Stephen Barr Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo Review

Pipistrello is a great, amazing game — I got the platinum in just 3 days, and yes, I can spoil the cheaters’ badges, trophies, etc. The accessibility cheat options make the game a lot easier. I turned them on after dying in combat quite a bit with only 3 hearts... I suppose I should’ve turned them off after gaining more hearts. But honestly, the game without cheats might be a little too hard. This is mostly because sprites cover you, and you don’t really get an outline of Pipi while the sprites bounce on top of you — it makes dodging pretty difficult. Though, that might be unfair of me to say. The cheats allow you to get a lot of money easily and finish most of the trophies. Some platforming, however, remains hard. Getting 38 in the Shooting Museum can take 2–3 hours due to some bad luck with throwing the yoyo with extreme precision (especially around snails that basically take your yoyo with them). You can miss some shots, which is good — it means the challenge is balanced. I do wish the cheat mode had an option to place custom save markers, especially during the two “time-based platforming” sections where it's really needed. For tricky platforming, I would’ve preferred a command-based system that lets the player input moves in a paused, turn-based mode — then let it play out in real-time. This would be great for those with disabilities or timing difficulties. The mechanics and travel are well done, but bomb walls and breakable brick walls need to be more distinct. I wasted a few hours thinking a wall was a bomb wall, but it was just a simple walk-over ground break tile. I also discovered you can kind of cheat through certain areas using the “Go Home” option — one panel set me to the nearest overall home portal (which happened to be past the wall). You can lose your way sometimes, but for extras and collectibles, you can talk to an underground oracle who, for a fee, will pinpoint every findable item on the map. (Spoilers, I guess, but it's a great feature.) Some of the platforming puzzles and time-based challenges are quite intense. The fan wind + yoyo direction mechanic is also never explained — you’ll see what I mean when you play. I really wish we had the power to do things like “walk the dog” around obstacles and drop the yoyo at perfect distances. That would’ve made pressure plate puzzles more complex and satisfying. Later-game upgrades could’ve let us carry keys while wall-jumping or wall-grinding, for example — that kind of mechanic evolution would’ve been great. There are multiple cheater’s badges, but I found one of them to be absolutely essential — the one that alters an advanced move (won’t say which). Overall, it’s a fantastic game. I’m glad the music squares didn’t have much beyond money — kept things simple. With achievements, I completed 84% of the game and unlocked all trophies. I think the game could have had a 95% trophy, since things like the music puzzles may count toward completion, and the wall-bounce challenge was pretty tough. The accessibility options/cheats were a wonderful touch to help players of all skill levels. The game also tells a nice story. It’s definitely possible to get lost or waste time backtracking, especially since some areas are hidden behind buildings unless you’re constantly checking the map. This game clearly leaves room for sequels — I’d love to see the laser gun become a yoyo pickup or fuse into the yoyo after a few puzzles. Maybe in a sequel, we’ll get hot/cold yoyos, or be able to freeze water and push it to form bridges, etc.