4-2: God Damn the Sun

GREED /// SECOND
GOD DAMN THE SUN

4-2: GOD DAMN THE SUN
General
Layer & Part		GREED /// SECOND
Challenge		Kill the Insurrectionist in under 10 seconds.
Music		Sands of Tide
Tip of the Day
POWER-UPS can be stacked.
Collectables
2 Soul Orbs  2 Blood Orbs  1 Gold Soul Orb  2 Dual Wield Orbs
Enemies
13 Filth  2 Strays  6 Schisms  11 Soldiers  7 Stalkers  1 Sisyphean Insurrectionist  8 Drones  4 Streetcleaners  9 Malicious Faces  4 Cerberi  4 Virtues
Rank Requirements
Rank	Time	Kills	Style
S	04:40	69	18,000
A	05:30	60	16,000
B	07:00	50	12,000
C	12:00	35	7,500
Levels
Previous		Next
4-1		4-3
4-S
4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4 4-S

4-2: GOD DAMN THE SUN is the second level of Greed, taking place in a vast desert of ruins and monuments, and introduces the sanded effect, Stalkers, burning golden sand hazards, and stars the Sisyphean Insurrectionist as a boss encounter. 4-2 also holds the entrance to Greed's secret level, 4-S: CLASH OF THE BRANDICOOT.

The music used in this level is Sands of Tide.

Level

Start

The starting section of 4-2, with a landscape of dunes, a massive pyramid, and the bright sun in the distance.

4-2 starts off with the player entering into a landscape of golden dunes, with various ruined structures embedded in the sand. In the distance lies various monuments and landmarks, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and Big Ben, with a large pyramid towering near the level.

In front of the entrance lies a set of two sandstone platforms, where eight Filth will spawn and run towards the player, before stepping onto the sandy surface and immediately igniting into flames, teaching the player about the hazardous sand.

The path forward contains various small platforms within the sand that the player needs to jump across to move forward. Walking forward will cause two Strays to spawn on a set of stone pillars.

The gazebo, with a Cerberus statue and several monuments in the distance.

Moving forward will lead to a small gazebo with two Cerberus statues. This area introduces the sanded enemy buff: which removes the ability for the player to heal from an enemy's blood, with parries being the only option to regain health from them. A prompt will trigger detailing its effects:

ENEMIES COVERED IN SAND WILL NOT BLEED

The right Cerberus will then awaken with the sanded buff applied to it.

Ruined Tower

The ruined tower arena.

Afterwards, there are more stone platforms and ruins toppled over within the sand that the player must traverse, eventually making it over to a checkpoint. There, moving forward will trigger an encounter with a sanded Malicious Face and two Soldiers further along the platforms.

The player will then reach a large tower, with a set of staircases leading up to a raised segment of the structure. Moving up the stairs will trigger a wave of enemies, consisting of a Malicious Face at the bottom stairs, five sanded Filth on a lower walkway, three sanded Soldiers, and a Virtue on the highest section of the ruin.

Once all the enemies are defeated, four pillars will rise out of the sand, leading to the next arena.

Temple Entrance

The next segment of the level consists of a large stage connecting to two sets of staircases leading to the entrance of a large temple, with the entrance blocked off by a gate. Two Cerberi lie within the middle of the staircases, and two other staircases lead down to the desert floor.

The entrance to the solarium.

Walking up to the gated entrance marks the introduction of the Stalker: shambling, mummified husks strapped with large explosive canisters containing gold sand. They will actively approach any nearby enemies before detonating their canisters, killing themselves and creating a large explosion that coats enemies in sand upon contact, demonstrated with a Malicious Face trapped alongside the Stalker. The Malicious Face will come close to the Stalker as it actively pursues it before exploding, killing itself in the process.

The gate then lowers, and the player will have to fight the sanded Malicious Face. Once it is killed, another three Stalkers will spawn in and the two Cerberi from earlier will awaken, with the Stalkers actively heading towards them. Once all enemies are defeated, the doors will open and the player can traverse inside the solarium.

Solarium

The solarium, with two paths on the sides leading to the skulls.

The door will lead to a large sunlit temple area, with two doors to the left and right and a door at the far end, with the side doors being marked with a blue and red mural of a Malicious Face, and the far door leading outside to a set of platforms near the exit gate, with a blue and red pedestal on each side which correspond to the two side rooms, each containing one of the needed skulls. On a walkway within the center of the room lies a circular checkpoint, which can be interacted with multiple times to save progress. On the same walkway near the entrance is a small pedestal with a book on top to read:

TEXT SCANNED - UNIQUE PASSAGE:

"It has been days since we last saw any angels. Without their oppression, there is no need for us to carry on our punishment. Even the meekest of the damned have abandoned their penance to take up arms. All can see how they have robbed us of our minds, bodies, and souls, leaving us only the hopes of a salvation that will never come, but no longer.

King Sisyphus has acted in secret until now, amassing an army whose strength and numbers swell, but now there is no need to hide anymore. We have lived in the shadow of Heaven long enough to forget the taste of fear. Now the Sisyphean Insurrectionists prepare for war.

I have heard of Minos beginning a peaceful revolution, but our King Sisyphus knows such pacificity will gain no favor form our cruel captors. He knows that one can only fight power with power, and he shall lead us to freedom.

If only we knew the suffering that would befall us next..."

REMAINING TEXT: IRRELEVANT.

Blue Skull Arena

Heading to the left doorway will lead to a large greenhouse section of the temple, with glass windows, flower beds, and the Blue Skull protected by a glass casing at the far side of the room. Within the middle of the arena lies a Dual Wield Orb for the player to use.

The blue skull arena.

Walking forward will trigger an enemy wave consisting of four Schisms, four Drones, five Soldiers, and two Stalkers to appear, with the Schisms and Soldiers placed at each end of the hallway next to a Stalker. Killing either group of husks will spawn a Malicious Face and a Virtue to spawn on the opposite side adjacent to the group's location, and killing the other set of husks will spawn another set of one Malicious Face and Virtue. Once all of the enemies are killed, the player can grab the Blue Skull and place it by the pedestal near the exit gate.

Notably, this room's door does not lock during its combat encounters, allowing the player to collect this room's Dual Wield and quickly leave to collect the Red Skull Arena's Dual Wields before the first power-up timer expires.

Red Skull Arena

Heading through the right door of the temple will lead to an outdoor arena, consisting of a main set of tightknit stairways and platforms leading down to the Red Skull covered by a glass casing, with a pit of breakable glass panes in front. In front of the player lies another Dual Wield Orb.

The red skull arena.

Moving forward towards the Dual Wield Orb will cause three Malicious Faces to spawn, with one directly in front of the player and two beside the Red Skull. Killing the Malicious Face in front of the player will spawn four Streetcleaners at the bottom floor, killing the Malicious Face to the right will spawn two Schisms, three Soldiers, and a Stalker, and killing the Malicious Face to the left will spawn four Drones and a Virtue. Once all the enemies are killed, the glass around the Red Skull will lower, and the player can then head down to place it onto its pedestal near the exit gate.

Boss Encounter

The path that leads to the two pedestals has various routes that the player can take, going onto a set of stairways from the temple or platforming across various pillars, leading to a platform with a checkpoint and a Terminal before the exit gate.

Once the player has completed both arena encounters and collected each of the Skull Keys, placing both onto their respective pedestals will cause an air raid siren to rise out of the platform near the exit gate, before playing a long, droning bellow. As it calls, a Sisyphean Insurrectionist will heed the message and fall out of the sky, crushing the siren to face the player before quickly starting a boss fight.

The Sisyphean Insurrectionist, or Insurrectionist for short, is a large, tanky, and highly mobile enemy: attacking with sweeps, clubs, and jabs from the dead Malicious Face attached to its highly extendable arm, allowing it to attack the player from a very large distance. The Insurrectionist can also jump across vast distances to chase the player if needed, and will regularly jump high into the air to either slam onto the ground, creating a shockwave, or perform a boulder throw.

While having a large health pool, the Insurrectionist also takes additional damage while being lit on fire from sources such as explosives or being hit by the Overheat Nailgun or Overheat Sawblade Launcher. The player can also stun the Insurrectionist by successfully parrying its boulder back at it, or using the S.R.S. Rocket Launcher's cannonball to knock it down and stun it for several seconds.

Once the Insurrectionist is defeated, the exit gate will open and the player can finish the level.

The platforms where the Insurrectionist spawns.

Challenge

For the level's challenge, the player has a couple of options to complete it. The player can avoid the Dual Wield Orbs for the enemy encounters in their arenas, then use all of them at once to stack a large amount of damage at once to kill the Insurrectionist instantly, being most effective with Nail or Sawblade traps, explosives such as from Projectile Boosting or Rockets, or using advanced techniques such as Railcoining or Shotgun Swapping.

The alternative method involves using the Whiplash to place the skulls from a distance. After completing the Blue Skull arena and placing it, the player needs to head over to the Red Skull arena and complete it as well. Nearby the pedestal where it is held is a pit with a floor of glass panes, which drops down to a bottomless pit. By standing on the glass pit and then placing the skull on the far pedestal with the Whiplash, it will trigger the Insurrectionist to spawn, where it will then jump directly above the player before it falls directly into the pit where the player is standing on and instantly gets killed, completing the challenge.

Secrets

Secret Orb Locations

#1	Blood Orb - At the start of the level, on the backside of a large rectangular stone with an illustration of a Cerberus on it. Collecting this orb spawns a Cerberus in the sand.
#2	Soul Orb - On a small, lowered ledge attached to the back right corner of the Ruined Tower. The ledge is visible from the view of the three pillars that emerge from the sand.
#3	Soul Orb - Heading to the outside of the room with the Blue Skull Key and walking through the crevice reveals a stone button with a depiction of a Malicious Face. Pressing the button opens a wall on the right side of the Temple Entrance, where the orb can be found.
#4	Blood Orb - On top of the Temple Entrance, on the roof. Collecting this orb spawns two Malicious Faces beside the player.
#5	Dual Wield Orb - Underneath the staircase at the start of the Red Skull arena, on a concealed platform. This orb has an extended 60-second duration.

Secret Level Entrance

The secret exit, with a small sun above it over a night sky.

To find the hidden secret exit in 4-2, the player will need to first perform the steps that were used to find the third Soul Orb. The player needs to head over to the outside of the room with the Blue Skull key, to the left of the temple building. Making it to the far end of the building, the player can find a small crevasse within the wall holding a stone button, with a depiction of a Malicious Face carved into it. If the player decides to press it, the button will light up with a yellow glow, and a short message will appear:

A door opens.

This button corresponds to a door with the same symbol, located by the entrance to the temple near the bottom right staircase. Pressing it will open the door, which leads to a small dim room with a special torch-like item with a crystalline crescent moon on top.

The player then needs to take the torch and climb up to the top of the temple's roof, where a pedestal lies at the far end of the entrance. Placing the moon key onto it will cause the entire level to shift to nighttime, which cannot be reverted afterwards. Due to the Greed layer's sun being removed, the dunes of the desert are now no longer blasted with heat, making them safe to traverse across. In the far distance by the start of the level is a distant bright light, which the player must head towards. Making it over will reveal the hidden secret exit underneath the bright sphere of light, where the player can then descend to exit the level, leading to 4-S: CLASH OF THE BRANDICOOT.

Sandcastle Easter Egg

Behind the large Statue of Liberty in the far distance, the player can find a lone Stalker sitting against the base of the monument, portrayed building a small sandcastle.

The Stalker with its sandcastle.

If the player decides to destroy the sandcastle, a massive explosion will occur, which cannot be survived by any normal means, instantly killing the player. The explosion will eventually make its way to the rest of the level, killing all enemies except for Malicious Faces and enemies marked as invincible. The sandcastle will not persist through checkpoints.

The Statue of Liberty's Heart Easter Egg

When being near the mass center of the Statue of Liberty, the player can hear sounds of a beating heart. Upon using the Noclip cheat, a large beating heart can be found hidden within the statue. This is a reference to a GTA IV easter egg "The Heart of Liberty City".

The heart itself uses the lead modeller Victoria's plush model rather than a conventional heart, and a reflection of the pool arena in 7-S: HELL BATH NO FURY can be seen.

The Statue of Liberty's large heart.

Gallery

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  Renders of the monuments found across the level, by Victoria.
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Trivia

• The title of the level is a reference to "God Damn the Sun" from the album The Burning World by Swans.
• The Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, and the Statue of Liberty are made to the correct scale relative to each other, still shrunken to fit in the level but by the same amount for each compared to the size of the real-life monuments. This is most apparent with the Eiffel Tower, which is significantly taller than both the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben. The painted color of the Eiffel Tower is also "mostly" year-accurate, using a slightly wrong shade of red for the intended time period.
  • Miniature low-fidelity models of the monuments can be found high up and behind their full-size counterparts. These models are the original iterations used in the level before the ULTRA_REVAMP update. The original Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower additionally have compressed and squished pngs of the corresponding real-life monuments in place of a properly-textured top face, which previously served the same easter egg purpose for the old models that the old models now serve for the new models.