Skautfold: Usurper

Skautfold: Usurper is a Metroidvania action-RPG from solo developer Steve Gal, set in a grimdark version of London overrun by Eldritch horrors spilling out of a structure called the Citadel. The pitch is genuinely compelling: occult nightmare fuel, labyrinthine level design, and a Guard system that punishes button-mashing in favor of timed, accurate play. If that sounds like your kind of evening, read carefully before committing. The Guard mechanic is the beating heart of the combat. Landing well-timed blocks and counters rewards you with openings that sloppy play simply does not earn. In theory this is elegant, and when it clicks it does feel satisfying in the way that any parry-focused system does when you finally get the rhythm. The problem is that the feedback is inconsistent enough that you will sometimes feel punished by the game's timing windows rather than your own mistakes. That distinction matters a lot in a system that asks you to trust it. On the RPG side, there is build variety here, but it is thinner than the genre label suggests. Character progression gives you enough levers to pull that two playthroughs will not feel identical, but do not walk in expecting Souls-style deep stat architecture or a loot system that rewards obsessive optimization past the midgame. The worldbuilding, delivered through environmental storytelling and sparse dialogue, has a genuinely eerie atmosphere that fans of weird fiction will appreciate. London feels oppressive and strange in the right ways. The writing is functional and occasionally effective, though it does not reach the density of prose that would make re-reading rewarding. Metroidvania fans will find the map structure serviceable. Backtracking as you unlock new capabilities is present and correct, and the level design does a reasonable job of making the Citadel feel like a place with internal logic rather than a random assemblage of corridors. Where Usurper struggles is in its production values, which are exactly what you would expect from a one-person indie released in 2018 on a small budget. Animations are stiff, some hitboxes misbehave, and the overall visual presentation is rough in ways that can occasionally undercut the atmosphere the game is clearly working hard to establish. The Mixed Steam rating (sitting around 69 percent positive) is honest. This is a game with a specific niche appeal. If you are a Metroidvania completionist who can tolerate janky edges on an otherwise coherent experience, and you have a soft spot for Lovecraftian horror aesthetics, Usurper has something real to offer. If you need polished combat timing, strong narrative payoff, or a robust RPG progression spine, you are likely to bounce off it before the setting gets its hooks in you.

Monika · Scout Team

RPGs

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