For players of a certain age, the fondest Christmas mornings are synonymous with Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda franchise. Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link for the kids of 1988, Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 millennials, and Twilight Princess for anyone who didn’t crack open their Wii immediately in November 2006. Recapturing the thrill of unboxing a new Zelda game around the holidays is basically impossible these days — not just because you’re old. Since the launch of the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has preferred spring and fall launches for its marquee franchise. And I’m guessing most of us didn’t wait six months to play Breath of the Wild.
There are ways to recreate these moments for the next generation (I finally picked up Echoes of Wisdom for my seven-year-old to rip open this Christmas, shhhh), but you, gamer, deserve a present too. So do yourself a favor this holiday: Buy and download Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo, the best Zelda-like I played this year, but don’t “open” it until Christmas morning. Give yourself the gift of a great top-down adventure.
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo, from the São Paulo-based studio Pocket Trap, plays like a mix of the classic 2D Zelda games with a sprinkle of Metroidvania freedom. (I played it on Steam Deck, but it’s currently available on PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox platforms as well.) Robust with puzzles, clever design, and a banger score — with musical contributions from the legend Yoko Shimomura! — Cursed Yoyo is also one of the most pointed, but not overbearing, critiques of late-stage capitalism you’ll find in a game this year. Like A Link to the Past, the dungeons and central map compel you to find every nook and cranny, and in the case of this more modern game, unlock every notch on the skill tree. I rolled credits then rolled right into a New Game Plus.
Our hero Pippit is a bit of a prodigal son, spending his family’s millions as he rises through the ranks of yo-yo tournaments. During one visit to Pipistrello Industries HQ to ask for more allowance, he discovers bandits attacking his auntie, the big boss. Though her physical self perishes, the last vestige of her soul takes refuge in Pippit’s yo-yo, granting him the Navi-like companion he needs to investigate the attack and resurrect his aunt.
While the gameplay is the real hook of Cursed Yoyo, I found Pippit’s journey through the sunny cityscapes unexpectedly compelling; his auntie turns out to be more Ebenezer Scrooge than Midna from Twilight Princess, and his offensive against the lower-tier slumlords who stabbed her in the back makes it clear everyone at the top has been corrupted by greed. Zelda games often rely more on fantasy vibes than coherent lore and narrative, but I genuinely gasped at least once over the revelations of Cursed Yoyo’s story. No spoilers.
The literal tricks Pippit has up his sleeve are what will carry you to the end of Cursed Yoyo. As you meet quirky characters and conquer platforming challenges, Pippit will earn new abilities for his yo-yo, which doubles as the go-to weapon and grappling hook. How you combine moves, and notice the demands of the stages to apply those upgrades, is how Pocket Trap strikes that sweet spot between difficult and achievable. Nailing every puzzle on the first try is a bummer! Experimenting until you land the sequence on the fifth or 10th or 15th try is an accomplishment.
As Pippit acquires yo-yo tricks, the fun challenge becomes building a “loadout” that can carry you through the array of combat situations. Cursed Yoyo throws a number of adversaries at you until the very end, and knowing whether you need a Walk-the-Dog to knock them back or a Parry special is more based on personal preference than the game’s own guardrails. Environmental designs full of diagonal surfaces and easy-to-miss pathways add an extra layer to combat, allowing you to time yo-yo throws for precision ranged attacks.
The game’s accessibility features allow you to crank up the difficulty — e.g., Pippit can lose X number of coins after a death, inching you closer to rage over your failure, or not — or Cat’s Cradle your way through a more chilled-out adventure with fewer consequences. Pocket Trap ties its themes and difficulty settings altogether in the skill tree, which allows you to take on debt in order to level up. Want more room for power-up badges? That’ll run you a $1,300 tab with a two-heart collateral while you secure the funds.
Between penalties, negative effects, and the perils of Cursed Yoyo’s 2D open-ish world, Pocket Trap has designed the rare Zelda-like that can be customized to whatever level you want to play it at, and easy to pick up for five-minute or five-hour spurts. I did not experience the elation of discovering this game on a snowy Christmas morning and losing myself to it while snuggled up with a cup of cocoa. But that could be you. Jealooooous.
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is currently available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
