Skellboy

Skellboy, much like its body-part-swapping protagonist, tries a lot of different things in its visuals and mechanics to get me to like it, but ends up a veritable Frankenstein’s monster. The aesthetic is nice, but the writing isn’t; the visuals are lovely but create ugly performance issues; the combat is mechanically solid but not well-paced or structured. It’s certainly worth taking a look through what Skellboy has to offer, as there’s a beating heart underneath, but your mileage may vary with the inconsistent exterior.

While Skellboy is pretty rough ‘n’ ready, it’s still generally playable, and its charm manages to shine through. The writing is playful and doesn’t take itself seriously at all, giving the experience a shot of personality. For a monster of a game formed from a mass of ill-fitting parts, they at least didn’t forget the heart.

Despite the lovely voxel visuals and cute animations, Skellboy doesn't quite hit the mark. Uninspired combat, slow movement and poor objective signposting make it a little bland.

I really wanted to like Skellboy. As I mentioned, the beginning moments led me to believe that I was going to have an enjoyable experience. The world is endearing, and I absolutely love the characters and humor. Unfortunately, despite some great ideas, a lot of the execution falls flat. With some tweaks and patches, some of my issues might be fixed, but as a whole, Skellboy isn’t a journey worth taking.

Unfortunately, while Skellboy has its enjoyable moments, there is simply too much going against it to make the game worthwhile. If the game were more focused in its design, either towards exploration or linear gameplay, and if the system of taking the power of opponents were more thoroughly developed, and if the technical issues were non-existent, then Skellboy would be great. As it stands, it’s simply alright, lacking in areas that cannot be tolerated in today’s market with so many high-quality titles available.