Invisible spikes, cramped ship corridors and nearly unreadable orb patterns make Artemis 13 look punishing even before Trick begins playing it himself. His initial reaction to Zoink’s verification focuses on just how narrow several gaps appear, with particular attention paid to the ship sequence, the 75% timing and the final click. That opening establishes the central question effectively: whether the nerfed version really belongs somewhere around the top five or top ten, or whether its difficulty has been understated.
Watching the verified run first gives the later practice session useful context. Trick pauses around specific inputs, recalls Zoink reportedly struggling at 75%, and notes that Zoink had described the last click as a one-frame timing. Those observations are presented as player impressions rather than independently demonstrated measurements, which is appropriate because the video never performs a formal frame analysis. The repeated speculation that the level could secretly remain top one is entertaining, but it remains speculation rather than a rigorous difficulty ranking.
The practice run is where the concept becomes much more convincing. Triple spikes that initially look ordinary prove tighter than expected, the early ship section forces awkward curved movement into straight flying, and black orbs complicate already narrow corridors. Trick frequently turns on hitboxes, places checkpoints and uses speedhack, making this less a conventional completion attempt than an exploratory dissection of the gameplay. That choice works well for showing why apparently manageable sections become much harder once their hidden structure is visible.
Artemis 13’s readability becomes almost as important as its raw precision. Trick repeatedly struggles to determine where to jump, which orb to hit, which direction gravity should be facing and whether apparent openings are even real. The memory-heavy drop is especially effective at illustrating the problem: visual effects, dual sections, hidden pathways and densely packed inputs can leave him confused even at reduced speed. His frustration supports the argument that learning the level is itself a substantial challenge, separate from executing it consistently at full speed.
The strongest stretches are the moments when the commentary connects a reaction directly to a visible gameplay problem. Extremely narrow wave passages, fast transitions, obscure gaps and an ending that becomes clearer only with hitboxes enabled all provide tangible reasons for his difficulty assessment. His admission that some passages remain hard even with speedhack is more persuasive than simply declaring them impossible, because viewers get to watch repeated failures before he works out the intended input.
The presentation is energetic but often repetitive. Variations of “this is impossible,” “this is so tight” and speculation about a secret top-one placement recur throughout the run, while profanity and rapid reactions frequently replace more precise mechanical explanation. There are also minor technical interruptions, and the exploratory format means large portions involve trial-and-error confusion rather than structured analysis. Even so, Trick’s familiarity with extreme Geometry Dash gameplay gives the reactions context, and his willingness to admit when he has misunderstood a mechanic keeps the session reasonably transparent.
By the end, his conclusion is narrower and more credible than some of the earlier ranking speculation. He calls Artemis 13 some of the hardest gameplay he has personally played and openly questions whether he could beat it, while giving Zoink credit for the verification. The video does not establish an objective placement for the level, but it succeeds at something more practical: demonstrating why its short runtime, severe timings and poor readability can make it feel dramatically harder to play than it looks during a clean completion.
Pros
- Uses a hands-on practice run to demonstrate why specific ships, waves, timings and hidden gaps are difficult.
- Hitboxes, checkpoints and speedhack help expose mechanics that are difficult to appreciate during the verification alone.
- Clearly shows that learning and reading the level can be nearly as challenging as executing its precise inputs.
- Trick openly acknowledges mistakes and uncertainty rather than pretending to understand every section immediately.
- The verification footage provides useful context before the gameplay examination begins.
Cons
- Repeated claims that Artemis 13 could secretly be top one are speculative and never supported by a systematic comparison.
- Commentary frequently repeats the same reactions instead of explaining the mechanics in greater detail.
- Heavy reliance on profanity and exaggerated expressions can make the analysis feel less focused.
- Trial-and-error navigation and a brief technical interruption give portions of the practice run a messy structure.
The practice-run format makes Artemis 13’s difficulty far easier to appreciate by exposing the hidden timings, confusing routing and unforgiving gaps behind a polished verification. The ranking speculation remains loose, but the hands-on failures provide convincing evidence that this is exceptionally demanding gameplay even by extreme-level standards.
