Skeletal Shenanigans is one of, if not the most popular level in the game right now, currently sitting at 9.2 million views on Nexus's channel despite only being out for a month. Why did it get this popular? I'm guessing it's because of the boss, which makes very appealing and clickable thumbnails. Plus, getting mythic and event level means that a lot more people (mostly kids) know about this level's existence. But there are a lot more great things to say about this level.

Skeletal Shenanigans was made by famed creator YoReid (with some building done by Airzyy during a build swap, sorry for forgetting you Airzyy), known for levels such as Floating Outskirts, well-designed and polished platformer levels released before platformer mode was released. He does have plenty of other, more conventional levels, Skeletal Shenanigans being one of them. This level in particular was made particularly for JamAttack's CC5 (though it is unclear if it was originally intended to be an entry) and was able to snag 2nd place.

As a JamAttack Creator Contest entry, this level is already fantastic. Two core requirements of the contest were using Jam's style and a gem at the end of many of his levels, and YoReid does a great job with both of these. Jam's style is beautifully incorporated and is very apparent, yet YoReid's identity is not completely lost; instead, both styles are seamlessly incorporated. The gem is also used well, with the story of this level revolving around this gem, the power it holds, and the attempts of the player and the skeletons to try and get it. It's funny to see these skeletons brutally slaughter each other for the gem, while at the end the player takes it away from a skeleton who, unfortunately, tripped and fell.

The theming and decoration of the level are already very good. You can feel a kind of medieval vibe coming from this level, as a good part of the level takes place in a fortress. This theme has already been done before, but the addition of the silly skeletons makes it feel a lot more refreshing. I already said that the decoration style is very appealing, but I also wanted to say that I really like this level's environments. The usage of parallax gives these environments depth and adds to the atmosphere of the level. The animations used for the skeletons and the environments are very clean, some of the best animations in the game. I especially like the wizard. He's very cool. RIP Wizard Skeleton, we'll miss you.

The boss is the main highlight of the level. On paper, it sounds pretty uninteresting, just a giant skeleton head shooting fireballs with smaller skeletons occasionally coming and helping it. Not as bombastic as something like The Abomination from Ultra Violence. But the execution of the boss is phenomenal. The usage of keyframes helps this level a lot. The large skeleton's fireballs are randomized, making the level feel less repetitive between attempts. The smaller skeleton's attacks also track the player, which is really cool. I'm surprised 2.2 classic bosses haven't been doing this until now.

Some people find issues with the level's gameplay, but I found it pretty fun. The boss is the most interesting part gameplay-wise due to its gimmicks, but I did find the entire level fun to play. However, people whose hardest are easy or medium demons will find the spider sections especially rough.

So, six paragraphs of top-tier glazing later, I believe that Skeletal Shenanigans has its wild popularity deserved for a lot more things than just being a mythic event level and getting a lot of clickable thumbnails. Is this level mythic? 100%. Did this level deserve to place first at the JamAttack CC5? Yes, though Forgotten Metropolis is also very good. Is it my favorite 2.2 level? Hell no, not even my favorite level of 2025, though it's in the top 3. Also some of y'all hate on this level because it's popular like find a better reason to hate