4-2: GOD DAMN THE SUN (2024)

For more information about other missions, see Levels

POWER-UPS can be stacked.

- The Tip of the Day.

GOD DAMN THE SUN is the second mission/level in the GREED layer, taking place at ground level as the player is tasked with hopping across the dunes of gold dust which will burn them if they touch it. This level introduces the Stalker, sand, and the Sisyphean Insurrectionist.

Major Areas[]

Dune Hopping[]

As soon as the level starts, two groups of 4 Filth will run into the gold dust, setting themselves on fire and teaching you not to do the same thing. Jumping across, two Strays will ambush you atop two columns. Entering a roofed structure, a Cerberus will rise covered in sand, which makes its blood no longer become fuel. The next stretch spawns a Malicious Face covered in sand and two Soldiers. Clearing the three, a buried tower structure spawns 3 sanded Soldiers, 5 sanded Filth, a Malicious Face, and a Virtue. Killing them raises 4 pillars leading to the Solarium.

Solarium[]

At the entrance to the Solarium, a Malicious Face is coated in sand by the nearby Stalker and is only let out afterward. Following this, three more Stalkers spawn in just as two Cerberi are getting up. Killing all involved lets the player proceed into the temple with the game's first respawning checkpoint and a book the player can read sitting on a podium, as seen below.

Unique Passage[]

The exit lies ahead but requires two skulls from the arenas flanking the Solarium.

Blue Skull Arena[]

The blue skull is guarded by several 4 Schisms and 5 Soldiers, along with two Stalkers that accompany both groups and 4 Drones for air support. Destroying one group will spawn a Malicious Face and a Virtue, meaning you'll deal with a total of 2 Malicious Faces and 2 Virtues. There is a Dual Wield powerup available in this room, and once the enemies are dead, the skull is free for the taking. Notably, the door to this arena does not lock shut upon triggering the encounters, allowing the player to grab this arena's Dual Wield and quickly leave to the red skull arena to collect the Dual Wield powerups there before the first timer expires.

Red Skull Arena[]

The red skull is guarded by three Malicious Faces, each of which have triggers to spawn extra enemies. Killing the Face above the center platform spawns 4 Streetcleaners at the bottom. Killing the Face on the right of the skull pedestal spawns 3 Soldiers, 2 Schisms, and a Stalker. Killing the face on the left spawns 4 Drones and a Virtue. Much like the blue skull room, there is a Dual Wield powerup and the red skull can be taken once all the enemies are dead.

Exit Door[]

Once both skulls are placed, a siren will emerge, calling to the Sisyphean Insurrectionist. This behemoth of a husk can follow you anywhere in the level and is immune to the burning of the gold dust. Once killed, the exit opens, and you can proceed to the next level.

Ranking Requirements[]

Secrets[]

Orbs

Secrets
#1		(Blood Orb) - Behind a block with a drawing of a Cerberus at the start of the level. It itself does not spawn anything, but touching the area where the frontmost part of the Blood Orb is fittingly spawns a Cerberus.
#2		(Soul Orb) - On the staircase where the first Virtue spawns, there is a tiny chunk of the bottom level separated by burning sand behind the tower structure on the platform. This platform holds the second Soul Orb.
#3		(Soul Orb) - Following the challenge, the third Soul Orb is in the same room where the Moon Pendant is found.
#4		(Blood Orb) - Above the entrance to the Solarium (the Stalker introduction "room"), a Blood Orb lies for the taking. However, it spawns two Malicious Faces, so be prepared.
#5		(Dual Wield Orb) - Past the entrance to the Red Skull arena, there is a Dual Wield Orb with an extended 60-second timer underneath the stairs.

Secret Mission

On the outside of the blue skull room, there is a small ledge that can be walked on. This ledge has a button opening up a red face wall on the right side of the entrance to the Solarium. This contains a Soul Orb and a Moon Pendant. Take the pendant to the roof and place it on the pedestal, causing the day to turn into night. Since the sun is no longer heating the gold dust, you can walk wherever you please. Head back to the level start and follow a bright light until you find the secret exit behind the level entrance.

Challenge Advice

While the Insurrectionist can be killed quickly by collecting all three dual wield orbs, the better solution is to make it kill itself. From the Red Skull arena, The Whiplash arm can be used to place the 2nd Skull on its pedestal at the end of the stage. After placing it there, stand above the pit covered with glass. The Insurrectionist will leap towards your location, causing it to break through the glass into a bottomless pit. Just make sure to move once you see it coming down! (I am not able to achieve this, though this may just be me)

Trivia[]

• This level features the real-life landmarks the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, and the Eiffel Tower.
  • Textures on top of the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty's torch are the pictures of the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty respectively.
• A solarium is a room with lots of glass to let in sunlight.
• The level title is a direct reference to the Swans song of the same name.
  • It may also be a reference to the fact that the sun is freakishly hot.

    

• There is a small sandcastle made by a Stalker behind the Statue of Liberty. Destroying this sandcastle will create a massive explosion that will instantly kill everything on the map.
  • The only enemies who can survive the explosion are Idols due to only taking damage from arms or the Jackhammer, and the Malicious Face, due to them being invulnerble to explosions when not doused in gasoline.
  • The only way to survive this blast is to use Major Assists to set 'Damage Taken' to 0%. (note to self: figure out exactly how much damage the explosion deals)
• Because the Sand doesn't instantly kill you, this level is very easy to sequence break. It's even possible to kill the first Stalker before it gets the Malicious Face so long as you skip the trigger and go through the Solarium entrance the opposite way.
  • Alternatively, you can use the Malicious Railcannon to instantly kill the Stalker by shooting the wall that the Stalker is immediately behind. Doing this will also lower the wall immediately.
• There are no invisible walls to stop you from leaving the level; falling off the side will teleport you back to your last checkpoint.
  • If you jump off the level without hitting any checkpoints, you will be teleported back into the elevator shaft.
• Speaking of checkpoints, this is the first level to include reusable checkpoints.
• The sun, rather than being part of the level's skybox, is a texture physically placed a short way off the edge of the level. The pyramid is so large that it extends behind the sun.
• The Sisyphean Insurrectionist is capable of standing on the side of the pyramid despite how steep it is, if he follows you to it and lands on it.
• You can slide up the side of the pyramid by starting your slide on the sand and holding it as you reach the wall of the pyramid. You can hold this slide as long as you want, potentially even making it to the top of the pyramid with the correct angle.
• The elevator tapers to a point if you go high enough, like a very tall pyramid with a narrow base.
• The P-Rank requirements were previously nice.
• The level's nighttime skybox texture is reused in [ 5-S: I ONLY SAY MORNING ].
• Similar to this piece of trivia, if a Schism's body is completeley destroyed in combat, a Schism torso will spawn behind the spawn elevator, near the secret exit.[1]