Sometimes, I follow and indie game for ages and put in a review request because I think it looks good. Sometimes, I put review requests in based on the title of the game alone. I’ve never put a review request in based on nothing but a genre description, until now. Developer Pocket Trap and publisher PM Studios bring you Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo.

“Are you ready for the first Yoyovania?! In this 2D top-down adventure you’ll explore a sprawling urban landscape, reinterpreting your surroundings through your mastery of yoyo tricks. Navigate the city’s many districts, fight rival crime bosses, and regain the influence of the Pipistrello family!”

Billed as being the first Yoyovania, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is a melding of a lot of classic 16-bit games, presented via a wonderful bit of creative aesthetics. What is a Yoyovania? Breaking down to its basics, it’s a Metroidvania… but you use a yoyo. Yeah, honestly, the gerne naming isn’t all that deep and more for fun. Fortunately, fun is something that Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo has in spades.

So yeah, this is a Metroidvania and you all know how they work by now, so I really don’t need to bore you with the details. Start with the bare basics, find/learn new skills, use those skills to access previously inaccessible parts of the map. In terms of being a Metroidvania, this title hits all the right notes. But before I get into this review, I need to cover that wonderful bit of creative aesthetics that I previously mentioned. You see, you play Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo on a handheld console. No, I don’t mean that you need one to play this, the game has a fictional handheld console in it, that you are playing on.

Called the Pocket Trap Game System, it’s very much like a Gameboy Advance but with a more modern button config. There are a multitude of different screen options to play around with and you can go from full screen to zooming out and seeing the fictional handheld. It gets a bit meta what with you playing a game on a handheld console, within the game that you are playing, on which you are playing the game. As far as I can tell, there’s no real point to being able zoom out and seeing the Pocket Trap Game System that you are playing on. The buttons you press on your controller match up with button presses on the fictional handheld, you can even turn the console around and see the back of the handheld, complete with a Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo game cart in the slot.  It’s pointless, but still kind of fun. I liked it a lot and it’s a nice touch to add to the retro aesthetic.

I don’t do story spoilers in my reviews, unless there’s a damn good reason to do so. I’m not doing spoilers for Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo, but I will say that it has a surprisingly grown up plot that involves balances of power and even some current socioeconomic commentary. Yeah, don’t let the old-school graphics fool you, this is a game that addresses some pretty interesting and mature themes. The story kept me gripped until I saw the end credits.

In terms of the gameplay, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo nails everything that it sets out to do. Taking elements from the likes of the classic The Legend of Zelda titles, mixed with some The Legend of the Mystical Ninja and topped off with a helping of Metroid, the end result is a beautifully crafted action-adventure title that kicks you right in the nostalgia bone. Combat is simple with you throwing your yoyo about, but as you pick up new talents, the combat becomes more involved. I liked how you bounce your yoyo off angled surfaces and get some great ricochet hits in. There’s some light puzzle solving, nothing too taxing but puzzles that will require you to use your newly found skills.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo also features one of the most unique upgrade systems I have seen recently. You know how in other games, you save up some in-game currency and then buy the upgrade that you want? That’s not exactly how it works here. You see, the person that you buy upgrades from is a bit of a germaphobe and they don’t want the dirty money that you have been carrying around in your pocket. They want clean/fresh money. So, you pick your upgrade and it gets applied, but with a caveat. That upgrade put you in debt that you need to pay of with clean money. Oh, and the upgrade will also have a debuff on it until you do pay off that debt.

Let me explain further. Let’s say that you buy an attack power +1 upgrade that costs $500. Even though you may have $1000 in your pocket, you can’t pay with that, you have to pay with clean money. So out you go killing enemies and picking up the clean coin. 50% of it goes into your pocket, the other 50% goes toward paying off the $500 debt. You’ll have that attack power +1 upgrade but as you’re also in debt, so you’ll be punished with a debuff, say something like -1 off your health bar. When you have paid the debt off, the debuff is removed and you get the attack power +1 as a clean upgrade. As you progress, upgrades become more expensive and more debuffs are added until you clear the debt. It’s a pretty interesting idea as you have to think if carrying a debuff around is worth it.

Then there are the badges. These are little augments that help with combat and such. You can balance a good badge or two to counteract a debuff on an upgrade. This all adds a little strategy as you have to think about your build before you head out exploring the map. Honestly, it’s a really refreshing idea and it adds a few layers to an otherwise simple upgrade system. There’s also a load of awesome accessibility options that allow you to tailor the game to make it as easy or hard as you want. I do like to praise a game that give the player the options to tweak the difficulty to their own personal taste.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is crammed with gameplay and has a wonderful 16-bit/early 32-bit vibe running throughout. You can tell that the devs really do adore games of that era, because they’ve absolutely nailed the look and feel so much that you could easily mistake this as a game that was released on the GameBoy Advance around 2004. The map is plenty big with a lot to see and do. Side-quests to discover, puzzles to solve and some really endearing characters to meet. A truly wonderful game that has clearly been made with love and passion. Get this one on your “to play” list.