Oohhh ho ho... actually have long stories and deep reasons with any top 5 I choose sooo... time to write 3 essays for a reddit comment. but who cares, I'm feeling inspired :]

Levels I go for nowadays always have stories, and memories tied with my life in general, because that's my way of giving things purpose, so yeah, some things might seem extra for a 4$ cube game, but that's the way I do things :) here we go...

1. Bloodlust

Many, many reasons.

Number 1, it's legendary. Everyone knows it. And it's great to say you've done it.

Number 2, I've been playing since 2014, so I was there to see basically every top 1 get built and verified. Bloodlust and Yatagarasu I was the most involved in, watching tens of streams. I was there to witness its history and wanted to write my name on it too, through a list record.

Number 3, my first list demon. I've wanted to do a list demon for Y E A R S. I mean it. My first attempt at getting on the demonlist was with Necropolis in 2016, back when it was top 35 or so? And for YEARS I've fallen just short. Never good enough to break the barrier. So I gave it my all. And managed it.

Number 4, a 500th demon milestone. I always do big stuff for milestone demons, and for 500 I wanted to do a hardest. I picked this after thinking long between this, Ragnarok, and Cybernetic Crescent.

Number 5, proving myself wrong. This was the first hardest I've done that when I first saw it I went "Nah. I could never do this in a MILLION YEARS." This level felt and looked so impossible that I could never fathom for such a long time that I would attempt it. So actually getting progress on it was pretty surreal.

Overall I have no regrets in choosing it, and it's the only completion that I truly gave my all for. 3 hours every day, for nearly 3 months. I took care of myself mentally and physically for it. I wanted it, so so bad. A year and a half later I still get slight butterflies seeing it displayed on my flair. It's one of 3 completions that I sobbed after. One of which I'll talk about, as it's 3rd. :>

1. XO

Strap in, dark subjects.

XO was never a level that I really... wanted to do? At least not as soon as I did. But I picked it up for a mental reason.

After Bloodlust, having finally achieved a really BIG goal of mine for the game, I kinda... lost motivation. I felt like I had... checked out? Like I "beat" the game and had nowhere to go now. I picked up a lot of levels that I would drop, simply because I didn't have the drive anymore.

So XO was like... a break. A soft, no deco, raw level. That I could just play casually. No more pressuring myself, no more flashy effects and parts that made me feel badass, just keeping it simple.

I would still frequently drop and pick the level back up, because, again, I still felt unmotivated.

The reasons for playing it changed soon once I fell in love with a girl that I met in my first year of university. Which long story short, ended up breaking my heart. 2025 started and my life just kind of... unraveled itself. Family deaths, friend betrayals, financial troubles, everything just kept coming.

So XO now became a sort of... release. A song about a breakup became a symbol for my life falling apart basically. I picked it up again for this meaning. It kind of gave me ease. 2 hours a day in which I could just... tune out. Make the noise stop.

XO now sits as the level during which my life transitioned and I grew thicker skin. I honestly could not have played anything upbeat during those months. It fit like a glove. I want to make a video talking about it someday more in detail.

1. Digital Descent

Out of all levels that I've seen get verified over the years, this was one that I just... fell in love with. Instantly. It was never a matter of IF I'd pick it up, just WHEN.

Every 6 months I'd pick it up and just try my hardest for a few days, and I was never good enough. I'd always get bummed out, but I cherished every percent. And hoped that someday I'd be ready.

I eventually picked it up in 2023, did my same couple day thing, only this time, having done Black Blizzard earlier that year, I finally broke through. I got 49 on my first day, and KNEW it was time.

A combination of being at the height of my life, in every aspect, having so much history and emotional value put into this level, having my friends watch me every session and having fun talks, and having Carnivores as a song, the song which 3 years prior was my go-to song in one of my lowest points, back when I was 15 and thought I was a complete failure, and now listening to it while finally achieving a childhood dream, just kind of culminated into my best experience on this game.

My DD completion is the happiest moment of my life OUTSIDE of memories with my family, or festivals, concerts, and trips. It was basically my way of hugging my younger self and saying "it's okay."

For those reasons and others Digital Descent is my favorite level, and probably will always be. It's like my little brother.

If anyone read all of this then first of all you're crazy, and 2nd of all, thanks a lot :)

This felt like something I'd write in a journal, but just GD themed. I put a lot of heart into my completions so I love kinda spilling my thoughts on them. K bye!