Despite Skul: The Hero Slayer’s fantasy setting, there are skull types that pull from every corner of our culture. In fact, it’s exactly what brings variety to the game’s fast-yet-precise 2D jumping, slashing and dashing gameplay. Don’t worry: as it turns out, a skull-based power swapping mechanic is not as morbid as it sounds. You see, Skul (single “L”) can wear the skulls (double “L”) of their fallen skeleton comrades and make use of their unique powers, skills and weaponry.

So, how on Earth can one cutesy skeleton take on an entire army? Well, they’ve got a trick up their sleeve. With that said, the game isn’t afraid to dip a toe in some darker waters here and there, particularly near the end. It's delivered with a light-hearted tone which merges a fantasy realm with real-world pop culture and keeps the whole ‘interspecies war’ theme from getting too bleak. For a game like this, a roguelike where death means starting from scratch (except for a handful of permanent upgrades) and you'll play the same levels over and over, this lightweight narrative is ideal. Cutscenes unlocked throughout the course of the game delve into the backstory of the conflict between humans and demons, but the central story doesn't get any more complex than 'fight humans, save demons'. There’s a little more to the story than the basic premise outlined. Can Skul Single-handedly save the Demon King, defeat the fearsome “Hero of Caerleon'' and rescue their demonic kinsfolk? Let’s hope so because if they fail, nobody else is coming to the rescue. When those dastardly humans mount a full-scale invasion on the demon world, imprisoning the population and kidnapping the demon king, it’s down to Skul-as the only non-captured demon-to wage war on humanity’s army. I’m willing to make just one exception, though, and that’s for Skul, the lovable skeletal anti-hero of pixel art action platformer Skul: The Hero Slayer. Not great dinner party material to say the least. They’re typically quite rude, aggressive and unpleasant. Reviews // 13th Feb 2021 - 2 years ago // By Jamie Davies Skul: The Hero Slayer ReviewĪs a general rule, I don’t tend to regard demonic skeletons with much in the way of affection.

Skul the hero slayer item guide