SPOOKWARE

Every time i spot this game in my library and get reminded of its existence, i can't help but feel a bit sad. Not because this game is incredibly bad, or because the story is that gripping and emotional, but because the developers decided to entirely abandon this very special, one of a kind game. As the name implies, Spookware is a Warioware like that serves as the full version of a demo released a while back on Itch.io, expanding on the world, the characters, the story, and the microgames. You follow three skeleton brothers on their journey throughout their little world, where they end up at band practice for school, as chefs in a high class restaurant, and as convicts in prison. They make for very charming protagonists that get shoved around from one peculiar situation to another, with plenty of fun and quirky characters to meet along the way. The visual style is also fantastic. A mix of cute cartoon aesthetics and real life imagery for the more unsettling and gruesome parts fits perfectly with the vibe that this game is trying to go for. At one part you'll watch a bunch of little skeleton dudes play in a band, and in another you cut through someone's leg with scissors to use…

SPOOKEWARE is a WarioWare-like with a horror twist. In it you play as a the skelebros, who's misadventures take them through all sorts of wacky hijinks. These hijinks split the game into two parts, an overworld adventure section where you walk around, talk to NPCs and try and solve little quests before switching into the microgames. Like most microgame based games you're given a few seconds to do some simple task (saw off his leg, kill the vampire, etc.). The horror is of course a surface level aesthetic. The game isn't trying to be scary or unsettling, it uses the tropes and visuals of the genre to comedic effect and it is primarily -in my opinion- a comedic game. The skelebros are a [i]humerus[/i] group of well meaning but not very bright skeletons and their adventures are charming. The microgames have decently variety of types and gimmicks, although overall I'd say they're weaker than WarioWare and are mainly carried by the absurdity of microgamifying the most terrifying moment of classic horror pictures. The game was originally designed to be longer but development ceased due to financial difficulties, which is a shame. That said the game is perfectly playable and has enough …

An amazing Warioware type game. Some microgames break in the Remix mode (Remove the Hack_ ones when adding microgames in the basement), but its still good fun.

absolutely perfect game. stunning. fun. intriguing story. which is why it sucks so much that i'll never know the ending. i know there's hope for this game. someday it will get the love and attention it deserves. someday it will finish. incredible work, devs.

The story is cute and the art style is cool. I definitely think there are some good ideas, but there are a lot little things that just make certian parts tedious. My particular gripe is it takes too long to get between mini-games in a boss battle especially if you keep mucking up. Also some of the boss mini-games need some form of tutorial, because its so annoying to spend ages figuring it out then lose a life, then repeat this for all the possiblities with slow transitions.

The game is incomplete. Nothing else to be said.