Skullgirls 2nd Encore

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Skullgirls 2nd Encore is a single player and multiplayer fighting game. It was developed by Hidden Variable Studios and was released on August 22, 2013. It received positive reviews from players.

"Skullgirls 2nd Encore" is a stylish 2D fighting game set in a Dark Deco world, featuring 14 distinct characters with unique mechanics. The game offers a fully voiced story mode, impressive animation, and a soundtrack by Michiru Yamane, providing an engaging experience for both casual and competitive players.

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88%

Audience ScoreBased on 11,729 reviews

gameplay600 positive mentions

stability13 negative mentions

gameplay
1,373 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
54%
2%
The gameplay of Skullgirls is widely praised for its depth, fluidity, and engaging mechanics, drawing comparisons to classic fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom. Players appreciate the extensive tutorials that cater to both newcomers and veterans, allowing for a smooth learning curve while offering complex strategies for advanced play. Despite some criticisms regarding character balance and the impact of recent updates, the overall consensus is that the gameplay remains solid, enjoyable, and rewarding, making it a standout title in the fighting game genre.
- “Incredible character design and animations, challenging gameplay with tons of room for expression and a bangin' soundtrack.”
- “The gameplay is incredibly engaging.”
- “Skullgirls is one of the most mechanically rich and in-depth fighting games on the market, the sprite work is on another level, the netcode is flawless, and the creativity of characters is second to none in the genre.”
- “The gameplay itself is really something special, having 6 attack buttons for every character all with their own supers and combos, though a lot of those combos will take place in the air.”
- “The gameplay is either enjoyable or not enjoyable depending on your skill, but overall still a fun game to play.”
- “The gameplay is solid, but I personally prefer fighters that are less combo-heavy and more grounded.”
story
1,307 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
63%
3%
The story of "Skullgirls" is generally well-received, with many players appreciating the unique character backstories and the intertwining narratives that add depth to the gameplay. However, some criticisms arise regarding the brevity of the story modes, which can feel rushed or lacking in detail, and recent censorship changes that have altered key story elements, particularly concerning the character Big Band. Overall, while the game offers engaging lore and character development, the execution of the story mode may leave some players wanting more.
- “Amazing storyline and unique fighting mechanics.”
- “The characters are cool to look at and fun to play, and the story is actually really fun to engage with.”
- “The story mode is very interesting: each character has its own background and you fight (almost) different enemies in every story.”
- “The story mode is pretty standard: the player gets a figurative monorail ride across several fight encounters as the character's narrative unfolds; nothing much out of the ordinary there.”
- “The story mode doesn't really have much replayability and my other complaint I really have with the game is that most of the content like extra characters and costumes are blocked behind the 2nd encore season pass DLC which is 34.99, which is kinda crazy for just a few characters.”
- “The story is about as interesting as a fighting game's story can get, and the characters at least seem to have weaknesses and strengths (or that's just how I play versus how others play); this can be either an amazing or awful thing for certain people.”
graphics
1,085 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
38%
1%
The graphics of "Skullgirls" are widely praised for their stunning hand-drawn art style, vibrant character designs, and fluid animations, which contribute to a unique and visually appealing experience. Many players appreciate the game's charming aesthetic, which combines elements of 1920s art deco with modern anime influences, although some express concerns over recent censorship changes that have altered the original artwork. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, enhancing both the gameplay and the overall atmosphere of the game.
- “The art style and animation by a previous employee Mariel Cartwright is brilliant and have recently become more aware and a fan of her awesome art.”
- “Skullgirls is a beautiful game, the art style is really cool, it's a bit of an anime breed but mostly it's original cartoony art style, designs themselves are very original to this day.”
- “The visuals are stunning, and the character designs are creative and memorable.”
- “Removing old versions of the game and the original artwork that people paid for and making it impossible to play the game the way it looked back in 2012 is not okay.”
- “They have censored and sanitized the artwork - the gameplay has been severely degraded as well.”
- “While the core mechanics and art style still shine through, the alterations and lack of transparency have sullied the overall experience.”
music
852 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
38%
1%
The music in "Skullgirls" is widely praised for its exceptional quality, featuring a jazzy soundtrack composed by Michiru Yamane, known for her work on the Castlevania series. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack's ability to enhance the game's atmosphere, with many tracks being described as catchy, memorable, and fitting for the game's unique art style and character designs. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature that significantly contributes to the game's charm and appeal.
- “The soundtrack is sublime.”
- “The music is so snazzy and catchy too!”
- “The soundtrack is also top-notch, with a mix of catchy and memorable tunes that complement the action on screen.”
- “The soundtrack does not disappoint, fitting the stage and gameplay, but the tracks don't really stand out too much from each other and are forgettable if you're not crazy about music.”
- “The gameplay, music, and graphics feel like they have been made for three different games, totally unrelated, then just thrown together.”
- “While having the most bumping big band and jazz music ever, the music is a mix between symphony and jazz and fits the mood perfectly.”
character development
226 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
66%
33%
1%
Character development in "Skullgirls" is widely praised for its unique and vibrant character designs, which blend a hand-drawn aesthetic with diverse personalities and backstories. Reviewers highlight the fluid animations and distinct playstyles that reflect each character's individuality, contributing to an engaging gameplay experience. However, some critiques mention the sexualization of character designs, which may not appeal to all players, yet many appreciate the depth and creativity behind the characters and their narratives.
- “The character designs are phenomenal and it feels so good to play and land combos.”
- “The art style, character design, combat system, and music in this game is just stellar.”
- “The character design, from their look to their moves, is outstanding, and more fighting games should put as much effort into their characters as was clearly put into Skullgirls.”
- “The bizarre character designs and jerky animations can make some of the action hard to follow for the uninitiated, combined with a... shall we say 'quirky' meta revolving around burst baiting and combo resets.”
- “Another thing is that there's a few character designs that make me slightly uncomfortable, some are a bit too sexual, some kinda gross with like blood and goopy noises coming from every attack, yuck.”
- “I am also not a fan of the over-sexualization of the character designs, particularly with how child-like many of them are.”
humor
172 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
99%
1%
The humor in this game is widely praised for its cleverness and variety, featuring everything from dark and satirical jokes to lighthearted, quirky character interactions. Players appreciate the unique and often absurd character designs, funny animations, and witty dialogue that contribute to an overall entertaining experience. Despite some criticism regarding changes made by new developers, the game's humor remains a standout aspect, making it enjoyable for both casual and dedicated players.
- “This game is the best, every time I play the game the announcer makes me crack up; it is hilarious.”
- “The humor is probably the best I've seen in a fighting game.”
- “With a brilliant and awesome art style, diverse and well-designed characters—some of whom are hilarious—and a mostly fair combo system, you should not overlook this little gem.”
- “The devs are a complete joke, an unfunny circus.”
replayability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
57%
10%
The game's replayability is highly praised, particularly in multiplayer modes, where players find endless enjoyment and creativity, leading to significant playtime. While the single-player experience is considered shorter and less engaging, the inclusion of various modes, an art gallery, and achievements adds to its overall replay value. Players recommend it for its fun mechanics and engaging content, especially when played with friends.
- “I really enjoy the story mode, the art is amazing, the controls aren't terribly difficult to grasp, and there's loads of replay value added by the in-game art gallery (and the Steam achievements, if you care about those).”
- “Not only do I love the style of this game, but it plays just as great as it looks - I play games for the sake of replayability and enjoyable longevity through creativity, and I have almost 400 hours in this game at the time of writing this, which is more than I've put into any game that I've ever played.”
- “Once you're done with that, the randomized arcade ladder, multiplayer, and practice modes should provide you with all the hours of replayability you could ever want.”
- “The CPU on the hardest level is not that difficult, so it limits the game's replayability unless you can find someone to play with.”
- “The story mode doesn't really have much replayability, and my other complaint is that most of the content like extra characters and costumes are blocked behind the 2nd Encore DLC, which is $14.99, which is kind of crazy for a DLC.”
- “This is a wonderful experience if you have a friend to play with or a couple for that matter; that is where the replay value comes in for me.”
emotional
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is deeply resonant, with players expressing a range of feelings from joy to heartbreak as they engage with the characters' unique and in-depth storylines. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke tears through its charming yet dark lore, as well as the heartfelt connections formed with the characters. Despite some controversies surrounding the game's development, the emotional investment and the creators' dedication to the community have left a lasting impact on fans.
- “This game made me cry.”
- “All the characters are unique, and the storyline for each of them is very in-depth, lots of lore and ranges from funny to touching.”
- “Her story mode was an emotional roller-coaster, oscillating between hilarious scenes that had me laughing out loud and moments that had me almost crying.”
optimization
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
73%
13%
14%
Skullgirls is highly praised for its exceptional optimization, allowing it to run smoothly on a wide range of hardware, including older and low-spec computers. Players report no frame drops or performance issues, even during intense gameplay, and the controls are well-suited for various input devices. Overall, the game delivers a stellar performance, enhancing the fun and accessibility for both casual and hardcore players.
- “This game is very beautiful, amazingly optimized, and super fun!”
- “The game deserves acclaim for the lovingly made aesthetics, gameplay, online experience, and great optimization for even a 7+ year old laptop.”
- “Skullgirls is a really well optimized and stylized game that brings nothing new to the fighting genre.”
- “Most characters at their most optimized can kill in two touches.”
- “+not extremely demanding, optimized very well for AMD & Intel systems.”
- “Smooth combo system, with no awkward order input; all attacks are easy to execute, so there won't be weird orders such as pushing jump to perform a combo chain.”
atmosphere
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
34%
14%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its vibrant worldbuilding, unique art style, and engaging soundtrack, which blends elements of jazz, funk, and a 1920-30s mob film aesthetic. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to create a colorful and inviting environment that enhances both the gameplay and storytelling, with smooth animations and well-crafted stages that contribute to the overall experience. The combination of creative character designs and a fitting musical backdrop solidifies the game's atmosphere as a standout feature.
- “This game earns full marks in the atmosphere/aesthetic category.”
- “The background characters as well as the scenery are all fantastic and contribute greatly to the game's incredible atmosphere.”
- “The stage themselves are kept very simple, as to not distract from the gameplay, but was also given enough attention to so that each stage keeps a certain atmosphere that the players can appreciate.”
- “If the game secretly slips in the violent imaginations from Neoscavenger (it's text-based if you didn't figure it out), the atmosphere wouldn't change that much.”
- “The atmosphere is inviting and flashy, the music is snazzy and classy, and the animations are as smooth and beautiful as the characters.”
stability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
65%
Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag; while many players report smooth performance and minimal bugs, others encounter significant issues such as glitches during cutscenes, buggy tutorials, and problems with pausing the game. Some users appreciate the ongoing bug fixes, but the presence of persistent glitches and unpolished elements detracts from the experience for others. Despite these issues, the game runs well on low-end machines, indicating a generally stable performance.
- “Great game, amazing frame by frame animations runs great even on a low-end machine!”
- “My Zotac CI320 runs this game smoothly -- that's a super cheap Celeron box I use to run XBMC and occasionally stream games, but this game runs great on that tiny machine.”
- “The game also runs great, there's no drops in framerate anywhere to be seen and it looks amazing.”
- “On a high quality game, the controls are quite difficult and buggy.”
- “Its great except for the fact that when I pause the game and unpause it, it glitches out and none of the variable files unpause, so time and health stay constant.”
- “Just a word of advice: still a little glitchy, sometimes the game freezes on my cutscenes (this is very frustrating after beating a boss), causing the game to have to be manually exited out of, and it does little to explain what keys or buttons are which kicks and punches.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
89%
Reviews highlight a mixed experience with grinding in the game. While some players find the grinding process engaging and rewarding, allowing for skill improvement and mastery of mechanics, others note it can be tedious, especially when having to restart stories or facing a steep difficulty curve against seasoned players. Overall, the game offers a substantial amount of content for those willing to invest time, but it may feel overwhelming for newcomers.
- “The grinding aspect of the game can be quite extensive, requiring 60 to 100 hours to fully experience everything it has to offer.”
- “While the grind can be time-consuming, it adds a rewarding layer to the gameplay that keeps you engaged.”
- “I appreciate the depth of grinding in this game; it encourages exploration and mastery over time.”
- “There's always something to learn and grind about this game, whether it be basic moves to advanced techs or challenges or characters you've never played; I literally spent the past hour and a half grinding on one tutorial because I was trying to get the timing down for air chains, which are like the equivalent of aerial combos in Smash, loosely speaking.”
- “And if you are brand new, know that people have been grinding for like 3 years at this point, so you probably won't even be able to hit them and they will reset you 100 times until you die.”
- “Then you start grinding arcade on nightmare with the character(s) of your choice, smashing your head against the stainless steel wall that is Red Marie.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
The monetization model of the game features in-game purchases that unlock the full character roster, which some players may find frustrating, especially given the presence of microtransactions in the mobile version. While the game is recommended for its quality, there are concerns about predatory DLC practices and in-game ads, suggesting a mixed reception regarding its monetization strategy.
- “I decided I wanted to invest in buying the game after trying the mobile version (a lot of microtransactions in that one, but free-to-play). When I saw it on special, I booted it up.”
- “It does suck that the full character roster is blocked by an in-game purchase, but that's fine by me.”
- “Now with the super predatory cash grab DLCs and stuff, avoid it.”
- “Although some may have a problem with in-game purchases, I'd still recommend it either way.”