Skelethrone, a brutal yet fantastic gem hidden amongst the many, as I took the role of our cloaked, dark character Derek Ericona, a betrayed lord who seeks vengeance as he arises from the dead looking to swing his sword at those who turned their backs on him. A game developed by, solo indie developer 70 Strike and published by the esteemed Valkyrie Initiative, I looked to pursue another gem in the metroidvania genre with hints of souls like in there, and boy did I find it. The creativity of this dark, charming title is second-to-none, and it really deserves to be held in high regard, as this game has much to offer the loyal metroidvania fans as it sticks to its 2D platforming roots with solid combat, but without further a due, let’s get into it.
As I spoke earlier about Sir Ericona himself, the once fruitful lord, now reduced to a shadowy, iron-clad figure bearing all like a skeleton, returns from the dead to seek vengeance on those who turned their backs on him. The story progresses in the way you want it too, akin to how Blasphemous does with its platforming style sidescrolling, where I never knew what was on stage right, or below the ground in which I walked on with our loyal skeleton. As I progressed in the story and made my merry way through the backdrops, which made me feel like I was in a gorgeous yet dark time loop between Castlevania and Blasphemous, I met characters who came to life in their own unique ways, from a villager hunter named D’ego and prisoner stuck in the abandoned mines named Sacrass, there are characters who tell their own stories and have you sometimes aid them in the grim world around them.
Now let me weave into the meat of the twisted, fantasy world I have spoken about thus far. The enemies are really uniquely designed and have for sure had notes taken from those darker titles, such as the Dark Souls and Bloodborne, as the enemies come in the form of “Mourners”, which have been tasked by the main antagonist, Queen Aurora to spread their dank stench on the Makh-Abyss, aside from the cool enemy design, from blood hungry wolf like creatures, to living trees with corpses hanging off them, the bosses… Man oh man, the bosses are UNREAL. From the weird worm-like Collector, to a lanky, boggy-eyed Mushroom Slayer, the bosses are all scarily peculiar and took no time to come at me with their daunting attacks.
Within this game, I found a fantastic core combat system, which has been opened up from those classic Metroidvania-style games, where it’s very simple, but has plentiful options, which kept me changing my gear and weapons to suit different approaches. Now here is where that soulslike blend comes in. The combat has the useful roll mechanic, which helps you to escape trouble in many, many ways, but not just this, it has that feel about it where if I didn’t watch my enemies’ attacks, I’d find myself getting cut apart and shredded within seconds.
Blending the combat together, with an awesome world to explore and many enemies to slay and conquer, I felt truly astounded by how well Skelethrone holds up, and well, had me coming back for more. The replayability is really there also, as there are nooks and crannies to explore which you may have missed the first time around and with the world being so massive, it’s no wonder you’d miss some things! Skelethrone really opened my eyes to how well developed and thought out this game was when it came to most aspects; combat, design, characters, I could go on, but this was a really thought out and well-blended game when it comes to where it takes its inspirations from.
If I haven’t mentioned the deep, dark and fascinating art style of this game yet, then boy are you in for a treat. The art style of the game hugely, in my opinion, draws its inspiration from Blasphemous. Yes, I can hear you now “but those games are based off the metroidvania style.” Yes, they are, but hear me out. Blasphemous holds its own aesthetic on the religious side of things with its basis of the cross being used throughout. However, Skelethrone pulls away the religious aspect, aims for a more straightline story of vengeance mixed with well-thought-out world design and boom. You have Skelethrone! Each select stage is different also, whilst all being daunting and tense, you can go from a battlefield littered with bodies, to the Blooming Swamp, which is beautiful yet laden with acid-spitting foes. This title throws back 2D style to the side-scrolling platformers of old and crafts us a refreshingly gloomy and modernized version of just that, but it also had me at certain parts, just taking in how well the world around me looked and how well each area had been built. Bravo 70 Strike, Bravo.
You already know the score here, it’s How Does Your Track Stack, with Ben! The soundtrack for this game but not just this, the many different tracks that came and went with each area I explored were absolutely fitting and phenomenal! From a lustfully calm guitar-like vibe in the inviting village of the locals, to the tense, opera-style music down in the tombs under the forest, each track felt like it fit just right for each stage and each location that I wondered about. The idea of a battle track is to set the overall tone of each encounter. However, when you have a solid backing in each stage, there isn’t a need to change it upon each encounter as you’d hear the change every minute, but with boss encounters, there comes an eerie silence before a clash of the mighty comes! Track rating – 10/10 as it fits and made me feel a large scope of different emotions as I encountered each setting.
Here comes the final hit of the hammer, the final verdict. For me, Skelethrone: The Chronicles of Ericona, presents a brilliant entry into the metroidvania/soulslike genre and takes fans to an ill-filled universe in which every area has new enemies, parts to explore and loot to find. I found myself changing my equipment every time I found a new piece of gear, or to fit the surrounding setting, but I also found myself keeping it real to the skeleton hero I controlled and had him hacking and slashing through grim enemies with a bone sword and wooden shield. Genuinely, every part of this game feels as if it could’ve been put together by a huge studio with an endless budget, but it hasn’t. Instead, it has been put together by a smaller studio at 70 Strike, and has made a deep impression upon myself. I will be completing the alluring title pronto!
Overall score – 10/10, a fantastic tribute to the genre it leans onto and a very well put-together title. If more games could be made this unique and intriguing, my backlog would be endless! Thankyou 70 Strike, a virtual round of applause for you!
Skelethrone: The Chronicles of Ericona is now available on Xbox Series X/S, PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and the older generations also! (Xbox One, PS4) Grab this game now for $13 and allow yourself to fall in love with the estranged world!
