Pipistrello is a young yoyo fanatic and is also a bat (humanoid version that can’t fly). He comes from a rich family and lives with his aunt in a mansion. One night, the mansion is under attack by an unhappy group of business owners who vow vengeance on the family for what they believe is corruption that has ruined the city. You take on the role of Pipistrello, and with the help of some other family members, you will upgrade your skills and abilities to become powerful enough to rescue your aunt. There are tons of things to collect, and the game is played in a top-down, metroidvania-style fashion. You gain access to more areas as you discover new abilities, allowing you to progress through areas you couldn’t before. You use your yoyo to attack enemies, but it also serves as a means of solving puzzles and even traveling. There is a lot to discover in the city, and secrets are everywhere.

Here’s what I liked:

Pipistrello Progress — Something I love about games is the feeling of accomplishment. Solving puzzles that make you think outside the box, or even make you come back later when you have the correct ability. There are tons of secrets to discover in this game, requiring you to visit old locations in order to obtain them. Some of the coolest collectibles are essentially “mods”. They are called badges in the game, and each does a unique thing. Some of them may increase power, while others add unique attributes to your abilities. You can upgrade them so that they cost less to use or strengthen them. What’s really fun is the upgrading tree. You have to spend gold on them, but it’s gold you haven’t earned yet. This makes it so when you die, it doesn’t feel as bad losing coins, because half of them were going to your upgrade anyways (it’s a debt you are repaying). So there are tons of things to collect that slowly change the way you play and how you tackle puzzles. It’s a lot of fun!

Silly Story Silly Characters — True to the nature of old school storylines, there is a certain charm to the ridiculous things that happen throughout the adventure. There are a lot of NPC characters to talk to, with some offering side quests. One of these quests is to buy a hamburger and travel back to the character. There are a few of these, and while it seems like an average “fetch quest”, it’s actually a little more difficult because you have to carry this item back to the character while there are enemies on the screen and obstacles in your way. This is just one example of how non-serious the game is. The story itself is as weird as you may expect it (being a bat with a yo-yo as a weapon). You’re trying to save your aunt as well as the city, which has come under the control of business owners who are using special batteries created by your family’s company. This leads to funny and dangerous situations as the business owners become power hungry and corrupt themselves, using the batteries as a means of success to gain rich and powerful even though it was the very thing they were trying to fight in the first place. So while silly, it does have a deeper meaning behind it.

Weapon of Choice — Your yo-yo is not only your hobby, but your greatest strength. Not only do you fight enemies with it, but you also use it to grab items and solve puzzles. A lot of the puzzles are fun because they require timing and thinking. There will be several times you throw the yo-yo and watch it go on it’s route, bouncing off angles as you try to time it to grab an item and return. You also get a few choices in your charged attack and a special ability. You can even practice the damage output on a training dummy in your sewer headquarters. There is a lot more to your weapon than just hitting things with it. This makes the weapon almost like another character in the game (if you start the game this will make sense).

Play it Your Way — If the game feels too difficult for you, there is an accessibility section that lets you change damage multipliers, health, etc. This is basically a cheat system that you can abuse to become invincible. You can then focus on the puzzles instead of difficult enemy encounters. You can ignore these if you’d like a more difficult experience, but in the end, you’re still going to need to work on the collectibles and puzzles, which are really fun. After you complete the game, you can even start a new game plus. However, you’ll more than likely just wish to finish everything there is first. The system reminds me a lot of older games that didn’t have achievements or trophies. The main goal for completionist was to get 100% on a game file, which this game also offers.

Here’s what I didn’t like:

Map Mishap — While the entire game is full of collectibles and everything is enjoyable, I will say I was very disappointed in the map. The fast travel locations chosen were a little far apart for my liking. They were also mini cutscenes of you getting into a taxi, which takes away from the word “fast” in fast travel. You also couldn’t just travel to these locations from the map, but had to go to a payphone to do so. This slows the pace a little when you’re trying to finish up collecting things. There was also no way to put markers or points of interest. One example is the museum. I needed to go to it to win a prize in a mini-game. I could not find it because nothing is labeled on the map. A lot of the icons look the same, so I had to go to almost every building to figure out if it was the place I was looking for.

Wrap-up

The game has few flaws, and is a fantastic experience for gamers looking for a retro feel, or younger players wanting to live days they weren’t yet alive for. The customization, action, puzzles, and funny story all lead to an absolute blast. If they could adjust the map, things would be even better, but that’s not a make-or-break for such a good time. It’s one of those games you can sink hours into and not even realize so much time has passed. Finding collectibles was both satisfying and rewarding. As much as I love metroidvania games that are side scrolling, it was a breath of fresh air in this genre to have one that’s top down, and uses a yoyo as a weapon.

Score: Must Buy

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo was published by PM Studios and developed by Rocket Trap on Xbox One. It was released on May 28 2025, for $19.99. A copy was provided for review