A Quick Look At Skyhook, A Competitive Multiplayer Plaftormer In Early Access

Skyhook is a competitive platformer featuring pixelated pirates and sharks as playable characters. The game recently launched on Steam's Early Access and I took a quick look at it.

The gameplay consists of players being placed an arena with various platforms and usable objects and expected to fight to the death. To this end players can jump around, use the dodge button and use the weapon/hook button to kill others. The grappling hook is the main tool available, which is both lethal against other players and also a handy tool for grabbing onto platforms and swinging about the stage. Canons, airships and power ups are the other weapons available to eliminate the opposition and all add to the fast-paced gameplay dynamic. It's simple to pick up and it doesn't take long to get comfortable with the gameplay.

I played a few rounds with a friend and found that, while still very basic, it was more than possible to have a good amount of fun with the game. We picked up the intricacies of gameplay fairy fast and were killing each other with well-placed canon shots and furiously quick hook action in earnest. Another game mode that limited hook usage was an interesting twist and promoted more tactical usage of the hook and dodges. Up to four players can play and I imagine that these larger matches are even more enjoyable as the game is at its best when the action is truly chaotic.

In its current build, Skyhook has a paucity of content. There's only a few variants of stages and local multiplayer available. There's some variety with platform and object placement, but as matches are fast, we went through all the available stages in little time. Despite this, gameplay didn't feel repetitive and replaying stages still provided fun. Future singleplayer content is planned, with coop gameplay, as is the possibility of online gameplay.

Controls can be customized completely and multiple gamepads work without fuss. Multiple players can share a keyboard, too, if so needed. Skyhook runs smoothly and I encountered no bugs or technical problems while playing.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the game develops. More game modes, items, stages and characters are planned which should add plenty of variety to the already solid basic gameplay. The game is currently a bit too bare bones to recommend in general but anyone who likes fast-paced multiplayer fun with friends should keep an eye on Skyhook. With the launch of Steam Machines in November, I could see this helping to fill the niche of couch multiplayer which is usually a strong point of consoles.

You can grab Skyhook on Steam. DRM-free versions should eventually show up at the Humble Store at some point as well. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.