I’d love to play every game included in our monthly update, but sadly, adulthood has other plans.
One title that caught my eye from this month’s round-up was Skull Horde, an auto battler dungeon crawler that released last Friday on PC (Lin, Mac, Win) and already has a ‘Very Positive’ response.
Luckily, our friends at 8BitSkull hooked us up with a code, and I’ve already spent a few hours raising my own undead army.
In Skull Horde, you descend deeper and deeper into procedurally generated dungeons, raising an army of skeletons to fend off waves of enemies. Playing as a floating skull, you’re responsible for scouring the battlefield for gold, powerful loot, and boons to strengthen your forces. You’ll need to keep moving and keep an eye on your fallen soldiers, because once they’re all gone, it’s game over.
Between floors, you’ll have the chance to recruit new units and refine your build, and this is where the real strategy comes in. Buying three units of the same type lets you combine them into a stronger version, rewarding focused builds. Alternatively, mixing different classes gives you broader coverage and flexibility, but those units won’t be as strong or durable as their upgraded counterparts.
Finding powerful synergies between your units is key to success, and it quickly becomes a tricky puzzle when you’re working with limited gold and roster space. You’ll want a good mix of ranged and close-quarters attackers, as well as several upgraded units for big damage.
My early impressions with Skull Horde were pretty impressive, but it fell into the same trap as all auto-battlers do for me. I couldn’t help but wanting to jump into the action rather than watch my skeletal forces do my dirty work, but I appreciate that’s the nature of the genre.
Skull Horde is currently available at a solid 25% discount on Steam, and there’s also a Supporter’s Pack if you’d like to show some extra love to the devs. The pack includes the game’s soundtrack, along with cosmetic upgrades for the main menu and your skeletal protagonist, Venultor. Think of it as a small memento for backing a growing studio.
You can check out a trailer for Skull Horde below:
