Roguelite action-platformer Skul made it through Early Access

Steam has a launch-window discount until February 3

We haven’t covered Skul: The Hero Slayer much before, but I’ve been keeping tabs on the head-swapping action-platformer for a while now. Today’s the day to check in: it’s out of Steam Early Access.

While I wouldn’t directly compare the two games beat-for-beat, Skul is drawing my attention as someone who adores Risk of Rain‘s cyclical power fantasy. Skul has a side-scrolling ability-cooldown-based premise wrapped around a roguelite shell, albeit with a central character who can swap styles with new heads. I’ve also been playing Rogue Legacy 2 again lately, so I’m deep in this sorta mood.

Here are the highlights for what’s new in the 1.0 version of Skul:

• We’ve added Chapter 4 (The Ramparts of Fate) and Chapter 5 (The Sacred Grounds).
• Skul’s whole backstory is finally revealed
• The new NPC called ‘Arachne’ will help each skull reach its full potential.
• You can collect bone fragments by destroying skulls you don’t want to pick up and use them to power-up the skulls that you do.
• You’ll be able to meet many more of your Demon brethren that have been captured by the Carleon Army. And for those that you rescue, they’ll pay you back in kind.
• You’ll be able to meet several captured Demon Council Officials in Chapters 3 & 4. And if rescued, from then on out they will help you in the Demon Castle before you start each run.
• We’re adding a bunch of new maps for each chapter.
• You’ll find new NPCs in various places and they’ll support you with items, buffs, and the like.
• We took a close look at each skulls’ abilities and fun-factor and made the proper adjustments for the 1.0 version.
• We also reviewed every enemy and boss to make them just right for the full release.
• We added several new features to the settings menu for even more customization.
• We fixed the majority of bugs that were discovered during the Early Access period.

“This 1.0 release isn’t the ending, but merely a checkpoint in the process,” according to developer Southpaw Games. “We plan to add a lot more content to the game before all is said and done.”