Erebus
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Erebus
ID
31462941
Creator(s)
Rustam, ILRELL, and BoldStep (publisher)
Verifier(s)
BoldStep
Created
Last updated
Erebus is a 2.0/2.1 Extreme Demon collaboration level by Rustam and ILRELL, verified and published by BoldStep on 19 March 2017.[1] It is themed and designed around the idea of a 'radioactive facility'. The level is unique in the sense that it is one of the few levels on the Demonlist with a primarily green colour palette, with the most notable being The Golden, Verdant Landscape, and Keres. Erebus was also an entry for Sea's Creator Contest 2 and received an honourable mention.
History
[edit | edit source]Erebus was first revealed to the public when Rustam released a preview on 29 May 2016, showcasing the basic gameplay.[2] About two months later, Rustam released a second preview, showing the full level.[3]
About a month later, Rustam chose Stealz as the verifier, but he eventually quit because of how frustrating Erebus was.[4] The new verifier was BoldStep, a skilled Australian player who by that time had completed three Top 20 levels—Allegiance, A Bizarre Phantasm, and Cataclysm.[5]
A few days later, BoldStep achieved start position runs of 52-95%[6] and 61-100%,[7] making great progress very quickly. Over a month later, he got 45%[8] and 48%,[9] making progress rapidly. A few days later, on 17 February, BoldStep reached 72%, a substantial progress after a few days.[10] Four days later, he achieved 75% and a start position run of 39-100%, a small gap but another impressive achievement in just a few days.[11]
A few weeks later, on 17 March, BoldStep achieved a record of 87% (and 83% not long after), another great progress, putting him closer to victory.[12] On the same day, he got 91%, the closest and the worst fail he has had.[13] Two days later, on 19 March 2017, BoldStep finally verified Erebus after 40,803 attempts and over three months, becoming one of the hardest Demons in Geometry Dash at that time.[1]
Description
[edit | edit source]- 0-13%: Erebus begins with the player entering a triple-speed mini-ship segment with some art in the form of a robot at the very beginning, with the text 'Ilrell & Rustam', 'Erebus', and 'Boldstep' easily visible right under the art piece. The first bit of gameplay follows with a difficult half-speed mini-ship segment with some gravity switching from both portals and orbs alike. The level transitions to a tight mini-wave segment with size switching instead of gravity this time. Coming up is a short ball featuring several blue orbs, which require difficult timings to get through, and right after, a tough upside-down ship segment containing the first of the two coins, collected via a tiny straight-fly. More straight-flying follows as the ship turns mini and transitions into the next part.
- 13-39%: This section adds an extra layer of mystery to the song, and the speed increases. First, a quadruple-spike jump is immediately followed by a difficult yet short straight-fly, an exceptionally narrow mini-wave segment, and a fast mini-robot right after, with lots of difficult orb timings. Soon, the robot turns into a cube and proceeds into a line of pink orbs, a blue and green orb and yet another line of pink orbs. Some more orb timings appear as the player enters a mini-straight-fly. If passed, they will go into the long auto coming up. This auto segment takes up about 8% of the level and features a large text background reading 'Erebus' in a custom font.
- 40-61%: The player enters a mini-ship segment and is thrown into a barrage of extreme gameplay. It starts with a single green orb straight into a ball with insane timing and a short, near-impossible mini-straight-fly, followed by even more timing, this time as a cube requiring the player to hit blue orbs in both the air and ground, as well as a green orb and another blue orb, leading the player into a UFO with even more extreme timing with orbs. Following this is a cube maze, located right before the drop, with limited visibility and tons of fake orbs. Not only that, but it turns dual for the last few seconds, and then the drop appears.
- 62-80%: Here, it starts as a mini-straight-fly leading into an extreme mini-wave segment, then a cube section, all in about one second. This cube section is filled with orbs of both green and blue varieties, and they all require insane timing as well. Next, there is yet another tiny straight-fly into a ball with more insane timing. Then, a ship part tests the player's manoeuvrability through a decently long part, followed by a spam wave into another tiny straight-fly quickly turning into a cube afterwards. Like earlier cube sections, this one contains lots of orbs testing the player's timing with blue and pink orbs. A short but insane mini-wave comes next, leading into the last 20% of the level.
- 81-100%: The wave turns into a symmetrical cube dual with a jump and a pink orb into a similar segment, now played as a ball. Following this ball is considered the hardest part of the level, referred to by BoldStep himself as 'the dreaded ship'. A ship segment of such extreme precision, stretching over two and a half seconds and located 85% into the level, is only one of the reasons why this level is as high up on the list as it is. If passed, the player will turn into a triple-speed mini-cube with some of the final insane timings of the level right before the last straight-fly and a single ball tap into a short auto, leading the player to the final jump of the level: a quintuple-spike jump. Located on a platform held up by two fists, this serves as the final click of the entire level and will grant the player the second and final coin of the level and the text 'Verified by BoldStep', 'Layout by Ilrell', 'Decorated by Rustam' and 'GG'.
User coins
[edit | edit source]- The first coin is located at 11% in the ship segment. If the player goes through the narrow, tight space between the spikes, they will obtain the first coin.
- The second and final coin is obtainable after the player completes the level by jumping over the last spikes at the end.
Gameplay
[edit | edit source]Trivia
[edit | edit source]- Erebus was placed at #3 on the Demonlist on 23 March 2017, above Artificial Ascent and below Sonic Wave.
- This addition pushed Sakupen Hell out of the Top 5 and Cyber Chaos into the Legacy List.
- Erebus is regarded as the 28th instance of the hardest rated level in the game's history.
- Erebus's difficulty mostly derives from its inconsistency compared to other levels, with the gameplay having numerous bugs that cause the player to crash.
- Despite that, both Gizbro and Brandon Larkin found Erebus very fun and consistent.
- Erebus is the first Top 1 in the 2.1 era.
- A few parts in Erebus were remade for the final version, including the 8% long auto section. This level initially contained one of Rustam's highly detailed skulls (now used in Yatagarasu) and the text, 'Still not dead?' written beside it. The second revision of the auto segment also included the skull, but instead of 'Still not dead?', it featured an actual Erebus logo.
- There was also a little change in the cube maze before the drop. Although the gameplay did not change, numerous additional black, translucent bars cover the screen to obscure the player's vision and further increase the difficulty.
- Skullo has created a pink and blue version called Guccibus.[14]
- There was an old and unnerfed version of Erebus.
- This version was uploaded by BoldStep on 19 March 2026 due to Erebus' 9th anniversary approaching.[15]
- There is a buffed, redecorated, and extended version of Erebus called Keres, which was verified by Crisis.
- Exyl is the first to beat Erebus on 60Hz in 68,498 attempts.
- Biprex was both the first mobile victor and also the first 60Hz mobile victor of Erebus, as well as fluking the level from 68%.
- There is a nerfed remake of Erebus called ErebuS, created by Platnuu and Zest, featuring updated designs and nearly identical gameplay with slight changes. This level was created for the GDS Creator Contest, but Platnuu could not finish the level in time.
- In Greek mythology, Erebus is the god or primordial of darkness, shadows, and the realm between the living world and Hades.
- Erebus is part of the player-designated classic 'RGB Trilogy', along with Sonic Wave and Yatagarasu.
- The placement of Saul Goodman on 11 June 2023 pushed Erebus into the Legacy List of the Demonlist.
- Erebus, along with Killbot, was moved into the Legacy List of the Demonlist beforehand due to being updated to a free Demon by the unknown hacker.
- Both have been restored to their original state at #27 and #45, respectively.
- Erebus also surpassed Devil Vortex's previous record of 2,117 days for the longest-standing level before being pushed into the Legacy List at the time with 2,277 days. The record is now held by Zodiac at 2,696 days.
- Erebus, along with Killbot, was moved into the Legacy List of the Demonlist beforehand due to being updated to a free Demon by the unknown hacker.
Notable completions
- Brandon Larkin was the first to beat Erebus on a controller; he stated that this level was the final level of his ladder list.[16]
Videos
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8csWDx6C2YI
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usUkRsOSpYM
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lGe2VX0BTM
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6FRhZKlNkc
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Ypi3-sGJk
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdt9J2fNjrk
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-82XOHwOxw8
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBBRyzHQyJ0
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DePKaJsoY3Q
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xasC7ReXm0M
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCyMEOkzpFM
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPfRnHfd8h8
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nIC01TRW_g
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rhCwOt_AWU
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poonpSAbLoE
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amnXKxB8sI4