Around 2012 I had a video game review website called Insert Quarter Gaming. For a while, I wrote content for the site before I let that endeavor go. Below is a review I wrote in April of 2012 for a new up-and-coming indie fighter that has since become a smash hit – even being played at the pro fighting game tournament, EVO.
What?: Skullgirls is a hand-drawn 2D classic fighting game. This game feels a lot like old school street fighter and definitely brings you back to those “good ol’ days” in gaming. When it comes to vintage 1950’s style nostalgia, I tend to be a sucker and this game’s style feels like a theatrical 50’s style movie/play. It’s an all-girls arcade fighter with everything Dead or Alive is minus the martial arts styles.
What’s good: It takes a new twist on fighting games, allowing you to choose from one-to-up-to-three characters (with a mild handicap per additional character). The styles of each individual character are also amazing; with extremes such as a zombie-cat-girl who can sever parts of her body, a kung fu nurse to a 1920’s style cartoon-robot-girl – the thought and designs behind the characters are truly worth noting! Skullgirls also makes a great entrance as a typical arcade fighter with much of the familiarity captured with great ease. The Story mode features short stories explaining a bit about the origins of each character which is a standard but also does it in a way that seems like a Saturday morning cartoon and allows each story to sound iconic in its own way.
What’s bad: Skullgirls is harsh! Seasoned vets of fighting games may take to this game easily but beginners will find it difficult to shuck and jive their way around the pummeling AI. It shows no sympathy when it comes to a challenge, but puts up a great one for tactics mastering later on. I found myself starting up the game only to be punished by waves upon waves of character spamming by the CPU. The explanations are also a bit lacking, they go a lot for quick jokes and humor but don’t explain controls well enough for a good footing in the game. One minor thing I also found was the mid-air blocking is also a bit choppy, jumping up into the air then blocking an attack tends to only let the latter occur which hurts you (literally) in the end. Also to some degree, the AI puts up a very difficult fight that might turn off some gamers from picking up this unique fighter.
What do we have to say about it?: Skullgirls is a classic feel fighting game that seems like a blast from the past. It aims to take an unknown and bring it to a tournament-worthy position and does a great job with it as well! It’s an enjoyable game, with interesting characters and well-developed backstories that lead you to want to know more about your characters. The only real flaw in this game is the short explanation of controls in the tutorial, the AI may be a little much for newcomers but gives a challenge to seasoned vets. Other than that I can totally see this game becoming a tournament standard game in the near future. Skullgirls.com also teased about Skullgals coming to handhelds in 2013 and we are greatly looking forward to its release from what was seen by this game!
What we give it: 8.5 out of 10
- Graphics: 9.0
- Controls/Gameplay: 8.0
- Sound: 8.5
- Story: 8.5