Departing from the regularly played genres is good for mental health, and my mental health is in the bin. I usually never play Metroidvanias because they require a lot from me, in the form of taking notes and remembering where I left off after I closed the game last, but I decided that I have been playing too many platformers and roguelikes/lites. Recently, I have been seeing a lot of talk about Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo, and I decided to jump in and see for myself. Within the first 20 minutes, I was hooked.

This week is Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo.

I want to give a shout-out to the developer and the publisher for the key. I’ve had to buy a new car, and I don’t have the money, so the key is incredibly appreciated!

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is a Metroidvania from Pocket Trap and PM Studios, Inc. The game was released for all modern consoles and the PC in May. The game retails for $20.

When one thinks of the rich who attacked and belittled the lower class, they think of the Rockefellers, Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and, most recently, according to me, THE PIPISTRELLO Family. Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo follows the adventure of Pippit, a bat who is a yoyo fanatic who just wants to be a professional yoyo-er, is forced into an adventure to save his aunt, Madame Pipistrello, from the ruthless mob that she exploits every day. The Pipistrello’s have monopolized the energy supply and, specifically, four rival business owners have broken into their home and want her out of the picture. This is done by using the borderline magical “Mega battery” to separate Madame’s soul. Quick on his feet, Pippit just nonchalantly throws the yoyo into the mix, and a part of his aunt’s soul gets stored in it.

Conveniently, there are only 4 “Mega-batteries” and four sections of the town with angry businessmen who want to get back at the Pipistrellos.

It is an interesting narrative choice to take the side of the actual bad guy, and it allows Pippit, who is completely uncaring of the brevity of the situation, to evolve as a character. Madame Pipistrello is easy to hate because, first of all, she looks like a demon, and second, she still only cares about getting her power back. Other family members are introduced who help Pippit with upgrading badges, combat, and going further into debt, who seem to love their little yoyo man. The family that is situated in the safe house loves to help out, but it is always at a cost.

There are two family members in the safe house: Pepita will help you with unlocking upgrades through debt collection, and Pippo, who upgrades badges you find around the city.

Debt collection is a hell of a gameplay choice.

As opposed to using the money that you find after beating up on baddies and solving puzzles and such, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo do the upgrading cleverly, by putting you in debt (collecting 50% of future pickups) with some sort of disadvantage until you pay off the debt. Rewarding the player with more badge space, BUT reducing max hearts by one is CRIMINAL. Reducing attack power or enemies don’t drop hearts anymore, but coming out with an upgrade that allows you to keep more money, or regaining a heart when you game over.

Badges play like pins from Hollow Knight. The player has a set amount of space, and badges take up a certain amount of space. The advantages may seem minor, but they offer significant assistance. The badge that came in clutch was the regain a heart after collecting 100 coins. Other badges, such as seeing health bars, prolonging hit invincibility, and longer stuns from the yoyo whip, are unique and do come in handy.

Pippo, on the other hand, gives the player the ability to use their current income to invest in reducing the space in which badges take up. Pretty simple and it works.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo does a relatively good job at telling the player how to play the game. It is said that there are four mega batteries. Auntie shows the player where the two are on the map, and it is up to the player to find the path to them and the other two. The player is given a special ability in each area and taught how to use it in their respective spaces. “Walking-the-dog” allows Pippit to essentially glide over obstacles like toxic goop and water. Slamming the yoyo against a wall while jumping can shoot you out in the opposite direction to cover a gap.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo have lots of yoyo-themed puzzles for you to partake in that reward money, a rose, or BP capsules to upgrade health and backpack space, respectively. Puzzles range from easier perception puzzles to thinkers, but nothing that is frustrating.

Pippit may be the worst yoyo-er, but when they use it in combat, it is quite effective. Pippit can throw the yoyo out, deal direct damage, or throw it and disconnect to send the yoyo FLYING, banking it off corners and walls to hit baddies behind walls and such. Pippit can parry attacks, which is easy, but it does not feel overpowered. There are loads of baddies to fight and yoink their pocket change: Bee cops, slimes in mech suits, slimes that break into two, and gophers with sledgehammers. Boss fights are fun and, on occasion, are challenging. Fights challenge the player’s mastery of the ability that was given at the beginning of the section.

When Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo boots up, it is like putting a game cartridge in a knockoff Game Boy. Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is totally inspired by hand-held games, and when I first sat down to play, I was immediately reminded of the Oracle of Seasons and Ages. Pippit’s animations remind me so much of those Zelda games. The game is incredibly colorful and sharp, and the focus on the “no yellow paint” rule allowed me to take in the sights of the city and boss areas without a guiding hand.

The soundtrack is a jam; I really like it. Leonardo Lima, Henrique Lorenzi, and Yoko Shimomura do a fantastic job of bringing the classic handheld vibe.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo hits all of the things on my Bingo card. It has a fun, goofy narrative, likeable characters, fun combat, great puzzles, and a unique look. If I play a game and am reminded of another, really good game from my childhood, then the game is good.

I like that I get to follow the bad guy and wipe out her competition as a washed-up “professional” yo-yo-er. I like wall-banging off 3 walls to get to a heart container, I like looking for badges, and I really like the debt collection system.

9/10