick ship sequence with a straight-fly and four trigger orbs before transitioning into a brief automatic sequence. At the drop, there is a challenging wave sequence, featuring a dual-wave reminiscent of Bausha Vortex's 76% section, with occasional speed adjustments. Following this, the player navigates a solo mini-wave sequence that is widely considered the hardest part of the level. Here, the player must memorise a handful of gravity portals as they traverse rigorous spaces.
Afterwards, there is a mini-ship sequence that moves at quadruple speed through obscured obstacles and occasional flashes. The difficulty consists of Clubstep monsters, orb timings, and memorisation. After a brief automatic sequence, another ship sequence approaches, featuring frequent teleports, gravity switches, and intense straight-flying. Before the ship sequence ends, tension builds, altering the level's speed just before a fleeting flash of red screen. After the red screen vanishes, a four-second dark interval ensues, leading the player to the conclusion.
The ending begins with a slower ship sequence that requires precise flying, accompanied by orbs synced to the music. Then, as a big wave, the player must navigate more lenient corridors with gravity switches. The finale features a tight dual-ship straight fly, concluding with an upside-down mini straight-fly.
The player then sits in silence before reaching the end.
Gameplay
First 10 victors
| Victor # | Player | Date Completed | Total Attempts | Furthest Fail | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verifier | ultrakawaHD | 8 August 2021 | 129,480 | ? | YouTube |
| 1 | paqoe | 29 September 2021 | 17,462 | ? | YouTube |
| 2 | Swooker | 21 November 2021 | ~25,000 | 92% | YouTube |
| 3 | SpeedyMuffin | 12 December 2021 | 358,141 | ? | YouTube |
| 4 | Axinity | 28 January 2022 | ? | ? | YouTube |
| 5 | Cursed | 18 February 2022 | 11,382 | 90% | YouTube |
| 6 | SnowBallerr | 23 February 2022 | 59,178 | 87% | YouTube |
| 7 | GDUltim8 | 8 May 2022 | 90,451 | 84% | YouTube |
| 8 | Zoink | 19 May 2022 | 9,138 | 83% | YouTube |
| 9 | Baeru | 22 June 2022 | 22,158 | 80% | YouTube |
| 10 | Seturan | 22 June 2022 | 84,601 | 76% | YouTube |
Trivia
- arcturus was rated on 29 October 2021, alongside Slaughterhouse and Firework, and placed at #5 on the Demonlist on 13 November 2021, above Sonic Wave Infinity and below Tartarus.
- This addition pushed Bloodlust out of the Top 25, RELENTLESS into the Extended List, and Glitched Memories into the Legacy List.
- This addition also pushed Renevant out of the Top 10 after almost two years.
- If arcturus was thought to be harder than Tartarus and Trueffet as it is today at the time it was verified, it would have placed at #3 instead.
- On 30 October 2021, SpeedyMuffin popularised a theory explaining why arcturus took months to be rated. He stated that RobTop did not want an Extreme Demon with a NONG (not on Newgrounds) song at the top of the Demonlist, so he decided to wait until a level harder than arcturus with a Newgrounds song was verified, ensuring that a NONG level would not be at the top of the list. On 24 October 2021, Slaughterhouse, a harder level than arcturus, was verified; however, because it also has a NONG song, RobTop had to wait. Finally, with the verification of Firework on 29 October, which does not include a NONG song, RobTop rated arcturus, Slaughterhouse, and Firework consecutively.
- Another theory formed by the community stated that RobTop just decided to play a practical joke on the community.
- When all three levels were rated on 29 October, there was some commotion regarding the Demon ratings of the levels. First, Firework and Slaughterhouse both received an Easy Demon rating. However, the levels swapped ratings, with arcturus being an Easy Demon and Slaughterhouse and Firework being an Extreme Demon. arcturus finally received an Extreme Demon rating an hour later.
- This addition pushed Bloodlust out of the Top 25, RELENTLESS into the Extended List, and Glitched Memories into the Legacy List.
- arcturus was considered harder than Tartarus at its verification. However, it took a long time to get rated after verification, and since Slaughterhouse and Firework were rated alongside it, it never reached the #1 spot.
- Nowadays, arcturus is above Tartarus on the Demonlist, with large majority of players considering the former significantly harder than the latter.
- Arcturus has references with the following:
- Arcturus in astronomy is the brightest star in the constellation of Boötes and the fourth-brightest star in the night sky.
- Arcturus is associated with two Greek myths. One of them is linked to Boötes and Ursa Major. The constellations represent Arcas and Callisto. Arcas was the son of Zeus and Callisto, a nymph who was a follower of the goddess Artemis.
- Arcturus is also the name of an unofficial nickname of the XBB.1.16 strain of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.
- It took 82 days for arcturus to be rated after verification.
- Some players, especially those on Twitter, were trying to get arcturus rated, and they even started the hashtag #RateArcturus.[2] This included the verifier, ultrakawaHD.
- There is an upcoming sequel to arcturus called Antares.[3]
- arcturus was in EricVanWilderman's 12 Demons of Christmas 2022 Community series, as Demon #5, with Doggie as its contender.[4]
- The placement of Stellar Night on 2 April 2026 pushed arcturus into the Extended List of the Demonlist after four years and four months.