Skellboy | Switch Review

The Cubold Kingdom has always been a peaceful place to set up shop, fight at the arena, or be a knight for the king. Everything was perfect for as long as anyone could remember. Nothing seemed out of place. Until a bright, young magician, that worked with the king’s court, was dumped out of nowhere by the princess. In a fury of pain and anger, the magician stole The Blaze Mace from one of The Four-Squires. With a broken heart; the magician resurrected evil spirits, the dead, and monsters.

What he didn’t account for was his lack of understanding on how to use the mace properly. In his vendetta to destroy the kingdom he so rightfully protected, he also resurrected a long forgotten and ancient hero named Skippy. A valiant, noble hero brought to life to protect the kingdom of Cubold again. Yet, you aren’t the same as you were. You now have a skeletal body; frail and brittle. How can anyone protect the kingdom with a body like that?

Skippy the Skeleton

But wait, what if Skippy swapped out his body parts to acquire new abilities during fights and adventures? What if he acquired new weapons to vanquish this evil magician we know as Squaruman? I think the real question is, how are we going to win the hearts and minds of the people of the kingdom, if we are as disgusting as the evil dead that have been brought to life?

Maybe he can disguise himself as the princess with a wig or find Hellknight armor to protect his body of bones. He could also find new weapons to use on the undead and evil monsters that are lurking around every corner. Don’t be fooled by the frail body that Skippy has, for he is the true hero of the Cubold Kingdom. Especially with his princess wig and bunny slippers!

Skippy’s Journey

Our ancient hero Skippy has the ability to change what armor, cloak, or even mask we want him to wear. Finding a golden tooth gives you the ability to make a Titus helmet. Killing a scary bat gives you bat feet, which makes walking faster. Stumbling across a pumpkin gives you more protective armor, on top of your worn armor. After finding these pumpkin pieces around the kingdom, taking them to the king’s chef helps add more armor.

Adventuring through the kingdom, you can come across many weapons to slay the monsters of evil. Picking up an old baguette gives plus four damage and easily destroys the zombies. Fighting an orc named Harly in the arena grants you a powerful club, dealing heavy damage when charged up. Trekking up a very steep hill, you can also find an axe in a tree stump, which allows Skippy to hit an enemy three times in a row.

Dark Skippy

A thorn in your foot, Dark Skippy is exactly what the name suggests. The dark counterpart of you. An evil skeleton bent on stopping you from finishing your quest to take down Squaruman. His abilities surpass your own, which is completely unfair. You also encounter him not once, but three times! However, each time you do encounter him and defeat him, he drops a small piece of him for you to collect and use for yourself. Feet that leaves a trail of fire behind you that hurts those evil monsters, a torso that sends out a shockwave to knock enemies away from you, and the best one of all: A cursed skull that shoots out lasers.

The Great Cube in the Sky

Overall gameplay of Skellboy is unique. The storyline is captivating from the start to the end. Not only is there humor throughout almost all the game, but it’s not so over-the-top where a younger gamer wouldn’t get it. I am strongly suggesting you pay attention to the narrative, for it helps in finding possible hidden locations, and where to go next. You might also laugh at what they call the sun, or what they say when one of them is scared.

Visuals are bright and vibrant, with a dash of pixelation. You aren’t really three dimensional, so to say. More like a flat three-dimensional character in a world that’s 3D, but also flat. I found this tough at the beginning, before getting used to it. Which didn’t take long at all.

The Big Reveal

What I thought was going to be a game that would only take an hour to beat, actually took closer to 16 hours. Surprisingly enough, I thoroughly enjoyed this Action-RPG based game. Not being a fan of any RPG, I strongly believe this would be a great start for anyone! Skellboy was funny, artistically refined, and the music went with almost anything you did, especially destroying the final boss, Squaruman. This isn’t a simple action-rpg and I think Umaiki Games did a skell of a job!

To hear me talk more about Skellboy, be sure to listen to Episode 282 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Skellboy provided by Evolve VR for coverage purposes. It is also available on Microsoft Windows, Mac, and Linux.