Skullgirls

I have literally never had this much fun with a fighting game before.

Really, with as solid as the fighting engine is, I'd say it's an absolute steal at $15. I'm looking forward to seeing it on the fighting game tournament circuit this year.

Consider a Skullgirls purchase as an investment to preserve the 2D fighting game genre. [June 2012, p.79]

Skullgirls is proof of what an independent developer with an ear to the people can produce. It was simply engineered in a superior manner, by a team with more freedom than those from larger companies enjoy.

Special moves are easier to do and the tutorial is pleasingly in-depth. [Issue#218, p.81]

It's imaginative and fun thanks to a wide range of combo possibilities. [June 2012, p.81]

While light on content, the core play in Skullgirls works beautifully on numerous levels. Astounding animation dresses up its solid basics and the roster provides plenty of possibilities for strategies and play styles.

The art style might be a hard sell for some people, and if that's the case they'll be missing out on one of the best new fighting game franchises in recent memory. Here's to hoping that Reverge Labs and Autumn Games can release a "Super Skullgirls" in the near future.

Many techniques are taken from other games but used in a very good fashion in this unique and stylish digitally distributed title.

The single player mode is quite challenging at any difficulty level as the momentum of any battle frequently shifts. There are some balancing issues (particularly on the easier difficulties), which may make going it alone less appealing. Versus and online, however, is where Skullgirls really shines and will keep you equally entertained and frustrated. [June 2012, p80]

Skullgirls is a nice surprise in the fighting games genre. It stands out mainly for its fighting engine that offers a good challenge for veterans.

Skullgirls doesn't rework the fighting game template; there's no massive overhaul of 2D scrappers, no single big idea that makes it stand apart from others in the genre. It takes what works and adds a few flourishes of its own, and that's a solid enough foundation for a series that we'll certainly see again.

Skullgirls has quite a few signs of rushed development, but at its core, it is one of the most well-thought-out and impressive fighting games on the market right now. Future games of the genre are advised to take notes.

Unfortunately, there are a few flaws that will make some players hesitant to pick this up, but, for $14.99, Skullgirls is as complete as any retail fighting game package. So if you have some friends to play with locally or a decent internet connection, Skullgirls is definitely worth a look.

Skullgirls has almost everything going for it. Fantastic art, fantastic net code, and a near-perfect fighting game engine. As such, it's a shame such a polished game was shipped missing an in-game moves list and no multiplayer lobbies.

Skullgirls is an engaging, memorable fighting game that presents more of a skeleton than a full experience-but that skeleton is both rock-solid and highly flexible. The bulk of a fighting game is really its gameplay and characters, and Skullgirls has both elements focused and condensed like coal into a diamond, offering pick-up-and-play casual action with pretty visuals but a lot of combo potential and depth that sidesteps the cheaper, unfair aspects of other fighters. It's the most noteworthy original fighter to come along this entire generation after Blazblue. Its practical shortcomings hold it back a bit (time will tell if DLC fleshes these out), but it's ambitiously refined for such a smaller-scale game and at least a must-try for fighting game fans.

For its small price and despite a weak roster (even though it's quite varied), Skullgirls offers quite a rich meal to versus fighting lovers. Innovative in its form, artistic direction and even its gameplay, it's an excellent combat game for this price range.

Skullgirls is a risque fighter that wraps sex appeal and smooth jazz skintight around a smartly crafted fighting system.

As a downloadable title featuring the bells and whistles that many retail fighters are lacking, Skullgirls is an impressive feat.

Skullgirls is funny and beautiful to see, it's a good mash up between technic and spectacular. However only 8 characters are too few and online features are poor.

When it comes to graphics, Skullgirls is more than a match for its competitors. Still it lacks that finishing touch. We couldn't find a move list and even though twenty years ago we enjoyed discovering each character's move set, now we just want to jump right into the action. [May 2012, p.90]

An inspired and entertaining fighter with lots of appreciated imagination. The design, style and animations are its strong point, and the intricacy of the gameplay mechanic is solid without being too intimidating. There's not quite enough content in this package, it can get pretty damn frustrating, and the control isn't always perfect, but there's a lot to like.

Whether you find its t&a-heavy stylings cheap or charming, the unique combat and constantly entertaining animations are almost enough to elevate it into the realms of the genre's giants. At present though, without an on-screen moves list it's too fiddly to put the hours of training into – which is frustrating, because you will want to put those hours in.