Highlight of the Week: Konami Publishes Skelattack

Our Highlight of the Week is a pleasant surprise this week.

Konami doesn’t have the greatest record when it comes to gamers. The spat with video game auteur and creator of the Metal Gear franchise, Hideo Kojima, causes some bad blood. On top of that, they nixed a new Silent Hills, who’s predecessor PT (stands for Playable Teaser) had the internet talking. Then they wiped the teaser from the Playstation Store, making PlayStation 4’s with PT on them a collector’s item. This increased their resale prices drastically; even if you downloaded it before, once it was off the hard drive, it was gone.

Add that they released an obvious cash-grab game with Metal Gear Survive, and they weren’t in such a great position. They had their gacha games in Japan, but had lost the respect of much of the gaming community. But Konami is back with a surprise announcement, coupled with a release on the same day! Created by a new team, Ukuza in California, Skelattack is Konami’s first game in their initiative to release innovative games by Western developers.

The game itself is a 2D action-platformer with a striking animation style. You play as Skully, a skeleton who is about to reach his Remembrance Day, a time when they “confront [their] past life”. When humans from above invade Aftervale, they steal the Blue Flame, and its up to you to get it back. At your side will be Skelly’s best friend Imber, who is, of course, a bat.

The player will “need to jump, slash, and flap their way through the Underworld” in order to complete their mission and save Aftervale. Without the Blue Flame, there is no existence beyond death, and therefore no Aftervale. So if you needed a new indie game with a unique art style, our Highlight of the Week might bleach your bones. It released on June 3rd, 2020 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

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