Handheld gaming has come a long way in recent years, and with the rise of handheld PCs like the Steam Deck and the upcoming Switch 2; it’s only getting better. Back when I was young, though, we made do with Game Boys, the original handheld gaming success story that’s the only gendered piece of gaming hardware I can think of. I loved my Game Boy rather fiercely, but my handheld gaming love really took off when the Game Boy Advance released. With exciting games rivalling my SNES favourites and a vast library to dive into, I’d wager it’s still my most used piece of gaming hardware to date. Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo shares my love of the GBA, and would be perfectly at home on its little screen since you play it on a fictional GBA style handheld.
The protagonist of this handheld nostalgia trip is Pippit, a spoiled rich kid (well, bat-rabbit) who is all about yo-yos. Thanks to his wealthy family, Pippit gets to spend his life jetting off to yo-yo tournaments and chasing his dream to be the very best to ever “walk the dog”. This all changes though when his aunt (the matriarch of the family) is confronted by four business rivals who trap her in four magic batteries. Trying to save the day (and his funding) Pippit rushes to help by flinging his yo-yo into the energy beams that are sucking away his aunt’s essence and ends up absorbing her into his yo-yo. Now together they must save the day the only way this bunny knows how, with his favourite toy.
For the most part Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is a top down Zelda style game, but with a much more novel weapon. Your yo-yo essentially functions similarly to how your sword would in other games, but with a few extra perks. Bouncing your yo-yo into an angled wall will send it ricocheting around corners into enemies, which can be done repeatedly to clear out rooms in an incredibly satisfying fashion. It can also be used to pick up and fling items, be thrown for ranged offense, and even charged for powerful special attacks – and this is just as satisfying as it sounds.
Yo-yos aren’t just good for beating up various goons though, it turns out they’re also useful for getting around. One of the first new abilities I learned in this preview was how to walk the dog, which is an ability which lets you hop on your favourite toy to move at high speed. This can also be used to ride across dangerous surfaces like water and boiling hot oil, opening up new areas and revealing new secrets.
I had the opportunity to play Pipistrello last year too, and while I really enjoyed it there were large parts of the game I didn’t get to experience. One of these was world at large, which is a sprawling city full of collectibles and objectives. I was shocked by how massive this felt even with some barriers blocking off later portions of the game, and there wasn’t a single corner I checked that didn’t include something well worth collecting.
Sometimes what you’ll find when exploring somewhere new is just money (which is admittedly very important) but you’ll also find the equivalent of heart pieces, and if you’re lucky even badges. Equipping these will boost your stats or abilities in a variety of ways, from increasing your HP to adding a visible health bar to enemies, and there’s a massive screen of them I can’t wait to collect. With only limited badge points though, you can only equip a few of these at once – at least without upgrading.
More than anything else in this preview, what excited me most about Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo was the upgrade system. At your underground base you can unlock a selection of abilities from a skill tree instantly, but to do so you’ll have to go into debt. The only way to pay off this debt is by finding more money (and you can’t use your current hoard) and until you do you have to deal with a punishment. Surviving with less health while you desperately hunt for cash is always tough, but the rewards are truly worth it.
There’s just so much to get excited about in Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo. Puzzles and dungeons come in all shapes and sizes, from arcades full of “kid friendly bullets” to burger factories made entirely of deadly and delicious oil. Whether I was trying to work out how to place batteries to open a new path or taking on a hoard of evil racing mice, I was always having a great time with this sensational game.
I was already incredibly excited about Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo, but after getting to preview the first few hours of the game (up to the first big boss) I’m so far beyond that. This Zelda inspired game could actually surpass those classics, which I am fully aware sounds ridiculous. If I could only play one game coming later this year I’d choose Pipistrello, and I can’t give higher praise than that.
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is coming to PC, PS4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch on May 28th.
