Squally

About

Squally is a single player role playing game. It was developed by zcanann and was released on July 22, 2023. It received positive reviews from players.

Squally is a 2D puzzle RPG game that teaches video game hacking -- WITHOUT boring lessons, lectures, nor the need for prior experience. Instead, Squally teaches hacking through fun engaging puzzles where learning is a by-product.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+28

Skip User Reviews

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 93 reviews

music2 positive mentions

grinding1 negative mentions

Effective and fun way to learn basic assembly language and game hacking concepts through interactive gameplay and puzzles.
Engaging mini card game (Hexus) that helps reinforce understanding of binary and hexadecimal concepts.
The game has a charming and immersive atmosphere with relaxing music, enjoyable story elements, and an active community supporting learning.

The game is incomplete and feels unfinished, lacking depth, advanced challenges, and comprehensive in-game documentation.
Contains bugs, occasional crashes, and technical issues, with limited developer support and slow updates.
Gameplay is slow-paced, repetitive, with excessive hand-holding and some players find the RPG elements tedious and detracting from the learning experience.

story
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
The story mode is praised for its unique integration of coding and hacking mechanics into an engaging narrative, motivating players to learn assembly and coding concepts while progressing through a quirky adventure. Although currently limited in length and content, it offers educational value alongside entertainment, with consistent updates anticipated. Some users note minor drawbacks like the inability to save, but overall, the story is seen as an intriguing and valuable experience for aspiring game hackers.
- “The story and characters are quirky and the 'hacking' mechanic is implemented in a way that isn't jarring and doesn't pull you out of the gaming experience.”
- “The story of you learning the 'magic of altering reality' suits the game very well and it has kept me motivated to keep on playing.”
- “It has a nice story that combines the main element of the game, which is the coding, with a fun little adventure that the player goes on.”
- “I haven't played story mode much since I can't save the game.”
- “Waiting for the main story updates takes quite a while.”
- “As of now, there's only about ~1 hour worth of content after they rolled the mini-games into story mode.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The gameplay features quirky story elements and a smoothly integrated hacking mechanic, though it may feel simplistic initially as deeper mechanics unlock over time. However, players report issues such as lack of tutorials, slow navigation, bugs, and poor optimization, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, puzzle elements help maintain engagement and prevent fatigue.
- “The story and characters are quirky and the 'hacking' mechanic is implemented in a way that isn't jarring and doesn't pull you out of the gaming experience.”
- “The mechanics of Hexus only really open up after playing for a while, so don't be discouraged by how simplistic the game seems at first.”
- “Squally does a good job of mixing in puzzles with gameplay to prevent 'education fatigue'.”
- “Lack of gameplay and documentation in the game.”
- “The gameplay looks raw, there are some small bugs, languages are literally Google translated, and I'm getting less FPS than in Minecraft on my Windows 8.1 8GB RAM laptop.”
- “I wouldn't recommend it as of now, the gameplay lacks tutorials, navigation around the map is slow and boring.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Users appreciate the immersive and calming music that enhances the game's atmosphere, with some enjoying the educational aspect of learning assembly bit by bit through gameplay. However, opinions vary as one user notes the absence of background music. Overall, the music contributes positively to the experience alongside engaging minigames and exploration.
- “Immersive music, beautiful surroundings, and best of all, you can learn assembly language bit by bit while playing.”
- “The calming music, the fun minigames (like the Gwent-style card game), the interesting rooms to explore, and the neat features involving low-level computer science.”
- “No background music!”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect is improved by allowing the use of external tools, reducing tedious searching and making the process more efficient and less repetitive.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is compromised by frequent bugs and repetitive, overly guided gameplay, which detracts from the overall experience.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect is described as wholesome, evoking warm and positive feelings that contribute to a heartfelt and uplifting experience.
graphics
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The graphics are praised for their charming and appealing aesthetic, which significantly enhances the overall experience.