Rating Curve

With Peaks and Shrieks, Loltad was not afraid of taking risks. He was not scared of making something ridiculous, utilizing 2.0 objects such as the Deadlocked monsters, overall messy decoration, and very chaotic and fast-moving gameplay. Yet I can't help but love it. Loltad likely knew that this level wasn't going to be one that everyone would like. Yet despite that, people seem to love this level, which includes me. Despite the level being fast-paced and absolutely hectic, I found its sections to be incredibly fun and engaging, and I think that the level's gameplay is surprisingly its biggest strength. I surprisingly also liked this level's decoration. I know that many people won't like it since this level is reminiscent of early 2.0, but this level takes all the janky moving objects and sudden transitions out for a very smooth experience. Additionally, despite the decoration of this level being chaotic, with a lot of different clashing colors and moving parts, I feel it has a charm to it. Loltad definitely knows how to make something messy while making it simultaneously aesthetically pleasing. Not only that, the level also has a lot of little details you may notice if you watch a video of it. Some of them are genuinely kind of funny. You probably won't notice these details while you play this level, but I do appreciate the attention to detail. I think the theming and progression of this level is also pretty good, escaping this mountain full of deadly (really crazy looking) monsters. I also think that this level represents the "fast-paced" nature of the song, even if, on its own, it doesn't sound that good.

Overall, I really enjoyed this level; not only was it very fun to play, but it had some very creative theming and decoration, even if it's unconventional. I'm glad Rob liked it and gave it a legendary, and I can't wait to beat more of Loltad's levels (they're quite hard for me). Below is my completion video.

I normally do not play platformers, at least not as much as classic levels. As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure that this is the first platformer level I've reviewed on this site. But after playing it, I think it deserved a good review. My favorite part of this level is the unique gimmick with the orbs and how it changes throughout the level. You're level can have a good gimmick, but not expand on it (or add more gimmicks), leading to the level feeling stale. But ImMax does not do this, and instead adds color mixing and color palette changers to the already existing gimmick to add challenge to the level and make the level feel a lot fresher. I also like the sense of progression in the level, which I think is very important in platformer levels. Going from a peaceful to a chaotic landscape is pretty simple, but it is well executed here. Though the decoration of this level is not very sophisticated, I like how ImMax's style is translated here. I think it looks a lot better than some of his previous platformers. Overall, the legendary was very well deserved, and I hope this level wins the Viprin Mini CC5 it was made for, instead of that stupid cherryteam level, only made to impress (I want to be clear though that I actually do like their levels, just not this one).

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

As a standalone level this is fantastic. The simplistic block designs, deco-wise the focus of the level, are very clean without looking too dated or boring. The gameplay is very fun and readable. I love the backgrounds too. The ship part in the climax with the black hole is built up so well. I also like the text drops in this level. The atmosphere this level builds is also really cool. As a level, the only complaint I have is the swing section. Lyal, please learn how to make swing gp, it is painfully unfun.

However, as a Space Gauntlet entry this level irks me. You know how people complain about those epic rated entries that are just levels with realistic black hole/planet art? This level is the exact same but now the block design is simplistic. Removing those awesome space-themed backgrounds would remove nothing from the identity of the level. It feels like Lyal was making a level syncing to JNATHYN's Noir and then, seeing the Space Gauntlet announcement, quickly added some cool space art to his level and submitted it. Lyal's previous gauntlet contest entry, Towerinator, at least centered around ruins and towers. For The Beyond, however, the space theming is not important enough to this level.

Still, amazing level for what it does right. I want to see more from Lyal.

Galofuf's best level, my opinion the 6th best easy demon. Shit simply rocks. Though it does use a realistic deco style, it works perfectly with the fantasy theme. If you're level is fantasy themed, I think the use of realistic style would be justified cuz it represents the theme best. Aside from the beautiful deco, the gp is so damn fun to play. It feels inspiring and optimistic to an extent, matching the song (a banger btw) and the deco. The part in the clouds is really damn good. This level also uses 2.2 features really well. The transition between 2.1 and 2.2 is awesome, and Galofuf somehow made a swing section that is fun to play. Overall fantastic work.

I am maxing it. I am maxing it SOOOO good.

The deco, styling, structuring, and song representation are SOOOOO good but if I liked the song more I would give it higher. The song is honestly not my thing. Still though I wish we got more list demons that want to be hard, but focus more so on being good levels rather than being hard levels (Exen I'm looking at you)

Yay my 8th favorite easy demon. This is in my opinion Rafer's best level, with it's incredibly colorful and appealing designs that don't deviate far from the Rafer style, to chaotic yet fun gameplay. The ending is one of best level endings I've seen. A level I'll never forget.

I would be whining my ass out because it got 7th place but RobTop understands where the heat is at and gave this mythic. The deco style is peak, it's done perfectly with no flaws whatsoever. It deviates so far from the rest of the SGCC entries, even the mythics which I would argue each at a distinct theme. People complain about the GP but it fits perfectly, I mean absolutely perfectly, with the level. The song representation is immaculate. I always liked djudjeito for Pluto and even Folie, but this level made them one of my favorite creators. GP wise it's not as strong as everything else, but the only real issue (that being the dash orb during the slow cube not being visible until you hit it) got fixed so the GP is fine. This isn't my winners choice (I will be crucified if I reveal my winner's choice) but yeah definitely should have won 2nd place in the SGCC

The best 1.9 level ever made, no question. The mini wave section is not fun to play, but that's not FunnyGame's fault; you couldn't see hitboxes at the time. The way this level progresses must be studied. In my opinion, the 9th best easy demon.

This level's energy is unmatched, it's execution of the theme is master-class. Helpegasus has certainly improved A LOT since he started creating, and personally I can't deny that this is the best extreme demon of 2.2, and probably in my top 5 for best extreme demons of all time.

I want to beat it but I'm on 60 FPS mobile and my hardest is Leyak. Once I get good enough I'll prolly post a gp review too