Skellboy

What Skellboy has in good ideas it also has in flaws, namely when it comes to technical problems and to an unenthusiastic combat system. This adventure game with beat'em-up elements features a good looking art style and an interesting gameplay mechanic but at the same time, performance issues and other elements make it difficult to enjoy beyond a circle of fans of the genre, which limits the appeal of this work on the Nintendo Switch.

Skellboy is a lovely looking game with an addictive soundtrack and lighthearted story. However, its main gameplay loop is unremarkable, and there isn’t much to differentiate itself from the competition.

Skellboy, much like its body-part-swapping protagonist, tries a lot of different things in its visuals and mechanics to get me to like it, but ends up a veritable Frankenstein’s monster. The aesthetic is nice, but the writing isn’t; the visuals are lovely but create ugly performance issues; the combat is mechanically solid but not well-paced or structured. It’s certainly worth taking a look through what Skellboy has to offer, as there’s a beating heart underneath, but your mileage may vary with the inconsistent exterior.

If you put Zelda’s action-RPG system, Paper Mario’s platforming, and a heavy dash of voxel graphics into a blender, you’d likely get something resembling Skellboy. At times, admittedly, the game lacks polish and can drag quite a bit, especially in the beginning. Nevertheless, it brings new ideas to the platforming and RPG genres, while looking pretty stellar to boot.

Despite the lovely voxel visuals and cute animations, Skellboy doesn't quite hit the mark. Uninspired combat, slow movement and poor objective signposting make it a little bland.

Skellboy’s strong points come from its writing and visual identity, not from its combat and gameplay. While there are certainly some unique mechanics to keep the game going, there isn’t much there to keep players invested. The game is enjoyable enough to get through the story alone, just don’t expect a deep gameplay loop within.

When it comes to visual design, Skellboy is kind of a mixed bag. The art direction is reminiscent of a pixelated Paper Mario and it doesn’t entirely work. While “upresed N64 game” is an inspired visual choice, it’s hard not to wish Umaiki had gone with something a bit cleaner.

Skellboy is an exceptional indie title that, unfortunately, suffers from some pretty severe performance issues. Unique mechanics, stunning visuals, and enjoyable gameplay are held back by this one asterisk, but if you can fight through it, there are so many positives.

With an imaginative world and equally imaginative premise, Skellboy is an admirable attempt to provide an alternative to your average Zelda title. If you can get past the sluggish gameplay and cringe-worthy technical performance, there’s plenty here to get to grips with, and you’re guaranteed at least a few laughs thanks to the hilarious writing and dialogue.

Although it features a lovely presentation and goofy humour, Skellboy's gameplay could use a lot more fine-tuning.

I really wanted to like Skellboy. As I mentioned, the beginning moments led me to believe that I was going to have an enjoyable experience. The world is endearing, and I absolutely love the characters and humor. Unfortunately, despite some great ideas, a lot of the execution falls flat. With some tweaks and patches, some of my issues might be fixed, but as a whole, Skellboy isn’t a journey worth taking.

Unfortunately, while Skellboy has its enjoyable moments, there is simply too much going against it to make the game worthwhile. If the game were more focused in its design, either towards exploration or linear gameplay, and if the system of taking the power of opponents were more thoroughly developed, and if the technical issues were non-existent, then Skellboy would be great. As it stands, it’s simply alright, lacking in areas that cannot be tolerated in today’s market with so many high-quality titles available.

While Skellboy is pretty rough ‘n’ ready, it’s still generally playable, and its charm manages to shine through. The writing is playful and doesn’t take itself seriously at all, giving the experience a shot of personality. For a monster of a game formed from a mass of ill-fitting parts, they at least didn’t forget the heart.

Players shouldn’t expect too much from Skellboy, but it does what it sets out to do and provides some good sessions of entertainment. Its length hits a good balance for what the gameplay has to offer and the steps of progress come along frequently enough that even when some annoyance does occur, players can be confident it won’t last very long. The game offers enough humourous charm and strong enough gameplay to make it an enjoyable experience.