I’m always incredibly impressed at how a pixel art game can look so stylish and modern.

But Pipistrello is a game that manages it effortlessly, really bringing strong lighting and shadows into effect on both the characters and envrionments. It’s absolutely beautiful.

That’s not even mentioning the animated style of the characters, dancing around when left aimlessly, interacing and engaging with the world.

And to me that was the thing that struck me first and immediately, but what kept me coming back was the game’s fantastic core loop. This is a seriously entertaining and enjoyable game. One of the most original, unique metroidvanias I’ve played in ages.

You play as a bat named Pippit and discover a yoyo with mysterious powers after his auntie is thrust upon and kidnapped by a bunch of brutes. It’s up to you to uncover the secrets of the yoyo and get her back by any means necessary, while restoring the Pipistrello family legacy.

The use of a yoyo makes the game’s attack unique and satisfying, as you stretch the yoyo string out far and wide, bouncing off corners and walls to find the right angles to attack enemies and hit switches. You can even throw the yoyo off the string to get even further range.

And the game begins in such a way that you feel like it follows a familiar corridor pattern, but it’s not until you find yourself in Old Rattalia Town that the game really opens up and you get an open style sandbox with lots of side missions. You’ll travel through sewers, find safe rooms and cross roads with bustling traffic, all while fighting creatures.

Genuinely, I can’t remember the last time I had a game where I was dealing with oncoming and incoming traffic, having to look both ways before I could get where I’m going. But it also working to my advantage with them running over enemies. A very cool effect!

This game is actually super tough, though, with some challenging rooms and enemies that swarm you and take you apart easily and freely. You can restart a room at any point and will often find yourself repeating sections as enemies hit hard but you can also revisit areas if you’re finding one section particularly tricky and come back with upgrades.

Pipistrello will let you find and equip badges that offer unique properties and values. But when you find certain characters in the world, you can even enter into contracts with them to get upgrades. The kicker here though is you not only lose a heart of health, you also have to pay off the debt in order to keep it permanently and restore your health to maximum. It’s an absolutely savage way to level and really adds the element of challenge to the game, but also realy incentivises you to get as many coins as you can.

Pipistrello is a game full of little hidden surprises, a wonderful charm and wit, and a surprisingly beautiful and well presented world with a lovely score. There’s lots of opportunities for customisation, unique upgrades, and a satisfying feel to the combat that really keeps you playing and glued to the screen, wanting to make continued progress.

Not just for the tricky battles and boss fights, but for the exploration and discovery too. There’s some intriguing puzzles to solve, streets to roam and buildings to explore. You’ll also have great traversal as you swing across ledges and find ways to get across seemingly impassable areas. All while finding collectibles and learning the game’s various unique moves.

It’s a fairly simple game but also a deeply layered one with surprising amounts of content for the price and a beautiful homage to the GBA era of puzzlers. It’s been an incredible busy period for games but this is one of the finest, smartest games in a while that deserves to be played and experienced. A true indie darling!

Verdict

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is one of the smartest, most original pixel themed metroidvanias in years with some great ideas around badge and permanent upgrades, as well as open sandbox traversal through a beautiful city. It’s wonderfully presented, vibrant, and effortlessly enjoyable despite its challenging battles and occassional backtracking. Dont let this indie slip away and out of mind.