The player is an employee for Bureau of Shipping tasked with training a fresh GR-18 robot for package delivery. It's set in the same universe as Crashlands and features a campaign with 93 training courses and a Level Editor. New levels are sent to the Marketing Department, where their visibility can be boosted with Exposure Bucks, an in-game currency earned while playing other people's levels. Levels which get enough players graduate to the Tower. Each level in Levelhead has two achievements: the Shoe (the fastest time reach the goal) and Ribbon (the highest score).
Your tropes, delivered real good:
- Absurdly Short Level:
- "9 Second Marathon" usually takes as long as its name implies. All the player has to do is grab the package and use Ripcord's hover ability and then a bomb will send GR-18 to the goal.
- "Boombox Wonder" showcases the game's music-making features, and then gives GR-18 the package at the goal.
- Advanced Movement Technique: The Super Jump is the act of throwing a box (a Package or Throw Block), and then jumping on it while still in the air to gain additional height. This can be done vertically, diagonally, off ceilings, and even off walls. Super Jumps can actually be chained together with two boxes into an Infinite Super Jump, so-called because the player could theoretically use it to achieve infinite height.
- A.I.-cronym: MAYA stands for Most Advanced Yet Acceptable, meaning she's advanced enough to manage the Bureau of Shipping and train employees, all while holding back the urge to destroy non-machine life forms.
- All There in the Manual:
- The history of the Bureau of Shipping and the GR robot series is explained in the new employee handbook
. - Game elements introduced in The Void update don't have an in-game introduction.
- The history of the Bureau of Shipping and the GR robot series is explained in the new employee handbook
- Applied Phlebotinum: Void Energy is used to explain pretty much everything included in The Void update.
- Automatic Level: One of the level tags is "Don't Move", which is described as levels that just show off the creator's creativity.
- Auto-Scrolling Level: Levels like "Dune Doom Dream" and "Quick Fire" require the player to keep up with the camera or die off-screen. In the editor, this effect is achieved by putting the Camera Anchor on a path.
- Battle Boomerang: Wingarangs can be used as projectiles to damage enemies or just to get extra height. They turn around after traveling a certain distance and can be re-grabbed.
- Block Puzzle: "Pressure Puzzle" starts with an array of signs and pressure switches, and the player must explore the level to find the correct signs which unlock the package.
- Boss Battle: The levels introducing a new form of enemy often end with a battle against a giant form of that enemy.
- The Cameo: Flux Dabes from Crashlands appears on the main menu in a "Rosie the Riveter" parody poster, saying "We Can Deliver It!"
- Ceiling Cling: Tiptow gives GR-18 the ability to cling to the ceiling for a limited amount of time.
- Excuse Plot: You're an employee for the Bureau of Shipping tasked with playing and making levels to train the delivery robot GR-18.
- Fun with Acronyms:
- The D.I.R.P. is the Dispatch via Intergalactic Railgun Power which delivers packages at the speed of light.
- L.E.V.E.L. stands for Limited Exercises for eValuating employEe Limitations.
- The Bureau of Shipping corporate values are A.C.I.D. (Automation, Courage, Ingenuity, and Dependability), which is used "to melt the competition!"
- The Goomba:
- Vacrats are the first enemy in the campaign, and defeating them just entails jumping on them.
- The Void update added the Peanut, an enemy which in its basic form just clings to and moves across surfaces.
- Goomba Stomp: Most enemies can be defeated just by jumping on them.
- Green Hill Zone: Tree of Maarla is the first zone introduced in the campaign and features leafy environment blocks.
- Hitbox Dissonance: Large spiketrons actually had circular hitboxes during early access. Subverted upon release since they were given square hitboxes, though the old hitboxes were preserved in levels built with them.
- Invincibility Power-Up: The DBot gives GR-18 temporary invincibility.
- "Jaws" Attack Parody: The large Flipwip is introduced in "GR-18, Meet The Flipwip" with music reminiscent of the Jaws theme.
- Lock and Key Puzzle: Keys and batteries are commonly used to progress through levels.
- Mobile Shrubbery: The Tiptow ability involves sneaking past enemies by hiding in a bush.
- Pacifist Run: Killing an enemy in "Temple Of Karma" activates a bunch of spike traps, which becomes increasingly tricky as the player progresses through the level. However, since these spikes don't cover the goal it's still possible to kill an Ocula at the end.
- Pressure Plate: Pressure Switches have four settings: hold, toggle, lock, and explode.
- Rocket Jump: Bombs and other explosives can be used to propel GR-18 great distances, especially combined with a well-timed jump.
- Running Gag: The campaign keeps referencing food. For example, GR-18 can hold up to 5 burritos, Waylay can be used to make omelets, Zipper is powered by burritos, Lizumi attacks GR-18 because it thinks the robot stole its almonds, and Swoopadoops can store peanuts.
- Shifting Sand Land: Kistoon Ruins is the zone used for desert levels.
- Shout-Out: The cutscene "RUN GR-18!" which describes Lizumis say they have an airless tire which "never gives you up, never lets you down".
- Single-Use Shield: Red Armor Plates allow GR-18 to survive a single hit, while Blue Armor Plates (introduced in The Void update) are stackable.
- Speedrun Reward:
- Beating a level in under 10 minutes gives the player points based on that time.
- Each campaign level has a benchmark time and beating that time gives 500 points. This is analogous to the benchmark time in player-generated levels, which is the creator's time when uploading their level.
- Spikeballs Of Doom: Spike Chainers are hazardous balls of spikes attached to a semisolid base.
- The Spiny:
- The Lizumi is a spiked wheel which is normally defeated when it bonks against a wall and the spikes temporarily retract.
- The Spiky Peanut can briefly lose its spikes when it falls down or it gets hit with the package. Jumping on it once while in this state causes it to permanently lose its spikes.
- Jibbers can only be killed with explosions and projectiles.
- Teleporting Keycard Squad: Grabbing the package in "Hover Stop" triggers a barrage of Lookannon missiles.
- Thinking Up Portals: The Shade powerup can create a rune which the player can use to teleport.
- Timed Power-Up: The DBot and Lectroshield both give GR-18 power which lasts for a limited time. The DBot is an Invincibility Power-Up while the Lectroshield instantly kills any enemy GR-18 touches.
- Wall Jump: Tiptow gives GR-18 the ability to jump off walls.
"Now get out there, and do good for our goods!"
