Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo

With a creative progression system, stylish retro visuals, and unique mechanics like contracts with side effects and Paper Mario-style badges, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo stands out as one of the best Brazilian releases of the year.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is a masterclass in retro Zelda-like game design, expertly fusing classic mechanics with creative new ideas to make for a thoroughly memorable and worthwhile experience. Occasional difficulty spikes aside, we’d highly recommend you pick up Pipistrello at the next available opportunity, especially if you're a Zelda fan who prefers the top-down design of games such as The Minish Cap. Much like its title character, this one has a lot of cool tricks up its sleeve.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is another grand slam of a game from Pocket Trap. This is a brilliantly designed top-down adventure that is one of the best 2D Zelda-esque indie games of the entire Switch era. My teeny-tiny complaints only lie with the combat, but the delightful puzzles and joyous yoyo parkour more than make up for some occasionally tiresome battling. We might be days away from the Switch 2, but be sure not to miss this absolute gem of a game.

Pipistrello and the Cursed YoYo is not only a loving tribute to classic GBA games, but a serious elevation of the style.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo could easily be mistaken for an action-adventure romp for the Game Boy Advance that was somehow lost to time, and resurfaced when some collector found a prototype cart and sold it to preservationists for a historic ROM dump. It perfectly captures the vibe, design sensibilities, and even the flaws of games from that era. It has a lot of neat and creative ideas all revolving around the yoyo gimmick, and sometimes (especially in combat and some platforming) gets a little too cute for its own good. But when it’s nailing its concept it really nails it, and making your way through the adventure feels like an endearing throwback to the time of WarioWare, Zelda: The Minish Cap, and Mother 3, without being bogged down by loud, boilerplate references. Plus, the 3D handheld thing rules.

It's at its best when it lets the yo-yo mechanics and puzzling take centre stage, which is perhaps a little ironic too as the game is at its most frustrating when the yo-yo mechanics fail and struggle in their precision. Typically speaking though, for an indie game and a very reasonably priced one at that, there's much more to celebrate than there is to bash.