Skeletal Avenger | PC Review

Deathly similar, yet realms apart. Skeletal Avenger is the newest entry from 10tons, who brought us Tesla vs Lovecraft and Sparkle Unleashed, in a genre that has taken the indie and small studio world by storm. The release trailer for this game showed an affinity to Skul: The Hero Slayer, which I had the absolute pleasure of reviewing for The Gaming Outsider here. Roguelikes were a genre that I simply could not get into, until that game shattered the wall for me. Since then, I’ve enjoyed a handful of others, and look forward to getting my hands on new experiences in the genre as they become available. Would Skeletal Avenger keep the streak going?

The World Of The Living

You awaken in your coffin, having been executed by an unknown assailant. You have been brought back as an undead skeleton by a wizard with intentions of helping you find your killer. He can’t do so without help, however, as he needs blood crystals to unlock secrets that should lead to your killer’s identity. You will travel across four different zones, each with their own aesthetic, hacking and slashing your way as you go through dungeon after dungeon. 

While roguelikes are synonymous with a lack of story, the absence of any kind of progression here left me wanting more. The opening stills were actually quite promising, but the space in between them and the endgame was far too long to keep me hooked.

Off With Your Head

Skeletal Avenger is more than a simple roguelike; I would be more apt to call it a roguelike with the skeletal frame of an RPG. Throughout your travels you will find armor, weapons, and different hats that will also heavily influence your life after death, or, erm… death… (that sounded right, right?) The hats lend an accentuation to one of the bigger mechanics in the game: throwing your skull. Different hats will change that mechanic, some allowing you to throw your skull as a grenade, and others as a whirling blade, and more. You are also able to upgrade the strength of your skills and your health, with gold that you earn from slaying the living.

True to roguelike form, however, your success in Skeletal Avenger will be heavily influenced by randomly generated perks. There are many, and they range from miniscule to godly. There are so many, that in my first playthrough, I had yet to even come across three of them. The game lists them and checks them off as you find them, so you know how many you have yet to uncover.

While the differences in appearance from zone to zone are nice, the actual functionality of each area is very similar. The environmental traps, while varying in appearance, are always exactly the same: square tiles that will harm you if you land on or walk onto them. I felt this lack of technical evolution as I progressed  caused an almost sleep-walking state of playing as I crept along.

A Little Dead

The four different zones you traverse in Skeletal Avenger are all pleasing to look at, for the first run or two. Unfortunately, the lack of visual variance made for a mostly dull drudge as I grinded my way through each zone, aimlessly hacking and bombing everything in my path. The music playing over and over again as I did this definitely didn’t help. At times it felt almost like I was being punished for my efforts by being forced to listen to the same melody on repeat as I tried over and over again to make it through each dungeon.

Final Verdict

The hidden gem for me in Skeletal Avenger is the ability to play local co-op with up to three other players. The times I was able to sit down and play a few runs with my youngest son were the overwhelming majority of fun times I had on my playthrough. Unfortunately, those were also almost the only fun times I had, once I had played for a couple hours. I will, with honesty, say that I would gladly pay the $16.99 that they are asking for this game solely for the multiplayer aspect. The added players multiply the action on the screen respectively, and makes it loads more fun to traverse. However, if it weren’t for that aspect, I can’t say that I would fire Skeletal Avenger up at all, ever again.

 

This review is based on a PC copy of Skeletal Avenger provided by 10tons for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation and Xbox.