SKYHILL Demo

SKYHILL is a neat little indie that fuses together a few features to create something enjoyable to play. It’s a roguelike with RPG elements (obviously) but with an interesting design and simplified gameplay that work in its favor.

In SKYHILL, WW III has started shortly after you book the penthouse of a 100-floor hotel. A biological bomb has been detonated close by and most of the humans have been transformed into flesh hungry mutants. You, on the other hand, have survived thanks to the biological protection feature of your room, but you still have to make it out of there in one piece, through a hotel that might be full lof mutants.

SKYHILL is a vertical roguelike in which you will be exploring two rooms per floor in search for supplies and anything else you think might help survive and escape. The good part is that each time you play it, the entire building is randomized, so you never know what you get or who you find behind a door.

The game also features a nice design that makes the game look even more casual that it is. You see, SKYHILL is a tough little survival game, but it doesn’t fit the profile of those diehard survival titles.

There are a few things I asked myself when playing. For example, why just two rooms per floor, why doesn’t my character bleed when he’s at 10% life, where do I carry all this inventory, my pockets? In terms of design, the game is nice but there are some things that you might find unclear.

Like, for example, not having the option to run away from a mutant you happen to stumble upon. The combat is turn-based, meaning you get to attack once, and then the mutant and so on until one of you dies. A nice touch is that the game lets you decide what body part of the opponent you want to hit because there are different percentages of success for each one. SKYHILL has a well-implemented risk and reward mechanic but why not apply it to the possibility of escape? I could try to run away, have a percentage of that working out.

Played at normal difficulty, the game might seem unfair, but that’s not the case. It’s not always you can find something you desperately need and eating rotten stuff can make you sick. SKYHILL is a tough game, but luckily it makes up for the many deaths by allowing your character to level up and unlock various passive and active skills for you to use.

To end, SKYHILL is a good game to have around if you’re looking for a casual survival experience. It’s well-crafted, even though it has some logic flaws, it’s easy to play but tough thanks to its randomized levels.