Skul can be anything from a dagger-throwing harlequin to a flaming skull “Rider” (complete with chains and motorcycle). Character designs are fun, especially for Skul’s variations. Admittedly, there is a fun challenge to that adaptability. Because skulls and items are random, players need to dynamically change their play-styles in response. Roguelike games require both skill and luck. Playing with a controller (even on PC) might be easier to navigating Skul‘s controls and preventing sore wrists. My wrists hurt from all the button-mashing, but oddly, I’m not as frustrated anymore. RELATED: F2P Friday: THE SUPPER ConclusionĪfter five or six hours of gameplay, and two more tries against Yggdrassil, I am still on Level 1. If you thought that Rookie Heroes were tough, then you are not prepared for the level bosses! With a few brutal swipes of lumbering hands, Skul is shattered…and back at the Castle… A gigantic tree monster with *HUGE* HP! (eight or nine times that of a Rookie Hero). This door leads to a level boss…Yggdrassil: The Elder Ent. The level ends in a giant door with purple flames. So the process repeats throughout 1-3: Caerleon Gate. It is embarrassingly easy to defeat my second Rookie Hero (a *Level 19* archer) with my “Death from Above” strategy. However, once you learn a skull’s abilities, you can plan accordingly to deal some truly lethal combos. Yes, it takes a while to figure out skull abilities, and you won’t always find your favorite (my favorite is the brutish Minotaur). At this point, I realized Skul is hard, but fair. I shortly discovered a new “Ninja” skull, which could *triple-jump*…dropping *two* bombs. Now whenever Skul double-jumps, he drops a bomb below. Continuing on, 1-2: Caerleon Border was smoother because I bought “Emergency Bomb” at The Shelter. Finally, two hours in (on *Rookie Mode*, starting max HP at 200 instead of 100), I finally defeated my first Rookie Hero. However, I persisted and kept boosting my Traits. Die, Die Again, RepeatĪfter about an hour of this, I wanted to give up. The deceptively-named *Rookie* Heroes are some of the deadliest enemies in Skul: The Hero Slayer. Remember enemies gain XP from defeating you? Yup: the Rookie Heroes I fought slowly went up in level. Armed with his giant mace and his battle-cry (“Leeroy…Jenkins!”), I was pummeled. My first Rookie Hero was a Level 3 adventurer named Clegane. A door with red flames leads to a Rookie Hero. The Headless occasionally offers a random new skull in exchange of one of Skul’s. Skul can purchase items at this shop from the Chef (restore HP), the Collector (boost attack, gold collection, etc.), or the Dwarf (special ability items called “Quintessence”). A door with blue flames leads to The Shelter. Either buy what you want now or save up for more expensive Traits later. Before going, you can use Dark Quartz you obtained to boost your Traits and to improve Skul’s speed, attack, and health.

Meaning that every time you are killed, your enemies get tougher! When you die, you respawn at the Castle with your default skull. But not before the game shows how well you did on that run.īut here’s the catch: enemies get XP for defeating monsters. Whenever Skul dies, he respawns back at the Castle. Being killed (“shattered”) results in a stat page that shows how you have done so far. It wasn’t long before I suffered my first death: my rough introduction to the roguelike genre. RELATED: GGA Game Review: DUNGEON OF THE ENDLESS Struggles on the Nintendo Switch Though The Dead Might Live Again, They Could Also Die Again Interestingly, an ability activates every time Skul swaps to a different skull. Skulls give Skul new powers and abilities (i.e. A green flame means a new skull is available. A orange flame means another normal map with enemies. The colored flames next to the doors hint at what the next map contains. Like Dragon’s Lair, combat is *hard*! Skul only heals with whatever you can find. Living trees can sprout thorns, puff clouds of toxic pollen, etc.

Caerleon archers shoot crossbows, while Caerleon brutes rush in close. Skul (seen here equipped with the “Minotaur” skull) must slay all enemies in this area before unlocking the door to advance to the next area.Įnemies are quite varied.

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