Hands on with the Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo Press Demo

If you are a fan of the top down 2D Legend of Zelda titles such as A Link to the Past, Link’s Awakening, The Oracle Series, then Pocket Trap’s Pipistrello and the Curse Yoyo should be right up your alley. Recently the studio revealed the game’s release date as well as a public demo. We were fortunate enough to be granted access to an even meatier demo of the game and I’m gonna tell you all about it!

The public demo featured three vertical slices from the final game, the first is the game’s prologue which shows you how the protagonist Pippit got into this mess. It basically serves as a tutorial. The next chunk takes you to the territory of Slime Tycoon, the construction magnate who is part of the quartet who wrought ruin upon your family. The third slice is a boss battle with Don Mauretti, the owner of the largest mall in the city and the purveyor of fast food. The press demo is actually the prologue and the entire Don Mauretti experience.

Although the public demo seems to imply you have some leeway on the order you tackle the four Dons, the press demo sets a curated path to Old Rattalia Town, where Plaza Roquefort is situated. As you march towards the palace of consumerism, your route isn’t exactly a straight one, plenty of blockades will hinder you as you’ll need to navigate these urban streets and even the sewers to reach your destination. One thing I noticed is the game almost dares you to perform sequence breaks, batteries which can be used to toggle devices largely can be removed from their intended area and can be used in other puzzles. Another instance is the police station section, where in order to proceed in a nearby sewer Pippit would need to secure a National ID. In my run because my curiosity led me into the Police Station first, I managed to get the ID before even finding out why I needed it. So I’m suspecting speedrunners and the likes are gonna have a fun time with the title.

Like any good adventurer, you’ll need a trusty weapon to go on your crusade, for someone who is as unmotivated as Pippit, his trusty tool is his yoyo. Sure it also happens to be imbued with the fraction of his aunt’s soul, but trust me it is versatile! The Yo Yo can best be compared to the hook shot in the Zelda titles, it can retrieve useful items, trigger switches, but what differentiates it from the latter is the Yo Yo will pierce through enemies and when hitting an angled wall ricochet and continue flying. It makes each battle arena feel almost like a billiards table, where a good sense of geometry will make battles extra flashy…although when the game throws a high number of enemies at you, any plans will go out the window and you’re probably gonna just start swinging til every enemy is gone!

It also wouldn’t be a yoyo if you didn’t have access to some tricks. Exploring Old Rattalia town I was able to secure a flurry attack which put the hurt on enemies in front of you, walking the dog will allow you to traverse the numerous bodies of water littered around town…and some indoor spaces. While not tied to the yoyo, a parry will knock back bullets and even some charging enemies.

As you explore the city, you’ll likely run into your cousins Pepita and Pippo. They treat Pippit rather formally, but nonetheless the duo manages two aspects of the game which are crucial to your quest.

Pepita will offer upgrade contracts which will grant stat boosts and new abilities…at a cost. The funny thing is due to her germophobia, she won’t take the money currently in your wallet, but rather will dock any future earnings you will accrue in your travels. Also some contracts while being paid off will apply negative effects on you, so you might not want to rush into a boss battle while you haven’t fulfilled your debts.

Pippo, who normally is part of the RnD department of Pipistrello Industry will help you craft badges from blueprints as well as upgrade them so they are more effective or lower their bp cost. What are badges you say? They are items which can be equipped that will grant abilities such as showcasing enemy health, enhancing attack strength, and expanding your traversal options. Mix and match badges for the situation. Know you’re going into a tough battle, equip strength enhancing badges. Want to make some fat stacks? Equip badges which increases the radius which money will be attracted to you and a badge which decreases how much money you lost upon death.

While it posits itself as Yoyovania, I certainly see a lot more in common with action adventure Zelda titles i mentioned earlier. Throughout your journey you’ll be able to expand your life points and badge points by collecting petal containers and BP shards. You’ll even be able to secure popcorn to rile up the local pigeons to attack anything in the vicinity…much like the cuccos.

So the demo we were provided could be finished within 2-3 hours, but I found myself being way more diligent than I needed to and before I finally put down the controller I’ve already clocked in nearly 7 hours and the in-game tracker claimed I had a 49% completion rate. One would think that if you can get that high a completion rate in a demo the game is dangerously short, but Pocket Trap has been pretty transparent about the game’s length, revealing at the end of the public demo that this game will take about roughly 12+ hours. I will say there are some secrets hidden away and some platforming challenges which will definitely increase your hour count, but generally I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in New Jolt City so far and look forward to seeing the other districts in the near future.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo will be coming to PC, Switch and PlayStation 5 on May 28th, 2025.