Pipistrello And The Cursed Yoyo Review

One of the biggest surprises of last year was l, an incredible Metroidvania that I hadn’t expected even to play, let alone crown my Game of the Year over hits like Dr🅘agon Ball: Sparking Zero or Astro Bot.🌜 Animal Well’s excellent mechanics, brain-teasing puzzles, and constant creativity made it shine brighter than aไny other game in the genre that I’d played before.

As I played through , I got some serious vibe-based deja vu. While its gameplay is rooted in th🐎e realm of c𓃲lassic rather than , it’s another standout indie game that could have flown under my radar but ended up delighting me at nearly every turn.

using the lantern in front of the dog statue in animal well

ꦬ I Hat🐈e Metroidvanias, But Man, Do I Love Animal Well

So you se𓄧e, that's where the trouble began. That ܫdog ghost statue. That damn dog ghost statue.

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While Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo doesn’t quite get to that same masterpiece level due to some small annoyances, the consistently charming tone, challenging platforming and combat, and constant creative use of its core yoyo♏ mechanic all make it worthy of both the Zelda games it takes inspiration from and the titans of the genre it stands tall next to.

A Heartfelt Story And A Gorgeous Tribute To The Game Boy Advance

Pipistrello riding a wall in Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo stars Pippit, a young bat who aspires to become a master yoyo performer. That dream life is funded by his wealthy Aunt Madame Pipistrello, who rules over the ✅city with an iron fist and high tariffs (I groaned too, don’t worry), leading to an estranged relationship between the two, mostly built on Pippit borrowing money.

During one such visit to borrow cash, Madame gets ambushed ꦏby a bunch of sleazy cr🍸ime bosses and inadvertently sucked into her nephew’s yoyo, imbuing it with magical powers and setting the two on a quest to get her body back. As you might expect from a retro-styled game, storytelling isn’t a major focus of Pipistrello, but I was surprised at how much it pulled at my heartstrings despite the more cartoonish vibe it’s going for.

One of the most memorable parts of Pipistrello’s world is that it all takes place in a modern, urban city. That means the dungeons range from cosplay conventions to massive foღotball stadiums instead of the usual lava and water fare.

Although the character arcs that Madame and Pippit go through are easy to see coming, the connection between the pair and how it’s all eventually resolved left me more than a little emotional. Even outside of its leading pair, Pipistrello is consistently well-written with plenty of jokes and clever references that are all wrapped up in a gorgeous tribute to the days.꧃ It had me feeling like I was right back in 2003 playing Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak during a long road trip.

A Core Gimmick That’ll Make You Say “Yooooooo!”

Pippit bouncing his yoyo in Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo.

Pipistrello’s art direction and tone are charming, but its true strength lies in how it plays. As you can probably tell from the top-down perspective (as well as a ton of references I’ll leave you to find), The Cursed Yoyo takes some heavy inspiration from classic Zelda games like A Link To The P♑ast, complete with dungeons, -eseque exploration with levels that open up as you earn new abilities, tough puzzles, and tons of items to discover off the beaten path.

That tried-and-true foundation is implementeꦅd well in Pipistrello, but what sets it apart is its titular core gimmick - the yoyo. Pippit’s talꦅent for walking the dog and going around the world translates to some creative movement abilities, including riding the yoyo over bodies of water, shooting it off like a missile to hit enemies and switches, and even grinding along walls.

Outside of the main suite of mandatory abilities, Pippit can also learn some optional specials like an overpowe﷽red parry, a charged attack that loops around enemies, and a special trick shot that’s incredibly satisfying to nail.

At first, the yoyo may seem like a slightly lonꦬger-ranged sword that can bounce off corners, but it quickly becomes the star of the show, setting Pipistrello apart from any other game in the genre. From the moment I unlocked the first special ability and figured out all its uses in both combat and puzzles, everything clicked, and that creativity continued throughout the whole game. Even up until the ten-hour mark, I was discovering new ways to utilise the yoyo that never failed to impress me.

Who Knew Mastering The Yoyo Could Be So Difficult?

Pippit reaching for a key in Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo’s suite of special abilities 𓆏and the wild ways they’re used is the ace up its sleeve, but it can also be a bit of a double-edgꦫed sword. There are so many moves that it can sometimes be hard to figure out what the game intends for you to do, leading to several situations where I felt like I got lucky or broke the game instead of mastering the mechanics. The main offender for this is the wall jump, which I often forgot I even had and was almost always the last thing I tried before sighing and saying, “Of course”.

Sequence-breaking is a core part of the genre, so I have to imagine some of that was purposeful, but it didn’t stop the times when a puzzle or platforming sequence absolutely stumped me. Combine that with some massive difficulty spikes where getting past a section felt like patting my head, ꧃rubbing my stomach, and breaking my thumbs, and there’s a fair amount of frustration in 𒆙figuring everything out.

If things do get too difficult for you (and they will), The Cursed Yoyo has a robust selectio🌠n of difficulty options that let you tweak the challenge to your liking. Take my advice and turn fall damage off as soon as it star༺ts making you want to swear.

Still, even when Pipistrello had me putting my controller down out of anger at a tough room full of enemies or staring for far too long at a confusing map, the promise of an excellent boss battle or a new ability that would change how I play kept me going with a big smile on my face. That smile nearly never wavered, and even once I’d beaten the final boss, I was happy to roam around the city and h♓oover up challenges, badges, and collectibles just to stay in the world for🍷 a little longer.

In a year tಞhat’s absolutely packed with banger releases every other week, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo stands out to me as one of the biggest surprises so far. It can be a tad too tricky for its own good, but the charming prܫesentat🎃ion, quick-witted writing, and creative use of its standout feature make it more than worth the occasional swear. To put it simply - yoyo need to play this.