Skul: The Hero Slayer Review (Early Access)
Release date: Febuary 19th, 2020
Developer: SouthPAW Games
Platforms: Steam (Reviewed)
Price: $17.99
Skul: The Hero Slayer was one of the games that caught my eye in the PAX East Indie section. The 16 bit art style and platforming were intriguing. But what makes this game stand out amongst a crowded genre? The Gamers Lounge has spent a few hours with it and has many good things to report on.
Skul is a rogue-like that shares ideals with games like Dead Cells. Do a run, players die, and it's back to the beginning to start over and learn from mistakes. Skul has a twist, the game lets you keep the money and skills players have earned. The story is light, players serve the Demon King and due to a surprise attack, all of your friends and allies have been captured. Time to go rescue them.
Skul’s main appeal is the fact that the character can swap out skulls. Each skull has a different secondary and primary attack. Some of the skulls include a Ninja, a Jester, a Hunter, Minotaur, something that looks like Kratos from God of War, etc. I tried to go with a ranged skull such as Jester or Archer and a close range with a quick cooldown and attack. The Ghost Rider skull was also a lot of fun. Some of the skulls have other passive skills which can come in handy.
Most of the skulls are random drops, every area or so. Players don't always get what they want and it usually takes me a few runs to find good skulls. Levels are kind of random and the best way to play is to take it slow. Enemy types vary between humans, knights and spellcasters to strange plant-like enemies. I found myself dying more from enemies vs the environment.
There are also item drops which can give Skul faster movement or he can take more damage. The art style is colorful and the backgrounds are in a nice 16 bit color palette. The controls are nice, and it's best played with a gamepad. The game can be challenging but I enjoyed coming back to it.
The music is upbeat and fits the game well. The game ran well, I think it would be nice to have more skull options in the beginning and a chance to restart a level once you die. Also the mid level bosses can be very annoying if you don't have a ranged attack
Thanks to the developer for letting us review the game in early access.
Final Score 4/5
Pros:
Interesting concept
Good Artwork
Easy to play
Cons:
Needs more skulls
Bosses are hard