Skautfold: Usurper | PS5 Review

Red Art Games, and their onboard developer Pugware bring to us what seems to be a continuation of the ongoing, and evolving Skautfold indie series. Unlike the first game though, "Skautfold: Usurper" goes the 2D metroidvania and soulsborne route. Taking the player on an action packed adventure as the villainous character Waltham who finds himself malformed, and tossed amongst London's corpses in some ungodly cesspit. Reeling from some previous encounter Waltham possesses the dead body of a knight to survive. The poor unfortunate soul that is Sagart has no choice, but to do the bidding of his new parasitic partner lest he returns to rot. Thus in a joint effort Sagart, being guided by Waltham, reluctantly pursues a fleeing Navigator who is the only way off of London. 

Heavy on the storytelling dialogue, and cryptic in the way of guidance, 'Skautfold: Usurper' blends the mechanics focused exploration of Metroidvanias while giving us it's own simplified spin on the Soulsborne formula. As with any Soulsborne game there is a hub of operations here from whence all pathways stem. In Usurper this exists as a throne room. A throne room with otherworldly vendors that take Vitae, and Yth stones to unlock features, and upgrade Sagart's base stats. You'll find a vendor that sells spells, one the sells assisting pets, one that takes offerings to the Elder Gods, and another that Respecs stat points. 

Beyond those vendors the only thing our reluctant parasite infested protagonist has going for him is an evasive dodge maneuver depend it on stamina, four equippable weapons that can be switched between using DPad directions, an energy shield that blocks projectiles, and the ability to fly. Weapons, in particular, not only serve as damage dealing options, but also play into the destruction of certain blockades, features, or enemies. Additionally there's relics that can be found that will add bonus features like damage numbers, enemy names, and other things tied to exploration. It's a lot like "Castlevania: SotN" in that regards. 

Killing enemies within the maze-like interior of the Citadel will award Vitae. Think of these as the soul currency that you'll use back at the throne hub. In addition to that there's also rare drops of Yth stones that are the go to currency for some of the vendor offerings as well as the stat upgrade options. Stats are mostly as you'd expect with STR, CON, GRD, LCK, INT, etc., ... That being said there is also a mystery addition known as ELD (Eldritch). It does not tell you what it does in the description, but it does say like the rest of the options that they are all soft-capped a 30, and anything over 90 is ignored. Meaning 30 points is the most you can upgrade any given stat. Should you find your current stat upgrades unhelpful you can respec them at the appropriate vendor.

In regards to plot, and purpose Usurper has you finding your way through the Citadel facing off against enemies, and looting the place for key items and weapons needed to progress. Should you die at any time the game mocks you with a stacking death count, and deducts some, but not all of your Vitae earnings. Needless to say there is no real reason to go back an recollect your Vitae from where you died due to the overly generous deduction. In doing this it makes progress the key motivation, and learning the enemy placement and patterns crucial to completion. Mind you there are also boss fights with more involved attack and defense patterns which can be found at marked entryways. In fact there's even a boss dungeon for fights against the Elder Gods via the vendor who you pay tribute to back at the throne room. Each with their own reward for victory.

The Verdict ...

Monotonous at times, painstakingly sluggish at others, and oddly not as interesting as most modern Metroidvanias or Soulsbornes, 'Skautfold: Usurper" commits the cardinal sin of not offering an experience enticing enough to satisfy those looking for something more than just inspired. Usurper, while interesting in concept, force feeds a good portion of the story through annoying static dialogue panels while offering little to no hints on direction. The game is very linear by design with some backtracking, but eludes to a choice of optional pathways to be taken. Often times these pathways are roadblocked until you find the right item to get past the blockade. Making you have to search until you find where it is you should be. 

This is made further complicated by a small starting pool of health, and the fact that without proper dodging a single hit taken can be critical enough to get you down to a "Last Stand" state. Meaning you're one hit away from being returned to the throne room. The added fact that stat upgrades are made scarcely possible due to the rarity of Yth stones creates a problem that forces repetition, negates any farming efforts, and slows advancement through the game's many areas. It really does seem to be purposefully drawn out through artificial difficulty more than actual enemy based difficulty. Most of the enemies can't compare to the enemies of 3D soulsbornes, and are easily taken down in a few hits with the overly generous dodge system that ups the attack if the dodge is successful. 

Even with the stamina bar in place it is still enough to make spamming dodge unpunishable in most situations. Looking back at the sum of Usurper's parts it's like the developer had a vision, but didn't quite go all the way in both directions with the conjoined genres like they should have. The Metroidvania part, for example, feels underwhelming as does the Soulsborne combat. I know that's a lot of negatives to take in, but even with all that negative it's not the worst I've played from this hybrid blend. I just wish it had of been more fleshed out, and more polished. Less force feeding of narrative, more optional exploration, and Soulsborne combat that fits the bill.