Developer(s) – SouthPAW Games
Publisher(s) – NEOWIZ
PEGI – 12
An early indie title released in the first part of 2021, Skul: The Hero Slayer is a rogue-lite that provides a new gameplay experience with every playthrough offering intense combat, and platforming. And an insane amount of customization options for the player character throughout each play. Similar to the likes of Rogue Legacy and 88 Heroes, the game can make for hours upon hours of playability and a level of variety in gameplay that I haven’t seen for quite some time. It makes for a far better game than either of the aforementioned examples. As well as other games of the same ilk developed in recent years.
Graphics – 8/10
Skul makes use of a traditional 8-BIT visual style with a mythology heavy inspired by high and dark fantasy; it’s basically The Lord of the Rings or Dungeons and Dragons in 8-BIT form, featuring creatures straight from the works of Tolkien and Gary Gygax such as ents, chimeras, liches, and demons.
But it also has elements inspired by the modern world. For example, one of the power-ups allows the player to take the form of a biker who attacks with chains. And rides a motorbike for a limited amount of time as one of his special moves. It fits interestingly with the tableau of the game. As the character was clearly inspired by the comic book Ghost Rider. But that, along with many of the other powerups found throughout the game, such as the genie and the samurai, adds an unexpected, yet welcome level of diversity in character design that I never saw coming at all.
Gameplay – 9/10
The game is a rogue-lite whereby players must face off against hordes of enemies. Whilst conserving as much as they have as possible, including health. Whilst at the same time, using items and upgrades collected throughout as wisely as possible. There is an insane amount of power-ups that can be used by players to adopt a ridiculous amount of playstyles. Making each playthrough a completely different experience. In that respect, you can draw comparisons to 88 Heroes. Only in this case, the feature of being able to play as what are essentially different characters throughout is a lot better thought out in this title. And makes for a much more accessible experience overall. Because with 88 Heroes, characters are given to the player at random.
And it can hinder the gameplay through no fault of the players. But here, the player gets far more of a choice, making for a better experience overall. On top of that, there are also a great number of perks that can be acquired throughout each playthrough that offer increases in attack, speed, and magic. And that also offers passive benefits such as freezing, poisoning, or burning enemies to deal additional damage. The base stats can also be upgraded before each playthrough. Such as the attack power and amount of health that the player starts with. Making each playthrough more accessible over time, like in Rogue Legacy. But again, in this game, that element is also handled in a far better manner.
Controls – 10/10
The game’s control scheme is also very interesting indeed. Whilst there are common control elements with each playthrough, such as the ability to attack, jump, and dash, each character is controlled differently through their different movement capabilities, attack patterns, and special moves. So the player has to strategize in accordance with what power-up they have equipped. The controls will seem familiar to players. Whilst at the same time also offering more than what they’ll be used to in the form of the different power-ups. And it’s really quite an impressive feat that’s been achieved.
Lifespan – 8/10
Seasoned players have been able to play through the main game in its entirety in just shy of an hour. However, this is a game that has clearly been designed to be played through many, many times. And players should not stop at one playthrough by any means. Even if they somehow manage to beat it on the first time of asking. With everything taken into account in terms of gameplay, there is enough on offer to make this game last an ungodly amount of hours; players may wish to go through the game using different power-ups, or they may wish to try and go through it without using any power-ups or passive abilities at all. The customization options are insane.
Storyline – 7.5/10
But in addition to the compelling gameplay, there’s also a surprisingly touching story behind it as well. The game follows Skul, who is a lowly minion in service to the army of a Demon King. As heroes of humans storm the Demon King’s castle and take him captive, Skul evades capture and resolves to destroy the human army and free his master. The game puts the player on the side of evil and paints Skul, the Demon King, and their allies as the heroes, and it’s done in a way that I’ve never seen in a video game before. There have been games that have tried similar things, like Overlord for example, but it’s presented much differently in this game. There’s a sense of elegance about it in each intermittent cutscene that I wasn’t expecting at all.
Originality – 8/10
I’ve mentioned throughout this review that this game threw stuff at me that I was not prepared for in the least bit, and I was pleasantly surprised by all of it. It’s a game that gets the fundamentals right as if it was created by a team of seasoned developers, but yet it also gives players an experience unlike most that have been created throughout the years, and considering that it came from an indie studio really is something. It wasn’t the first game developed by the South Korea-based studio (that would be an app game called BSTG), but their first effort of creating a game designed for conventional consoles, really is phenomenal.
Happii
Overall, Skul: The Hero Slayer is a fantastic rogue-lite with almost limitless possibilities in terms of gameplay, and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s an exciting and dynamic title in every respect and is not one to be overlooked.