Skully

Release Date: August 4, 2020

Arcade, TPP, fantasy, 3D platformers, puzzle elements, adventure elements, indie games, singleplayer

6.3

OpenCritic

Rate It!

An arcade adventure game in which we play the role of a lively skull trying to prevent divine war. In Skully, we travel through picturesque locations and face various problems, assuming one of four protagonist forms with different abilities.

Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects

Skully is an arcade adventure game. The game was developed by the independent Canadian studio Finish Line Games and released by Modus Games.

Plot

Skully takes us on a journey to a fantastic world, or more precisely to a magical island ruled by siblings of three conflicting gods. In the course of the game, we take on the role of the skull, which was brought back to life by a mysterious deity. The hero must do everything he can to reconcile the gods, and thus prevent a war hanging in the air threatening life on the island.

Mechanics

In Skully, the action was shown from the third person perspective (TPP). The game consists of eighteen levels embedded in seven different biomes, including picturesque surface locations and gloomy underground caves. Each of these places is full of various threats; in addition, to push the action forward, we often have to solve various environmental puzzles.

Skully copes with the problems encountered, taking appropriate forms. As a skull, the hero can only roll and jump, allowing him to overcome terrain obstacles and move quickly from place to place. After turning into one of the three muddy creatures, he gains, among other things, great strength (thanks to which he can destroy rock walls, for example) or the ability to telekinesis (allowing him to move platforms or carry small stones).

Technical aspects

The graphic design of Skully is pleasing to the eye. The environment is diverse and detailed, and the various forms of the hero are richly animated. All this is complemented by a catchy soundtrack that creates an atmosphere of great adventure.

Videos and Screens

[1:10] Skully trailer #1

6.3

OpenCritic Rating

Game is Recomended by 20% of Critics. There are 65 Critic Reviews.

OpenCritic

Nintendo Life: 6 / 10 by Chris Scullion

Skully isn't an entirely lost cause. There's an entertaining enough puzzle platformer hidden underneath its myriad visual flaws. It may be uglier than sin and you may be accompanied by an irritating voiceover throughout, but you'll still have some fun playing through it and the plot does resolve itself in a nice way by the end. You'll just need to be able to roll with a lot of annoyances to get there.

Full Review

Push Square: 5 / 10 by Liam Croft

The younger generation is sure to extract some enjoyment out of Skully, but it proves all too basic for those getting on in their years.

Full Review

TheSixthAxis: 5 / 10

I hate being that guy who basically says "this isn't the game I wanted to play", but in Skully's case it seems the most appropriate conclusion. So much of the game concentrates on mechanics that were rightfully abandoned and too little fulfils the marble rolling promise of its early footage. Looks like I'm still waiting, like a strangely bearded Cinderalla, to go to the ball.

Full Review