Skel Attack


Game'scover

About the Game

Skel Attack is an Action platform indie game developed by indie studio known as Ukuza. Skel Attack was their first attempt into the gaming industry. Ukuza previously worked with Konami in other projects and thus when they began developing their own game Konami offered the chance to publish it.According to the team, one member was developing the game on his own, but his coworker saw it and felt like this game could ve been their new born 'child'. The idea was then pushed to Konami who were amazed with the idea and offered them a bigger team to work with. Witht their new team onboard the studio proceed to develop Skel Attack and publish it in June 2020. The developers who were excited about their project did not want to hide the fact that three big indie games were the source of their inspirations. These being :
  1. Hollow Knight - For its combat and art
  2. Ori and the Blind Forest -worlds and platforming
  3. Cuphead - Art direction
By doing so they manage nnot only to secure the eyes of each game's respective fanbase but also to avoid the 'fan attacks' that occur when a new game is being released from unknown developers whose game may look similar to one they hold dear. This can be seen by games like Gleamlight, Crowsworn and ori and the Wisps who were attacked prior and after the games release since the developers denied taking any references from other games. Two years after it's release Skel Attack manage to create a small fanbase and also managed to receive an overall positive rating in various game rating websites.

Story of the Game

The game focusses on two Heroes

  1. Skully: A young Skeleton
  2. Imber: A small bat who is Skully's best friend
Skully seems to suffer from memory loss as he has no recollection of prior events.Imber tells him that the elder is waiting for them somehwere within the city and that they shouldnt keep him waiting. The two heroes go in the city in search of the elder who was found in the bar. The elder is happy to see the two heroes infront of him. He speaks of the time when Skully first arrived to the afterworld and how much he has grown. He also seems to have memories of Skully being a strong warrior who helped keep the secret of the afterlife world away from the world of the living. The elder explains how it is time for skully to venture around and follow his Path of Rememberance. This is a ritual where the hero will embark on a journey where theyget to discover their past self, their lost memories and manage to finaly be complete. Skully is hesitant as he is not sure what he ll discover which reassures the elder that skully is ready. He then tells Skully to head to bed as the next he ll undergo the path of warrior a challnge which will prove he is ready and that it will hopefully re awaken the adventurous side of Skully. Skully and Imber take on the challenge where they were rewarded with an ancient legendary blade left to them by a mighty and powerful warrior who defended their land in the past. The ceremony was also interupted by living humans who invaded the land of the dead and capture the elder. Skully and Imper were also informed that there are more humans appearing in the sewers and dungeons threatening the life of the living dead. The two heroes decide to embark on a journey with the hope rescuing the elder, stop any invader and furthermore find out what decision lead the humans down to the world of the dead and why this could mean the end of every living dead!

Thoughts on the Strory

The games story is interesting which was something i was suprised as honestly some parts were abit questionable. The game's plot is delivered through it's imagery but also a plethera of speech boubles which makes the plot easy to follow. There's a few things that my mind didnt pick up from the get go but the more i proceeded the more i was expecting the grand reveal to be what it was just not that far fetched. The character of Skully and Imber are very good, not deep but pleasant. The character designs are very good looking and hand drawn and have a cartoonish look and expressive facial expressions.

Gameplay

Game's pack screenshot Game's open pack screenshot

The game is an action platform game which places the player in the 'shoes' of Skully, a small Skeleton on his quest to save the elder and the live of the underworld as he tries to push away all the humans who re venturing around the dungeons. Skully is a skeleton who can sprint jump and double jump in order to move his way around the dungeons. By succeeding the warriors trial, Skully obtains a powerfull long sword that he uses to kill anyone on his way. The player is task to vetnure around various locations in order to save the underworld. Along the way the heroes come accross various NPC who reward the player with more mechanicks if they choose to help them. One of the skills the skeleton receives is the ability to wall bounce. This is a great ability that allows the player to manuver around the world more easily. Furthermore, the player also obtains the ability to throw one of his bone ribs as boomerang. The boomerang can hit enemies and obtain items when they come in touch with some. Defeating boss encounters unlock further abilities such as healling. Healling can only occur while Skully is in party with Imber. Imber is capable of healling skully as long as there is blue "mana" bar. Another ability the hero gets it's the ability to deflect upcomming projectiles by perfect timing the blade swing and the upcomming attack. Moreover Skully receives an ability where he can use his blade to dash forward and slice. This skill does not require any Mp and it can also be used for platforming sake. Last but not least skully can also obtain the triple jump ability which allow him to reach higher area and explore more areas. Bellow Skully's profile there's a small bubble indicating which abillity is currently in use.

The last playable character is ofcourse that of Imber. Imber has two different gameplays, one where she carries skully around killing objects and one when she is on her own. In the first sections Imber simply picks skully up and moves him from platform to platform as he cannot reach it otherwise. Below the heroes there's a stamina bar indicating the length of time Imber can carry Skully. Each platform can be used as a checkpoint for Imber to let go and refill her bar. In the second style, the player is Controlling Imber with the goal moving around or collecting items. Imper requires the player to tap buttons in order to elevate as by default she will drop lower. She also has the ability to use a spin tackle attack which can help her avoid projectiles and attack other targets.

Death occurs often in the game as spikes and fire are literally a one shot kill mechanic for skully where as enemy hits and projectiles simply reduce the life bar.t The game has plenty of checkpoints which kind of defeats the purpose of challenging platforming but given certain things to consider such as weird hitboxes and buttons it makes up for them. The maps also have weird slime creatures of colours blue and green. The Green slimes will heal Skully when approaching them and the blue ones will restore his mana bar. Furthermore each map has checkpoints with tunnels which allows the player to fast travel from area to area. This is usefull as the player can always leave in order to upgrade his skills and equipment and return. To do so, the player requires to spent gems which are easy to collect but easier to lose as each time Skully dies, he drops some of his gems. The game also has two types of collectables. Crafting materials which can only be used in order to upgrade the sword and torn pages which cover the lore of this world.

Final thoughts

Overall SkelAttack is a mediocre game that can be completed within 3 hours. The game does take alot of references from Hollow knight but it fails to capture it's magic. Hollow knight is a fair game that if you get hit or mess up something the blame is of the players. In Skell Attack the problem is that sometimes the visual representation is not as clear and thus you die as you spawn or by assuming you landed in a playable area. This problem could be easily adressed by cleanning the animations abit. Furthermore the wall bounce mechanic is relying on direction movement than button movement which is not a good parkour mechanic seeing how similar games simply use the jump button to wall bounce. The story is honeslty really good and the characters very likeable. Last but not least the game is not expensive and its also featured in plenty of sales which makes it generally more easy for someone to experience.

This is a video with my Honest review close to when i played the Game

This is a video showcasing and reviewing the Game

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