Skeler Boy | Switch Review

Skeler Boy is next in line for the nostalgia loving gamer who loves a cool story with the 8-bit vibes. The game earned independent bonus points from me since it started as a Kickstarter! Simple controls and a fair amount of trial and error make it easy to dive in. A short completion time will keep you wanting to see it through, regardless of your overall opinion. I enjoyed it once I understood how I was supposed to play it. Come along and see if it’s a game for you!

The Story is Simple

The game does a full dive into the 8-bit style. Pixels galore imply a setting in the 80s up to mid 90s. The technology available to you, yes your name is Skeler Boy (don’t ask why), is pretty limited as well. The game begins with a prologue, whispered in Spanish with partially broken English subtitles. Skeler Boy’s girlfriend, Megan, has disappeared under suspicious circumstances. There was some sort of fight that led up to her disappearance, but it’s left pretty vague to keep you wondering “why am I doing this?” I’m left just taking his word for it: I must find my girlfriend.

This story was mysterious enough to get me engaged in the story. During the adventure, there are appreciated breaks in the gaming to give some additional breadcrumbs to the story and get you re-engaged, especially if you’re like me and had fumbled around looking for clues and items. I lost track of the story and was happy to get some additional info. The game certainly goes in some odd directions, which we’ll discuss further down in the review, but overall it’s enough to keep you intrigued for the 1-3 hour timeframe you’ll need to finish the game.

Simple with a Dash of Confusing/Frustrating Gameplay

Skeler Boy is presented in similar overhead fashion to the 8-bit games like Legend of Zelda or, more recently, The Binding of Isaac. A couple of areas zoom in to a more platform feel but not too often. Since you’re given such a vague premise, you’re looking to find how your girlfriend disappeared, you’re left walking from building to building to see what you can find. Sometimes, the building is locked. But, if you are permitted to enter, you walk around to see if there is anything to find in a point-and-click style (your character being the “point”). There are boxes that you can look in, pictures on the wall that might be a clue. At first, I found that 95% of my searching was for nothing. Sooner or later, you’re going to find an object that sets you on the right path. 

Meanwhile, you’re given a walkie-talkie to communicate. It’s very similar to the codec from the Metal Gear Solid games. Sven is the same role as the Colonel, although he isn’t nearly as helpful nor as verbose. There is a given S.O.S. frequency that is not helpful at all. Other characters will pop up from time to time OR you’ll be told to contact a frequency for instructions. 

That’s really about it! A couple of buttons will turn your flashlight on and off; you’ll want to keep it on all the time, as the game is quite dark in tone and lighting. A button to bring up your codec, a button to back out of the codec or pause screen, a run button, and the action button. That is all. That run button will be your best friend to get from one area to the next. Backtracking is occasionally required until you find a couple of sewer shortcuts which you’ll still run through. Walking just takes too darn long. 

The time for critiquing has arrived. Skeler Boy was made by Spanish speaking developers on a limited Kickstarter budget. Want to guess the likely first place where the budget was slashed? Translating. If I had to guess, I’d say they copied and pasted the script into Google Translate. Broken English galore, comical use and placement of curse words, various paragraphs where gender pronouns changed incorrectly and/or went gender neutral then back again. This issue does not help the vague setup or giving clear instructions for your next goal. It’s simple enough to not truly be a long term problem, but it’s frequent enough to be a major distraction.

I must also point out a section of the game that warns you that you’ll need to hide until a music or sound prompt stops. I was never able to identify what that prompt was. I hid, I came back out and was killed. So, next time I hid a little longer, came out and was killed again. Third time was the charm, I literally set the Switch down and filled up a glass of sweet tea, talked to my wife for a few minutes, then tried to leave my hiding space with success!

I will also say that I wish a “Save Successful” prompt appeared when I saved. I just never felt very confident although it never failed. 

Eerie Gooey Fun

If you have warmth in your heart for 8-bit nostalgia, then Skeler Boy is singing to you. The colors are textured beautifully, the map is reasonably messy with objects in some places but nothing worthy of in-depth criticism. The only times that I had trouble is when it was really dark. In some cases, just turn your flashlight back on! In other cases, it’s meant to be dark for difficulty or for ambiance. 

There aren’t many enemies in this game. A couple of red herrings here and there to keep you guessing. The enemies that do exist are kept largely in shadow. Perfect! How sinister can you get with the 8-bit look and feel? Instead, keep them blurred or shadowed. It actually enhances the dread of those moments. 

The music and sound is likely the high point of the game. Reminiscent of atmospheric horror films, heavy on violin sounds and other string instruments. The sound effects are well curated for the scenes: rain, wind, eerie noises to imply something awful around the next turn. My favorite sound? When you step in a puddle of blood: so squishy.

But Did I Like It?

Did I enjoy my time with this game? The first hour? No. I spent too much time fumbling around and clicking on nonsense. I might be able to blame myself after the 5th time I was told “I don’t need to use this” when I clicked on the toilet or “I’m not hungry” when I tried to open the refrigerator. But, gosh darn it, what if something special was hidden in there?!?

The second hour, once I figured out what was actually important, remembered where things were on the map, and the game started sprinting towards its conclusion? It was pretty good. Nothing to write home about, but certainly worth experiencing for the nostalgia and the M. Night Shyamalan-esque ending. Since this was a Spanish game, I should say Pedro Almodovar-esque, but I don’t imagine that name means too much here. 

1-3 hours depending on your familiarity with this style of game and an $8 price tag?!? Certainly worth it for that final hour alone! 

To hear me talk more about Skeler Boy, be sure to listen to the June 12, 2024 episode of The Gaming Outsider podcast around the 2:04:38 time stamp.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Skeler Boy provided by PR Hound for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC via Steam.