Fancy Skulls

About

Fancy Skulls is a single player shooter game. It was developed by tequibo and was released on June 16, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Fancy Skulls is a challenging first person shooter with procedural generation, permanent death and distinct art style. Intense and tactical combat, unique weapon mods and items that change the way you play. Foes different not only in visual design but also in their behavior. For example there is an enemy that will teleport every time you hit it, or enemy that leaves bombs that home on you, but yo…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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67%

Audience ScoreBased on 238 reviews

gameplay20 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Unique roguelike FPS gameplay focusing on enemies' weak spots requiring precise aiming.
Smooth and satisfying combat mechanics with a variety of weapons and upgradeable mods.
Distinctive minimalist and surreal art style that adds to the eerie atmosphere and charm.

Game has been abandoned in early access for many years with no significant updates or finishing touches.
Limited content with few enemy types, weapons, and levels leading to low replay value after initial playthrough.
Unbalanced difficulty and occasional unfair deaths, with some design choices and randomness feeling frustrating.

gameplay
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
57%
6%
The gameplay offers a mix of tactical, run-n-gun FPS mechanics with procedural generation and permadeath elements, resulting in a generally smooth and fluid experience with some unique mechanics like the "eggs" system. However, it suffers from limited content, repetitive enemy types, simple and sometimes overly easy or exploitable mechanics, and small, cramped maps that reduce variety and challenge. While some players find it entertaining and strategically engaging, others feel the gameplay is too simplistic, lacking depth and replay value.
- “The gameplay is extremely solid, movement is fluid and the gunplay is very well done.”
- “The gameplay is smooth and rhythmic making it relaxing to play, but everything still moves at a fairly fast pace, meaning you won't get bored.”
- “Fancy Skulls is one of these loves at first sight and I must say that the gameplay offers an interesting and unique experience.”
- “Gameplay is easy, has only 9 stages, few enemies, few level layouts, few unlockables (4 to be exact) and a few weapons, so replay value is low.”
- “Gameplay is broken, some upgrades will make the game piss easy by making you nearly invincible while others are literally useless.”
- “Procedurally generating a sprawling map, but then not letting the gameplay take place across it and locking me in small rooms for all combat encounters feels like a bait and switch.”
graphics
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
60%
8%
The game features a distinctive, minimalist art style that some find unique and atmospheric while others consider it confusing, bare-bones, or unpolished. Its abstract visuals emphasize gameplay elements and run well on low-end machines, but inconsistent design and lack of texture detail can strain the eyes and hamper clarity. Overall, the graphics are divisive—offering originality and charm for some players, yet feeling incomplete or off-putting to others.
- “The abstract art style is weird in a way that works, and stumbling onto a powerful item combo that lets you rocket-jump or slow time makes each run feel fresh.”
- “The game is stunning, the art style is beyond what I've seen before and paired with the quick reflexes needed to kill the enemies makes quite a tough roguelite.”
- “The pros: cool art style, beautiful performance on low end machines, cool concept.”
- “Games based and fun to play, though, I have to say, very confusing graphics.”
- “Not only that, but the art style in the latest version is broken.”
- “It's a bare-bones Unity FPS with slapdash menu and HUD, no unlock system to give some incentive to play this game, poorly balanced procedural generation, awful visuals (e.g. both homing mines, left by white walking tree enemy, and debris, left by some other dead enemies, look like red spheres and it's hard to tell which is which) and sound (some enemies are completely silent while some projectiles make ear-grating droning noises).”
music
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
65%
15%
The music in the game is generally described as ambient, non-intrusive, and fitting the atmosphere, often evoking a spooky or eerie mood. However, many users find the soundtrack sparse, forgettable, and lacking depth, with some wishing for more varied or noticeable music to enhance engagement. Sound effects are appreciated, but the overall audio experience feels somewhat empty or underdeveloped to several players.
- “Pleasant to play with light music in headphones, but the game gives audio cues that signal where enemies are in relation to you, so it's wise to keep audio enabled.”
- “Loved the sound effects and ambient music; it has a fun and weird atmosphere.”
- “The music suits this game beautifully and helps give it the 'I'm trapped in a spooky museum' feeling.”
- “Lack of music and good sound effects.”
- “Music: forgettable (I'm not even sure it has music).”
- “The game is pretty silent, even with the current soundtrack and sound effects, it seems too empty.”
story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The game currently lacks a story or backstory, which many users see as a significant drawback. While the gameplay and graphics are appreciated, the absence of a narrative leaves the world feeling incomplete and less engaging. Users suggest that adding a story mode would greatly enhance the game's value.
- “The graphics in this game match the story perfectly, it has unique items that do some pretty cool things.”
- “In its current state, I wouldn't pay more than $5 for it, and if they ever finish it (add a story mode, etc.), it would be worth $10-$15.”
- “But this game has one significant flaw: an absolute lack of storytelling.”
- “I would gladly learn some backstory concerning the events happening on the screen or mythology explaining this curious world.”
- “No story, but a fun free game no less.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
17%
33%
The game offers limited replayability due to its short length, few stages, enemies, and unlockables, resulting in low content on normal difficulty. However, some players appreciate the added challenge settings and unique style, which provide moderate to high replay potential for those seeking varied gameplay.
- “+ great replay value”
- “+lots of replayability”
- “Interesting first-person shooter, dungeon crawling roguelike-like.. thing.. unique graphic style and lots of replayability potential.”
- “Gameplay is easy, has only 9 stages, few enemies, few level layouts, few unlockables (4 to be exact) and a few weapons, so replay value is low.”
- “It also doesn't have too much content on normal difficulty. It took an hour to figure out how the game works (spawns, enemy patterns, useful upgrades and items). There's some replay value with new challenge settings.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
17%
33%
Users consistently praise the game's minimalistic and ambient atmosphere, highlighting its eerie, subdued tone enhanced by sound effects and music. While some appreciate the unique, fun, and creepy vibe that sets it apart from similar roguelite titles, others find the visuals feel more like placeholders than a fully polished artistic vision, causing occasional moments of boredom. Overall, the atmosphere is effective but may divide players based on aesthetic expectations.
- “You can talk about the gameplay, how it holds up to similar titles, but ultimately it was the atmosphere and aesthetic which stuck with me.”
- “Loved the sound effects and ambient music; it has a fun and weird atmosphere.”
- “A really great roguelike FPS with simple graphics that really works to emphasize the atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is subdued and creepy, but honestly the game looks more like a lot of placeholders than a fully realized artistic vision.”
- “Soundtracks are ambient and don't lighten the mood (might be part of the atmosphere but it makes you feel bored at times).”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's optimization is uneven, with generally good performance on low-end machines but noticeable lag during certain procedurally generated levels. This inconsistency can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences, detracting from overall enjoyment.
- “Cool artstyle and beautiful performance on low-end machines.”
- “Because everything is procedurally generated, your performance can vary depending on the luck of the level, but the game mostly involves shooting simple polygons.”
- “Because everything is procedurally generated, your performance can be hit or miss depending on the luck of the level, but you're just shooting blah blah looking polygons.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game is praised for its excellent stability, being virtually bug-free and running smoothly. Users find it reliable and worth the investment.
- “It's awesome and worth your money; it's bug free.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is somewhat amusing but feels a bit empty and underdeveloped. With some additions and tweaks, it has the potential to become much funnier.
- “Just add and change some things here and there and I bet the game will be even funnier than it already is.”