Skul: The Hero Slayer
Game Title: Skul: The Hero Slayer
Released: January 20, 2021
Game Length: N/A
Grade: B
Development
Patches: This might seem rather weird to hear but the game is somehow still receiving updates after all these years. What seemed like minor additions to the base game actually came way later in patches. A number of characters, tweaks, and adjustments were implemented. Little things like looting adventurers and being able to choose from several different types of rewards after defeating a boss came in a couple of updates after release. January 2023 brought along the Dark Mirror update which is sort of a hardmode extension with a couple more chapters related to that mysterious cliffhanger you never did get answers for in the base game. There was one character added as tribute to a patron in April 2024 and some more general adjustments made on June 26, 2024.
DLC: In November 2023, the developers added a free "Demon King's Castle Defense" patch in addition to their Mythology Pack DLC. This essentially tacks on one last hurrah encounter at the end of everything. The paid DLC isn't too bad in which you are able to unlock and use five different characters immediately before starting a run (the king becomes available after playing the other four) but only once at the start of the game before they permanently become available like any other character you find in the game. A number of items helps improve your health, obtain more gold, and add new creative ways to mix up your gameplay.
Setting
Roguelike: It is quite common to compare such a game to others in the genre like Dead Cells released back in 2018. You get one shot to advance through a number of maps before resetting back to the beginning upon your death. Depending on how you progress, you'll get a chance to upgrade base stats from dark quartz you obtain in a run, either from enemies or maybe secret areas. These improve your base damage, gives you a chance to revive upon being defeated, and overall changes to the mechanics. These upgrades are limited and do not necessarily provide you enough to make it to the end on its own merits. A few items can be bought (and forever unlocked in runs) from the grave robber at the shop. You'll slowly be able to free other faction leaders to earn more perks before starting a run.
Levels: The game is structured upon you defeating all the enemies in an area. There will be platforms, obstacles, traps, and sometimes waves of enemies to overcome. Each section must be cleared of foes before obtaining a reward. What you receive at the end of each map is determined by what was displayed on the door as you entered. For example, entering a skull door will reward you with a random skull. You will periodically encounter a shop where you can eat food to restore health (only once and it is usually less than 50% of your maximum health), buy equipment (with an option to cycle in new items in stock), sometimes a skull that requires you to switch out your current skull, a grave robber that unlocks new equipment in exchange for dark quartz, and a quintessence. There will be a skirmish with the adventurers in each zone. The first three will have you fight that number of adventurers at the same time and the fourth will have you fight a random elite adventurer on their own. In the final map, you will fight a boss.
Gameplay
Skulls: The biggest aspect of the game makes it both distinct and problematic. The game starts you off as a lowly skeleton who has this unique ability to switch his skull with others he discovers during a run. Each one is completely unique. They have their own attack speed, movement, dashes, and jumps. Things from equipment to upgrades play a huge factor depending on what type of skull you are using. First, skulls are defined as power, balance, and speed types. They each have a unique passive power such as being immune to traps, use mana to cast spells, spend time in concentration to attack, block a hit, inflict an ailment, gain gold, and numerous other things. You can switch between two skulls to which activates their own swap power. Each skull has four possible skills to which you can pay a small fee to randomly switch between from a few non-humans you rescue. You can awaken into higher tiers with the arachnid, each with their own distinct playstyle, by spending bones you get from breaking down unused skulls. This change must be done each time as they are only made temporarily to your current run. The lowest forms can only have a single skill while higher tiers can provide two skills. Any of these attacks can be defined as physical or magical. While some descriptions do include which type, one skull doesn't always have one type and the only way to know for sure is looking at the color of the numbers after you use them.
Equipment: The second part of the game is making sure you have the right items that compliment your skull. You can only have nine items. Each one tends to have a couple of interesting properties like inflicting ailments on enemies, unique items that change the mechanics of the game, pets that follow you, or shields that protect you from harm. However, what isn't made clear is how each item has two inscriptions that offer you set bonuses that could be more potent than the item itself. Limited inventory space was actually a major complaint that drove the developers to completely rework the number of items required for these inscriptions (from some requiring 8 total down to a maximum of 6). So while an item might tell you that your normal attacks now have a 2% chance to freeze an enemy, the Absolute Zero inscription down below actually guarantees ice to erupt from the ground and freeze enemies from a normal attack (every 15 seconds).
Quintessence: In addition to your standard skills and equipment, there will be a type of orb that "summons" something onto the battlefield. Like skulls, each one is completely unique and rather mysterious until you try it out. For example, the Spinx summons a "riddle trap" that, you will only discover through trial-and-error, lays down a pyramid and shoots out something at random when enemies approach it. The Harpy physically turns you into a non-combative critter that moves extremely fast and does passive damage to everything it touches. You can only have one at a time but can freely switch them out for another one you may find. Unused quintessences can be broken down to increase your maximum health during a run.
Review
Summary: While there is some enjoyment discovering new ways to play through the game in each run, there are four aspects of the game that can hinder your progression. Since almost every element of the game is distinctly unique from each other, there is a very steep learning curve. Increasing your basic values and implementing things like a second chance revive siphons your progress in each run. Even if you do unlock every upgrade available, a player still needs the skill to counter enemy attacks by understanding their move sets and telegraphed fights. The fourth most important thing is tied to a roll of the dice where you need to match up every element to be prepared for each boss fight. All of these add way too much complexity and difficulty to a game that should have been more enjoyable in the long run.