Skautfold: Usurper almost nails the Metroidvania formula.

Skautfold: Usurper is the second game in the Skautfold: Bloody Pack. Usurper continues the Lovecraftian lore and terror from the first game. It also flips the scripts and does a genre switch from isometric Souls-like to Metroidvania. Well, sort of. I use the term “Metroidvania” in a liberal sense. Two crucial things were missing from this game for it to be considered part of that sub-genre. I’ll get to them eventually. I’ll mention some other things that started to annoy me in an otherwise fine game. If you’re not in the mood to read all of that, then I’ll say that it’s worth playing Usurper. Just understand that you’re getting something that is clearly an indie title for better and for worse. See, up until about 3/4 of the way through it, I had every intention of making this my next game of the month.

Skautfold: Usurper takes place after the true ending of Skautfold: Shrouded in Sanity. The Citadel was summoned, London is in a state of panic, and Waltham has plans to set into motion. But Waltham’s excitement is short lived when he gets reduced to an unrecognizable blob of human parts. Fortunately, he transfers his being into Saragat, the fourth knight of the king from the first game. This odd pairing gives Saragat new powers. The two become a unique duo that have believable, well-written dialogues that shed light on the goings on around London and the history of Waltham. Other important characters from Shrouded in Sanity make appearances, too. But, Waltham/Saragat are the stars of this show. It’s fun seeing the two of them interact in the same body. Shrouded in Sanity had some dialogue moments, but compared to Usurper, it was minimal. Usurper’s narrative and exposition and characters give the Lovecraftian world get more development.

So, what happens when Saragat’s knightly prowess combines with Waltham’s otherworldly abilities? At first, it doesn’t look like much. Saragat moves around the Citadel. He can jump, dodge, roll and slide. Waltham can create a magic barrier that can be used to guard or deflect attacks with the right timing. There are four slots that can hold weapons, firearms, and spell books. Killing enemies rewards him with Vitae which is used to buy new spells and level up Saragat via stat boosts. Think of something like Dark Souls where you can increase individual stats. The weapon count in Usurper is worth praising. There are A LOT of weapons to discover. That’s the good news. The bad news? Not all weapons, and not all builds, were created equal. Saragat’s best weapons scaled with dexterity. That reduced the pool of useful weapons drastically. It also meant that focusing on leveling up the DEX stat. It’s a shame, because one would mistakenly level up another stat of Saragat’s: GRD. Saragat’s Guard meter serves as a stamina gauge and a protector of his iddy-biddy HP.

The Guard meter adds an interesting twist to the action. You can’t button mash your attacks because it will go down quickly leaving Saragat vulnerable. Successfully dodging or guarding an attack restores the meter. It doesn’t take much to get reduced to a bloody stump. Obviously, dying means starting at the last save point and losing your Vitae. As lame (and unoriginal) as that is, it’s worth noting that Usurper is much, MUCH easier than Shrouded in Sanity. In fact, all of my deaths happened at the last boss. Which, by the way, I’ll gripe about later. The point is that patience pays off as you fight regular enemies and bosses. Learn when to attack, when to dodge, and Saragat’s journey will be miles easier than it was for Eleanor. An extra perk is that pets that can be summoned to assist Saragat. These can also be powered up with Yth Stones.

As a supposed Metroidvania, the journey through Usurper’s Lovecraftian world is filled with bizarre creatures. There are also power-ups. It doesn’t take long for Saragat to earn the ability to climb walls, double-jump, and more. That high of getting a new ability never fades. Now, you might be thinking to yourself, “Indeed, nothing like getting a new power-up and being able to go back to a previously inaccessible area on the map.” Well, hold up. The map is my first major with the game. You can pull up a map, but unlike 99.99% of the Metroidvanias in existence, the map just showed an overall layout of the Citadel. There was no way to tell where you actually were, mark areas of interest, or how to get where you need to go. I need a word stronger than “useless” to explain just how bad that thing was. This ties into the second major negative: no fast-travel feature. There were warp points that would send you back to the main area where you could do things like buy spells or re-spec, but that was it. I was confused about this. And apparently, I wasn’t the only one. When I was doing some research on this game, I saw someone on a forum ask why there was not fast-travel feature. The developer responded (typos kept for authenticity) with the following:

“…that turns the game into a joke. And that also makes it you wont learn the map at all. Whats the point of a seriously interconnected world with shortcuts all over if you can just teleport save to save? Areas already change past bosses killed, and they will even more making traversal safer, and faster.”

Excuse me, but what? The game isn’t hair pulling difficult, but it’s no cakewalk. The challenge comes from understanding the Guard meter: when to attack, when to dodge, when to guard, etc. Fast-travel wouldn’t impact that at all. And for a world that’s “seriously interconnected” it’s poorly laid out. Getting from point A to point B takes a long time just due to Saragat’s movement speed. The game feels longer than it is due to all the backtracking, getting lost, and wondering where in the hell you’re supposed to go. I understand wanting to defend one’s project. I understand that it takes work to reprogram features and/or debug something complete. But, this one-two punch combo of a bad map and a a lack of teleportation turns what could have been a heavy hitting Metroidvania into something not that.

As much of a slog it is to move around, those first looks at your surroundings are neat. They’re dark (the brightness in this game takes some getting used to) but unique. You’ll be traveling across bizarre architecture as you fight living orbs of electricity, Cthulhu inspired beasts, and even some familiar looking foes that have returned from Shrouded in Sanity. Then, there’s the character art. The artist must have been inspired by anime of the late 70’s because the characters look like they’re about to board the Galaxy Express 999. I love seeing this style on a modern venue. But, of course, there’s a catch: the final form of the final boss. I won’t get into spoilers but it looks like something a five year old would draw when asked, “Draw a monster.” The amount of effort it took to best thing cannot be ignored. Throw in it’s goofy design and the walk of shame it takes to get back to it, and the graphics start to lose their appeal rapidly. This final boss was bad.

Skautfold: Usurper has multiple challenges and endings for achievement/trophy hunters. For me, I was ready to put the thing away after toppling that messy amalgamation of a boss. It’s a bummer because I was having such a fun time with it up until the very end. Luckily, it doesn’t take long to finish: about four to five hours. Remember, like I said in the introduction, I do recommend it. It just comes with inexcusable flaws that prevent it from being remembered for the right reasons. In other words, when someone asks about “that one Metroidvania Skautfold: Usurper” I’ll mention the things it did wrong instead of what it did right.

Overall, 6/10: Skautfold: Usurper starts as an exciting follow-up to Shrouded in Sanity. Mileage will vary, but there will come a point for everyone when things start to feel off.