Kenos

Kenos

ID

58673581

Creator(s)

ChiefFlurry and Bianox (hosts)

Contributors

TrusTa, Noobas, Eclipsed, Zimnyte, Terron, Lazuli, KrampuX, SlimJim, nikrodox, Salaxium, Spectex, Pennutoh, and Splash

Verifier(s)

npesta

Created

Update 2.0

Last updated

Update 2.2

Attributes

Difficulty

Stars

10

Length

1m 58s (Long)

Objects

156,999

Copy type

No password

Statistics

Downloads

3.07M

Likes

109.5K

Rating

Featured

Audio info

Artist(s)

mr-jazzman

Music

Iron God: Sakupen Hell Yes RMX

Music ID

360804

Kenos is a 2.0-2.2 Extreme Demon mega-collaboration level hosted by ChiefFlurry and Bianox, verified and published by npesta on 14 December 2019. The level was rated later that day, being placed #2 on the Demonlist shortly afterwards, below Zodiac, another level hosted by Bianox. It is a buffed and extended remake of Sakupen Hell, building upon the level's hell theme with more detailed decorations of Update 2.1.

Kenos received significant attention outside of the Geometry Dash community when npesta's reaction to verifying it became a well-known Internet meme.

History

The creation process

The first preview video of Kenos was uploaded to YouTube by Bianox on 6 December 2016, showcasing 0-18% (now 13-28%) in its decorated state. About one month later, ChiefFlurry, EndLevel, and DuaL KiKi created gameplay for the rest of the level and additionally an extension to the opening. DollarC uploaded a full montage video of the initial iteration of Kenos (Old Kenos) on 11 January 2017. Bianox was forced to remove 56-64% from the level for unknown reasons; to replace the section, ChiefFlurry held a creator contest in February 2017. The contest's results were published on 17 March 2017. In fifth place was Leptonic; in fourth place was Ilrell; in third place was Drift; in second place was Andro3d; and in first place was SlimJim, whose part was integrated into the current level. ChiefFlurry later uploaded a second teaser for Kenos, revealing the 64-74% decoration. All parts of Kenos, except for SlimJim's, were later replaced with decoration utilizing features introduced in Update 2.1. ChiefFlurry uploaded the third teaser for Kenos, showcasing the new decoration while previewing additional parts that have been decorated. Other players uploaded videos of their parts, including Pennutoh, Zimnyte, Splash, Salaxium and Spectex. The level was finished on 29 April 2018, with Zimnyte, Pennutoh and Combined. showcasing the completed level. Kenos received significant buffs from Bianox, who added random gravity portals throughout the waves.

The verification process

ChiefFlurry was initially signed on to verify the level but passed it on to Combined shortly before the level's completion. Combined was initially hesitant to upload progress videos, but later uploaded the first on 1 August 2018 under pressure from fans, in which he achieved 71% for the third time. His next progress video was uploaded on the same day, in which he achieved 90%. On Halloween 2018, Combined died at 97% on the level. Following this progress, he buffed the level; one change was 28-31% to quadruple-speed. However, on 10 February 2019, Combined uploaded a video titled 'Why I stopped playing Kenos', with the video showing him dying at 97% once more. Bianox then passed Kenos to the player Crazen, who nearly immediately dropped it in April 2018 after achieving 34%. After this, it was passed onto a player named MirQ (now known as Miro), who also dropped it after achieving 70%. Kenos's verification was up in the air for about a year until Bianox passed the level to npesta, then known for verifying Deimos by EndLevel, a buffed remake of Phobos, and WOW, one of TrusTa's mega-collaborations.

npesta started verifying the level in late April 2019, when he immediately achieved a 64-100% run. During one stream, npesta ate a Cliff Bar and proceeded to play past 46% twice and then died at 53%. After npesta achieved 53%, he attempted a 31-100% run on the level, which he accomplished on 23 May 2019. His later deaths would include 70%, 83% and 88%. In early October 2019, npesta acquired a 240Hz monitor. This change prompted npesta to buff the level, as his 240Hz monitor 'made the level much easier'. He finished buffing the level a few days later, then attempted a 17-100% run to achieve consistency on the level again; he would accomplish the run two weeks later. His worst fail on the level would be at 90%, after which he would become demotivated and stressed by the verification. During an eight-hour stream, npesta announced in the stream that if he could not verify the level that day, he would nerf 79-84% (Spectex's part) due to his desire for the level to be published before Update 2.2. He would ultimately fail to verify the level and nerfed Spectex's part, stating he felt bad for doing it. On 14 December 2019, npesta stated he would attempt the level for one more day before nerfing it once again; the same day, he verified the level after 135,320 attempts and 117 streams.

Kenos reaction meme

Upon verifying the level, npesta began hyperventilating and loudly cheering in elation. On Christmas Eve 2019 (10 days after the verification), Reddit user u/AGT-AM posted a video of someone beating Stereo Madness in practice mode, with npesta's reaction in the corner. This edit inspired numerous more edits, including the c**k island speedrun, the Google Earth Cat speedrun and the black emoji speedrun. The meme led to the creation of a page on Know Your Meme, and even recognition by YouTube figurehead PewDiePie. PewDiePie erroneously labelled npesta as an 'Impossible Game Speedrunner', prompting RobTop to call him out on Twitter.

npesta's reaction to verifying Kenos is often considered the most iconic reaction in Geometry Dash.

Description

• 0-7% (Eclipsed): Kenos begins with a double-speed cube section where the player jumps on walls and hits orbs through tight, narrow spaces between the spikes. The orbs at this part must be hit carefully, choosing the exact time of the jump. Additionally, the player's gravity sometimes changes, and the segment is interrupted by a short mini-ball segment with similar gameplay.
• 7-13% (Zimnyte): First, the player goes into a mini-UFO section, in which they must make several accurate hits inside the orbs. Then, in a cube section, it is necessary to overcome several difficult obstacles from spikes in a thorny space where they need to jump over walls and hit orbs. The same thing must be done in the following robot section.
• 13-29% (Bianox): The part begins with the classic cube section from the start of Sakupen Hell, where the player accurately jumps on the walls, very quickly hitting the blue orbs. After a brief triple-speed mini-wave section in a narrow space between the walls, the mini-ball section begins, continuing at triple speed onwards. At this point, it is necessary to move quickly and accurately between the walls without touching the spikes, followed by a new wave section in which the player navigates between inclined obstacles, changing gravity via portals. This wave section divides into two parts, with a half-speed mini-cube section serving as an intermission. The second part of the wave is set at quadruple speed instead of triple speed from Sakupen Hell.
• 29-34% (Terron + Eclipsed): This part is a lengthy double-speed UFO segment in a narrow space between the spikes in which the player must bounce through. In this section, the player must carefully jump between the spikes, often hitting orbs and navigating through numerous gravity and size portals.
• 34-42% (Lazuli): The part begins with flying as the ship is still going at double speed through various obstacles, like spikes and sawblades. It is necessary to skillfully manoeuvre and swiftly change gravity, hitting the orbs at the right time. At this drop, now going at triple speed, the player must make a couple of jumps as a mini-cube, choosing from the set of orb traps they need, and then manoeuvre between the spiky inclined walls as the wave. The part ends with a short UFO segment.
• 42-52% (KrampuX): First comes a cube section with size changes. In it, the player must carefully choose the exact moment, jump on walls, and hit orbs through spikes. After a brief half-speed mini-wave section, they must do the same in a robot section. Then, there is a mini-ship section where the player flies through platforms with spikes, and a brief wave segment begins, in which the player manoeuvres around prickly obstacles. Having flown around a wall with spikes as the ship, with some cube intermissions, the player proceeds to a new mini-wave section, where the player must manoeuvre around the moving walls and sawblades at triple speed.
• 52-59% (SlimJim): The player transitions into a mini-ship sequence, continuing at triple speed. They must quickly navigate around obstacles, such as spikes and blocks, while hitting the orbs and changing gravity at the right moments. Then, as a mini-robot, the player must go through many different orbs and then bounce around some moving structures as the mini-UFO. After short segments of the mini-ball and the spider, a new mini-ship section begins, where the player needs to fly between the sliding walls with spikes, teleporting between the segments with them. The section ends with a mini-wave section of manoeuvring through the spikes in blocks available for this, while the speed progressively slows down.
• 59-64% (nikrodox): A short robot segment represents the entire part. Here, while resizing, the player must jump on various walls and blocks at half speed while avoiding spikes. There is very little free space, and jumping should be done carefully.
• 64-69% (ChiefFlurry): The next part consists entirely of a triple-speed wave segment. The part begins with a mini-wave that requires the player to navigate through tight spaces with moving walls and spikes that kill. After that, it transitions into a normal wave with a few moving blocks featuring spikes, requiring the player to fit through the space that leads to the cube portal, which initiates Salaxium's part.
• 69-74% (Salaxium): A tight triple-speed cube section entirely represents Salaxium's part. The part features gravity changes, dash orbs, and difficult timings. It begins with difficult timings that transition into a dash orb spam section, which the player must hit to progress to more difficult timings, then a brief blue pad auto section that leads to Spectex's part.
• 74-78% (Spectex): The player again teleports to a new part through the portal. As a wave going at double speed now, it is again necessary to manoeuvre between walls at close range, while changing in size and gravity. The part is also divided into two parts by another teleport portal, with the second part going at triple speed.
• 78-89% (Pennutoh): Here, the speed decreases to half-speed to begin a new cube section. Between the spikes, sawblades, and thorns, the player must make their way along the free surface, sometimes hitting orbs. Then, they must briefly control a mini-ship going at triple speed, go through a half-speed ball section, and fly through several gravity portals again in a mini-ship sequence. After that is a cube section, followed by a brief triple-speed mini-wave segment into another cube section at half-speed, ending the part with a wave segment manoeuvring between sawblades through gravity portals.
• 89-100% (Splash): The player enters a timing-based cube section continuing at half speed, where they must jump through the gravity portals with orbs. After that, the player transitions to a ship sequence in which they must fly through tight spaces between the sawblades and the walls, some of which are moving. The level approaches its end after using a green dash orb, where the end screen created by Splash will appear.

Gameplay

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First 10 victors

Victor #	Player	Date Completed	Total Attempts	Furthest Fail	Video
Verifier	npesta	14 December 2019	135,320	90%	YouTube
1	nSwish	23 December 2019	10,671	97%	YouTube
2	Dolphy	26 December 2019	16,638	78%	YouTube
3	Technical	17 February 2020	19,838	95%	YouTube
4	Wolvez	28 March 2020	31,253	94%	YouTube
5	Doggie	27 May 2020	67,278	97%	YouTube
6	VoTcHi	8 August 2020	16,000+	97%	YouTube
7	Mycrafted	15 September 2020	?	97%	YouTube
8	Timo	19 November 2020	~61,000	?	YouTube
9	Sid125	17 January 2021	~9,500	?	YouTube
10	Toka	19 February 2021	18,987	86%	YouTube

Notable completions

• nSwish is the first victor of Kenos.
• Timo became the first 144Hz victor of Kenos on 19 November 2020.
• Kenos is a decently popular level with big jumps, with Wolvez and SpeedyMuffin both jumping from Sakupen Hell to Kenos.
• Crazen fluked Kenos from 39% to 81% on the easier version of the level, although he has not completed it.
• npesta's 135,320 attempts set a new record for the most attempts spent on a completed verification, surpassing knobbelboy's 121,296 attempts on Bloodlust. The record was later topped by Sevant's 171,000+ attempts on Diabolic ClubStep.

Notable fails

• Combined crashed at 97% twice while verifying Kenos.

Trivia

• Kenos was rated on 26 December 2019 and placed at #2 on the Demonlist on the same day, above Crimson Planet and below Zodiac.
  • This addition pushed Plasma Pulse Finale out of the Top 10, Arctic Arena into the Extended List, and SUBVERSIVE into the Legacy List.
• An easier version of Kenos had already been verified by Combined well before npesta verified the official version, although this version was not uploaded to the Geometry Dash servers.
• Kenos and Zodiac are considered to be roughly equal in difficulty, with several players saying either level is harder than the other.
• In the level PP, if the player misses the yellow orb at the drop, it brings them to a layout version of one of Kenos's wave sections.
• DashY currently has the mobile world record of 55%.
• npesta's infamous reaction to verifying Kenos has been seen on several videos, such as one by BE AMAZED, an informative YouTube channel, in a video called 'Gamers Caught Cheating' at the 6:16 mark.
• Kenos (κενός in Greek) translates to 'void' or 'vacant'.
• In Selk'nam mythology of Southern Patagonia, Kenos was the first howenh sent by Temaukel to organize and create the mythological ancestors of the Earth.
  • Kenos also conveys the meanings of empty, vain, and devoid of truth in Greek culture.
• Kenos was in EricVanWilderman's 12 Demons of Christmas 2023 Community series, as Demon #4, with Zeronium as its contender.
• Zeronium's title of his Kenos completion says 'npesta demon'.
• At over 7.7 million views, npesta's verification video of Kenos is currently his most popular YouTube video, followed by his completion of xo at 3.3 million views.
• The in-game achievement 'This could become a meme' references npesta's verification of Kenos; it unlocks Ball 117 once the player does 135,000 total attempts, referencing the 135,320 attempts over 117 streams he took to verify the level.
• On 14 March 2026, Zoink verified The Bloop, a blue remake version of Kenos themed around the ocean and the titular Bloop.
  • Initially set to place within the Extended List of the Demonlist, Zoink would end up buffing the level to Top 10 difficulty during the verification.
• On 7 March 2025, Zodiac's (#70) position on the Demonlist was swapped with Kenos's (#69), making Kenos a retrospective Top 1.
  • On 3 October 2025, WOBBLING MACHINE was placed at #89, above Zodiac and below Kenos, which became a running meme or gag in the community.
  • This phenomenon was further implied after Zodiac was later moved from #90 to #93 on 8 October 2025, and then Kenos was moved from #88 to #83 on 19 October 2025, distancing both levels even more.
• The movement of Checked Steam on 20 April 2025 pushed Kenos into the Extended List, making it the final level released in 2019 to fall into the Extended List.
  • With Bloodlust in the Legacy List on the same day, both the buffed and extended remakes of Bloodbath and Sakupen Hell were pushed out of the lists, respectively.
• The placement of Quanteuse processing on 18 January 2026 pushed Kenos out of the Top 100 of the Demonlist.
  • Alongside Kenos was another level with the same song, Sakupen Circles, which was pushed out of the Top 25 of the Demonlist.
• The placement of GRIEF on 5 October 2026 pushed Kenos into the Legacy List after nearly seven years, making it the final level released in 2019 and the 2010s decade as a whole to fall into the Legacy List.
  • npesta reacted with a message in the Demon List Discord server.

Errors

• The hitboxes of the rotating structures in the mini-UFO sequence at 54% do not rotate accordingly, leaving invisible hitboxes.
• As of Update 2.2, the end screen is shifted lower than it originally was.