The action role-playing genre is vast, in that it takes on many forms. Some notable works include CD Projekt Red’s Witcher II and Cyberpunk 2077. Those two feature realistic graphics with vast worlds to explore. Nintendo is very active in producing ARPGs as well, with their successful Zelda and Paper Mario franchises. Take the latter two and combine their elements. Take the gameplay from Zelda, and mix in the Paper Mario atmosphere and 2D/3D “storybook” visuals. “Paper Zelda” is a non-existent franchise fans have jokingly discussed for many years. UmaikiGames’ latest release Skellboy gets very close to fitting the bill. Releasing back in 2020 as a Nintendo Switch exclusive, Skellboy released to mixed reviews. One year later, UmaikiGames launched Skellboy Refractured onto Steam.
A Hero Rises From His Grave
Skellboy Refractured stars an unlikely hero, Skippy; A disembodied skeletal head. Shattered by the Princess of Cubold Kingdom’s rejection, the anguished magician Squarumon summons an army of undead to destroy the kingdom. Skippy resurrects himself to save the Cubold Kingdom from Squarumon’s forced apocalypse. Skellboy Refractured’s dialog is very slapstick, feeling similar in style to the Mario & Luigi series. The game doesn’t take itself seriously and is constantly throwing little jokes into NPCs lines of text. The choice to make Skellboy a tonally lighthearted take on a zombie apocalypse was definitely a risk. The mesh works well often, however, does fall short at times. Some NPC dialog seems to go on way longer than it should. I did find myself skimming through some characters speech often, which detracts from the overall story.
Skippy, being a lone skull, takes must fill out his body with the remains of fallen enemies and allies. This ranges anywhere from a Zombified corpse to a freshly slain knight. The different body parts at your disposal offer up different skills/abilities. Skippy is able to pick up a new head, body, feet, as well as various headpieces and body armor. For example, picking up a dead beet skull will grant Skippy a projectile move. Not all acquired appendages will be beneficial to Skippy. For example, picking up a zombie’s head will cause a shortened life bar. Some offer a tradeoff, such as the cement feet, which allows Skippy to walk up steep moving slopes, at the expense of his movement down. Mixing and matching the different body parts is crucial to advancing throughout the Cubold Kingdom’s many rooms, courtyards, and dungeons.
Puzzles Await
Besides the twist of using fallen enemy appendages as armor and upgrades, Skellboy Refractured’s gameplay remains very familiar to many other top-down RPGs; and that is not a bad thing. Many different weapons await Skippy, ranging from strong but heavy clubs, fast but short-ranged swords, to large katanas. There’s a lot of variety available, to tailor the game to best suit the player. Some specific weapons will be required in order to complete certain main objectives. Others may be required to progress through the game’s terrains. This does add a bit of depth to the gameplay.
Skellboy Refractured, for the most part, plays very much like a top-down role-playing game is expected to. Combat wise, Skippy wields his selected weapon, with the ability to quick swap on the fly. Each item at his disposal, such as swords or clubs, have their own variants. These can be found spread around the kingdom. The world of Skellboy Refractured is littered with many puzzles. These sections felt very reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda series. Most are enjoyable, while still presenting a challenge. Speaking of challenges, Skellboy Refractured’s many boss battles offer up a fun grind! The bosses you go up against are full of character and personality, and each one unique. You will find them spread around the kingdom; some being essential in order to progress through the story.
A Familiar Feel
Something that sets Skellboy Refractured apart from your typical RPG of this style is its incorporation of platforming. The overworld will consistently require Skippy to jump over hurdles or climb platforms, in order to proceed. This gameplay is very reminiscent of Paper Mario. The platforming, combined with new abilities leaves Skellboy Refractured’s world open to explore. The game unfortunately has fixed framerates, which make some of the platforming sections more frustrating than necessary. Another issue that plagues Skellboy Refractured, is framerate drops. They mostly occur during more heavily populated areas. That said, they are in abundance, and seem like something that could have been ironed out.
There are many secrets surrounding the kingdom waiting to be discovered. While the beginning sections of Skellboy Refractured are a bit linear, the game opens up quite extensively. Beginning hours have Skippy traversing the insides of the Kingdom. Later areas allow you to explore the many courtyards and surrounding areas of Cubold Kingdom. Some sections of Skellboy Refractured really drag on. Movement speed is fairly slow, causing backtracking to be a chore. While Skellboy hasn’t revolutionized the way an ARPG controls, it combines influences from many marvels of the genre. Unfortunately, it lacks the polish many of its inspiration
Distinct Audio Visuals
Another area of Skellboy Refractured takes heavy inspiration from Paper Mario. The art department. Previously mentioning that it feels like Paper Mario, matching aesthetics only makes sense. Two-dimensional pixel art, very similar in vein to the first Mario & Luigi game, in a 3D environment. It’s a combination with a very distinct look, and works quite well! Skellboy Refractured’s vastly different looking areas really pop, and honestly have a nostalgic feel to them. The game’s worlds look like they were taken straight out of the SNES/N64 era. On the audio front, Skellboy offers upbeat chiptune music and sound effects. These songs will change periodically, as Skippy enters different areas. Another issue Skellboy Refractured suffers from is buggy audio transitions. I found that the music is either very delayed in transitioning from rooms or doesn’t change at all.
Ghoul-Lasting Thoughts
Skellboy Refractrured is, for the most part, a straightforward PC port of last year’s Switch title. The PC edition does feature a few extra additions, however. The biggest notable difference is the option of co-op. Local two-player coop, or over the internet with Steam Remote Play Together. Another couple new additions are a randomized dungeon and New Game+ mode. The mainline story also features over 20 additional special items, as well as gameplay improvements. Unfortunately, I was unable to find someone to play cooperatively, and New Game + Mode doesn’t necessarily interest me.
I went into Skellboy Refractured with very little expectations. I ended up with a very enjoyable Action RPG. Everything from the characters, to dialog are leaking with charm. While the game does suffer from gameplay issues and slowdowns, UmaikiGames endearing efforts should definitely be applauded. There isn’t really anything here to revolutionize the genre, but it does pay tribute to some of the greats. While it falls short in comparison, Skellboy Refractured is still an incredibly enjoyable experience filled with a ton of personality.
Skellboy Refractured is available now on Steam. Skellboy can also be purchased on the Nintendo Switch eShop.
A digital copy of the game was provided for the purpose of review.
