So I have been giving this some thought about the story behind this. Short answer is there is no story. That was confirmed by the devs: steam://openurl/https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/356400/discussions/0/2592234299572466379/

So I have been giving this some thought about the story behind this. Short answer is there is no story. That was confirmed by the devs: steam://openurl/https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/356400/discussions/0/2592234299572466379/

No matter, I'm sure someone has made a decent story up for fun. Turns out not exactly; there is one but it's pretty unhinged. Funny and entertaining don't get me wrong, but not quite what I was hoping to find.

Fair enough, that just means I will make it myself. I believe there was names for the beetle and the skull but I can't find either official name for the life of me. I think the skull is called Crackhed but for the sake of this story, we are going to ignore that part. It actually works better if both are nameless.



You play as a recently deceased person who's spirit is attempting to either escape from hell (or something similar) or merely ascend to the heavens. Personally I like to think of this as a journey to the heavens.

Anyways, it seems your spirit animal, alternative form, or some other explanation is a beetle of all things. Good news, its not a weak beetle. You feel propelled forward by will power towards your goal, moving on from this world and your determination shields you from the sheer violence of the world you're trying to pass through.

Unfortunately, that's not enough for simple safe passage. Immediately, you are confronted by the first boss. There are several ways to interpret this, my preferred is this is one of your sins made intentionally or unintentionally throughout your past life personified and each one of them will attempt to destroy you or die trying. Each time they become more warped, powerful, dangerous, and unpredictable.

Starting with a simple triangle with 3 limbs all way to a spiked blob star thing, each one of these sins wants you to succumb to this world.

You are strong willed enough to survive a punch. In fact if you are good enough, you can even heal your will power and reform your shield again. But if you get hit twice... well... as many of you have likely seen, it only takes half a second for the world to consume your splintered spirit.

Of course, that's not all that's around here that makes this a significant challenge. Shortly after the first boss, the track itself quickly turns on you, turning and bending at will, placing bars, walls, and roadblocks in front you with only seconds to react. There's even a metallic circle that will appear and will kill you if you don't thump perfectly while it watches, and metal worms(?) that will attempt to smash headfirst into you, again with seconds, or less, to react.

And, naturally, there's one more threat. Now, perhaps its official name really is Crackhed, but for the sake of this, you have a choice on what to call it. Perhaps Guardian (of the heavens), Tester (of your worthiness to ascend), Omega (since thats the name of the track he is on), Demon (trying to keep you stuck in this limbo world), or the evil mirror version of yourself trying to stop you from escaping from it.

This Demon entity doesn't like you either way. The track shows the end. A light at the end, one that quickly vanishes before you can get any closer. A fleeting glimpse of what could have been. Unlike you sins which once dealt with 4 strikes implodes and frees you from it's grasp to resume your journey. This entity will flee from you once defeated. Don't rest however and therefore the track keeps going. You started on the first level of this world. There's 8 more to go. And our Demon friend is playing dirty.

Immediately, once you in the next level, the world speeds up, there's less time to react and yet, it strangely takes longer to reach the end as well. The track becomes more aggressive, your sins try harder to drag you down, time speeds up and slows down. Your first hint that this world is anything like where you came from.

When you reach the Demon again for the second time. He looks... different doesn't he? Could have sworn those spikes weren't there before. No time to wonder, he's already attacking. There is something you pick up however. Whenever you send a strike flying towards him. He flees a little from it. As if that is something he fears. No matter, keep fighting. Fortunately, he can't hold you back as you send him back away again.

It dawns on you that if he flees like this every time, there won't be an escape. All tracks lead to him in the end. There's no choice in this, you need to go on the offense and chase him down. Perhaps if you hit him enough, he won't be able to flee.

Level 3 is all the same, except its becoming faster, and they are getting smarter. A good idea for them is to block your incoming shots. After all, if you can't hit them, you can't escape. Your thumps will do nothing while they have their shields. The good news is these shields are far weaker from your own. A single hit to them disables from for quite some time (unless the round restarts), or better yet, a super charged thump will pierce straight through it and hit them regardless. Once you figured that out. It isn't much to worry about.

Once again we arrive to the Demon. Those spikes are definitely growing and he almost has a bulge look on his head. Once again, there's no time to really study him, he's back on the offense. Fortunately, all this running to get to him has gotten you used to his tricks already. It isn't too hard, but something about how he's changing has you unnerved. What is he?

The track complicates this fight even more. Now there's lanes and they end abruptly too. And now the worms are coming too. Luckily, you can simply change lanes or fly over them. The pace of the world is getting hard to keep up. This is only Level 4, 5 more past this, and you're already moving this fast? Maybe this really is impossible. But you can't quit. You might as well die trying to escape rather than giving up. At least make it a challenge for them.

You come back to the Demon again. A massive spike piercing out of the center of his head. The rest of his spikes are growing too. He also seems to be more aggressive, even seems to look more aggressive, but with your growing skill, you defeat him once more, sending him back into the abyss as you give chase to Level 5.

Your sins keep fighting you before reaching the demon. The track ups the stacks again. The Perfection Circle is now watching randomly. Looking to cut down your heal unfairly. Once you get to the Demon again, as usual at this point, those spikes continue to grow, but there's another development. Limbs flail behind it, the Demon starts the fight within seconds of laying eyes on it. But there's a problem. As you near the end of the fight with an upper hand, it calls on the Perfection Circle to cut down your health. The circle has the added detractor of blocking some of your view as well, and while you manage to overcome the odds again, this implies some serious issues you didn't consider before.

It appears the Demon was absorbing the defeated Sins and their power/abilities and was capable of bringing in additional entities to try and defeat you just like the Worms from Level 4 and the Perfection Circle now.

Level 6 is dizzying. The curves are getting way sharper than you thought possible, but as long as you brace, your shield holds up. The Sin in this area is different. It almost looks... innocent. For a moment you hesitate to attack it, but it passively attacks you with the track, and it won't let you pass, leaving no choice but to destroy this as well. The spikes on the demon are huge, the biggest one looks to be miles in length, yet it moves without difficulty. Even his limbs now have spikes. It doesn't take long for him to call on some additional support to kill you. Despite that, you still get him back on the run. He almost seemed tired in that round. Was he wearing out from all the hits?

Level 7 has a pretty unique sin as well. Instead of facing off against you, it flees from you, warping the track severely to try and throw you off. It, of course, isn't enough. It's interesting trickery won't throw you off. After all, the prior level's curves were getting ridiculous. The end of the track, like every prior time, appears before you way in the distance. No matter how fast you go, it vanishes before you're yanked downwards to face off against the Demon once more. Its forehead is gigantic. Everything is bigger. The Demon almost likes like it's in pain, but with no hesitation, it attacks. Even with shields, it can't hold you back. The Demon, bruised, pained, and severely warped beyond what you thought was possible, flees back down again. Onto Level 8, he did seem worn, but was it enough?

The Sin of Level 8 is the most unique out of all of them so far. During the fight. It stops. It approaches you, almost like it recognized you. This peace didn't last long as it returned as far away as it could to resume the attack. During the final strike, it comes again to look at you closely. It almost feels like it doesn't want this. Too late to go back now though as it launches a last ditch effort to stop you. Like all the prior Sins, it can't stop you.

The Demon approaches once more. To your horror, disgust, and shock it's head has warped so much worse. A third eye has appeared and its center spike has split into 2. Spikes stretch miles in all directions on its face. The pain it's in was obvious though whether that pain was from you or itself was beyond your knowledge. It drags back the Worms and the Perfection Circle to stop you, but he called them way too late into battle. By the time they're in position, the fight is on its final beats. The demon flees again, though slower than before.

You can feel it. This is it. It ends at 9.

The Final Sin. Chains fly by you at reckless speed. You don't know how you can react so fast but you have no choice. React, or die. The Final Sin stares you done before launching its assault. This time, the least amount of reaction gap, and 90 degree turns. It really wants you dead. Too bad for it, you feel the same way after all the other Sins.

The time comes. You already know this is it. There's no way the Demon can handle another onslaught. there's just no way. The end shows up and vanishes just as quickly you plunge into the depths to face the Demon again. Oh boy, to say the Demon is deformed is woefully too vague. He's not even a skull anymore. Hes a malformed, twisted being of energy, hate, and determination. Eyes circle the entire track, spikes everywhere, limbs around, energy zipping. He seems to know it too. This is the Last Stand.

Determined to win, he warps the track heavily, despite his contorted body, he moves fast to change the track. It's not enough. One his final stage, he calls on everything. Shields, the Perfection Circle, sharp turns, bars. But it's not use.

He tries to flee from you regardless, but this time, he simply can't. He is out of energy. He can't run anymore. You take the chance immediately and race to him, going into his mouth, unsure to where it goes, but the track goes so you will follow. Thousands of teeth try to hit you, but the track stays in the middle the entire way. You follow it down and around for what feels like forever until suddenly, you're out. You can hardly believe it. You are free.

That belief is short lived as you enter a new place, one you have never seen before. With nothing before you, it attacks. Not just in the standard way either. The longer you go, the fast everything moves. Your head struggles to keep up as it sends its challenge at faster and faster rates. The pressure mounts as you struggle to even register what's coming. And then it sends its real test; time suddenly speeds up rapidly, wall after wall passes by at amazing speed, faster than the last. You know you're going to hit one in a few seconds; there's just no way to hit them all.

Suddenly it stops and releases you into a new world. Clouds move around. Nothing comes at first. No thumps, no walls, no enemies. It's so eerily silent. And then it shows itself. The end of the track, but then it shows what you never noticed all this time. A single pyramid comes out from underneath the track.

It sinks in what has been going on. This track's end has been ongoing all this time. You could have escaped on Level 1 if it had let you. Level 1. Another revelation. The very first Sin you saw was a triangle. It was testing you this entire time, from the very beginning it was there. Once you defeated it the first time, it must have gotten pretty upset. In fact you recall seeing that same Triangle 3 or 4 times in total. It's the only thing besides the Demon that ever reappeared.

You then notice the track doesn't continue past the Pyramid. This is the end!

Regardless of whether that was the case or not, the Pyramid begins it's own attack. Right before you can begin however, time suddenly warps and slows. The Pyramid is changing how time works. This world, and everything in it must be controlled by this thing.

Time is just another changeable aspect for it. Proof that you really are fighting above your class, but you have no choice. This has to be the end. It's do or die, once and for all.

The first round works in your favor as you are able to react quicker and slower depending on the time speed and land a hit. The Pyramid reacts by splintering 2 smaller versions out of itself. It then launches a new time warp, jumping back and forth relentlessly. It's almost too much to bare, but somehow you keep your wits about.

The first of the two mini Pyramids explodes with the second hit. It seemed like the Pyramid was capable transferring damage to its splintered versions and negate any to itself.

Round 3 took on a more janky jerking motion, time would resume for a moment and slow back down and then speed up completely suddenly and roughly. Through all the warping, you still keep your head on, and manage to work in the rhythm just enough to send a third shot to it. The second mini Pyramid explodes, leaving you in a standoff with the Pyramid.

For a moment, you both watch each other, before the Pyramid gives it one last attempt. This time slowing time to a crawl before speeding it way up and then slowing it back down desperately trying to throw you off, but you are ready for it, and as it speeds up a second time you land the final fourth thump, it even tried to flee, but it can't escape its fate.

The fourth thump's energy catches up to it and lands its mark. For a moment your vision inverts colors but returns a moment later. The Pyramid doesn't explode nor does it flee or stop. You and the Pyramid face off again, but finally, it relents and slowly flips back over beneath the track.

Now there's nothing left. White particles fly past you towards the end of the track. Finally the end appears, this time so much closer than ever before, and you slowly catch up to it, racing as fast you can move. The white gets closer and closer until it envelops your entire vision.

You are free.

This was actually way longer than I thought it would be. Like as I write this, I'm kinda amazed how much I was able to fill in. Again, of course, the Devs confirmed there is no story so I thought it would be fun to kinda shoehorn in a vague enough line. Of course there's a thousand things to change to fit your own interpretation and each one of them is valid, but hopefully this one comes off as satisfactory for "lore" of the this amazing game.

Thanks for reading