As some of you may recall, I wrote a preview of Skully, by Finish Line Games, about a month ago. Having been provided with a review code for the full game‘s release, I’ve been giving it a second, more comprehensive look. The first thing that jumped out at me was the leaps and bounds (no pun intended) that Skully had taken since its initial beta version. Many — indeed, I would say, all — of the graphics and gameplay wrinkles I encountered the first time around have been ironed out, taking what was already a deeply enjoyable game and making it even better.

The full release has seen growth in its narrative elements, too, with the story being fleshed out from the beta version. It’s a story that, while perhaps not terribly deep or complex, had been plenty compelling to begin with. With the new elaborations and chapters that weren’t made available through the beta version, the story feels even more grounded and engaging now, while still maintaining the core spirit that attracted me to Skully in the first place. Joined by endearing, nostalgic Claymation-esque cutscenes and solidly entertaining voice acting here and there, it’s an enjoyable accompaniment to an already delightful gameplay style.

For those who didn’t read my preview or are looking to enter the full release refreshed, you play as Skully, a reanimated skull who acquires the ability to use the environment’s wild magic to transform into different shapes that will help you resolve the challenges you face. Skully has been enlisted by one of four elemental deities to resolve an ongoing conflict between himself and his three siblings. To accomplish this goal, Skully traverses a wide array of increasingly complex and dangerous environments in pursuit of restoring peace and stability to the island on which the game takes place.

Along the way, the game’s central mechanics are fairly straightforward once you get the hang of them. The challenges come not from convoluted, confusing controls; these are easy to learn, remember, and ultimately master. Each of Skully‘s progressively unlocked chapters introduces new environments, threats, and abilities to keep things fresh and interesting. It never feels stagnant or too easy.

Movement, jumping, and exploration run smoothly. Combat, such as it is, runs fluidly too, with a fun timing-based element — even if the creatures you face are so deceptively cute you almost feel bad for taking them down. I can’t stress enough, though, that Skully‘s developers aren’t kidding or exaggerating when they say using a controller is strongly recommended. I used a keyboard and mouse for my first attempt at the game, and while my experience was far from bad, I enjoyed myself a great deal more the second time around with a controller in hand.

Walking hand-in-hand with these evolutions of the game, Skully offers an enjoyable difficulty curve, providing a satisfying challenge without being punishingly steep. Meanwhile, the game’s checkpoints are placed close enough together that you don’t feel demoralized after a setback, but far enough apart that you don’t feel coddled, either. Moreover, although Skully does not have difficulty settings, it will sometimes offer an easier and a harder path to the same destination. Thus, bolder or more experienced players can access a meaningful challenge, but the game doesn’t penalization players (like me) who are here for a good time and not necessarily a long time.

These aspects of gameplay are helped along by the fact that the main path you’re meant to follow for game completion is easily identifiable and fairly linear. This allows you to focus on the challenges at hand rather than worrying about also getting lost. To gather all the collectibles in a given chapter, though, exploration and creative problem-solving are encouraged. Some collectibles will be in unexpected or seemingly hard to reach places.

In addition, each chapter is of a satisfying length. They often are not so long that a chapter drags on, but are challenging enough to provide an enjoyable amount of gameplay time. Moreover, once all the game’s chapters are unlocked, you can select any individual chapter to play again. You could replay levels so you can gather collectibles you missed the first time, or just for fun.

On the technical side, Skully‘s soundscape is very well balanced and immersive. The soundtrack, effects, and dialogue aren’t overwhelming, creating a very pleasant sensory experience. Equally enjoyable is the attention to detail in the graphics, for instance the fact that the sand behaves like sand, with Skully leaving imprints behind in his wake.

Really, my only critique at all about this technical and sensory side of things is so tiny it barely counts. In fact, it may not be an issue at all for players who are very experienced in physics-based platformers. The soundtrack can start to feel repetitive if you’ve gotten stuck trying to pass the same section for a longer period of time. That’s it. Fortunately, though, each chapter introduces new musical themes, too, so even that is easily recovered from once you find your way forward again.

Overall, Skully is a prime example of a game that has incorporated beautiful, detailed graphics and an atmospheric soundtrack without overloading the player or prioritizing these elements at the expense of enjoyable gameplay. In sum, Skully‘s full release has taken what was great about its beta and made it even better. If you haven’t already picked it up, I can definitely and confidently recommend it.

A PC review copy of Skully was provided by Finish Line Games for this review.

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Skully

$39.99

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Enjoyable story
• Endearing graphics
• Fluid gameplay
• Engaging learning curve

Cons

• Soundtrack can get a little repetitive