The Game Census
Skul: The Hero Slayer cover art

Skul: The Hero Slayer

SOUTHPAW GAMES · NEOWIZ · 2021-01-20

SteamPlayStation StoreEpic Games StoreAmazonMicrosoft Store

ActionIndie

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: Side view

Releases: Oct 21, 2021 (Xbox One), Oct 20, 2021 (PlayStation 4), Jun 04, 2024 (Android), Jun 04, 2024 (iOS), Oct 21, 2021 (Nintendo Switch), Jan 20, 2021 (Linux)

Guide 'Skul' on his quest to single-handedly take on the Imperial Army and rescue his King from captivity, in an action-packed rogue-lite 2D platformer for the ages.

Skul: The Hero Slayer is an Action, Indie game released in 2021, priced at $19.99, with an estimated 1,000,000 .. 2,000,000 owners and a Very Positive review sentiment (93% of 57613 reviews).

340
playing now
93%
positive of 58k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
1,000,000–2,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
0
twitch viewers (latest)
81/100
critic score (3 outlets, IGDB)
67/100
IGDB user rating (34 ratings)
4.20★
PlayStation Store rating (7,021 ratings)
82/100
opencritic · strong · 93% recommend · from 40 critics
39h
to beat · rushed 20h · completionist 62h
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Verified
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$19.99
steam price (US)

340 players in-game as of 2026-10-15 02:00 UTC (census sample)

Skul: The Hero Slayer is a roguelike-action platformer developed by SouthPAW Games and published by Neowiz. The game was released on January 21, 2021 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux, and launched on October 21, 2021 for Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4. A version for Android and iOS was released on June 4, 2024. In the game, players control a skeleton named Skul as he attempts to save demonkind from their enemies, the heroes. The player can swap Skul's head for different skulls, granting new combat abilities across randomly-generated levels. The game received positive reviews on release.

Trailer

Skul: The Hero Slayer trailer thumbnail

Skul: The Hero Slayer - Official Launch Trailer

≈342,814 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 340 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 1,323 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~165/week).
  • · Review velocity down 33% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Current weekly pace is under 5% of the all-time peak week (4,258 reviews).
  • · Top 2% of 27,808 Action games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 1.2M–2.6M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 57,709 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

Microsoft Store$9.99-50%

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $9.99 at Steam (2023-01-12)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $19.99 · on sale 33 of 69 observed days · at its all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
4.0k4.0k20202026Week of 2020-02-01: 1,714 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 132 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 1,304 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 67 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 349 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 444 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 497 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 42 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 741 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 52 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 319 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 608 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 205 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 738 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 310 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 3,954 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 304 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 2,891 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 178 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 1,937 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 137 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 915 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 69 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 633 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 50 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 760 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 94 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 1,139 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 107 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 647 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 45 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 475 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 697 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 59 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 2,590 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 68 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 767 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 62 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 697 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 958 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 110 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 627 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 76 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 421 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 38 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 589 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 595 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 99 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 505 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 44 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 742 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 576 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 47 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 423 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 36 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 459 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 500 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 35 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 1,726 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 231 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 645 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 79 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 768 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 66 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 589 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 63 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 377 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 374 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 360 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 334 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 298 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 399 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 1,336 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 86 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 771 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 93 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 872 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 75 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 562 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 46 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 626 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 704 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 74 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 508 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 53 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 414 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 526 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 45 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 332 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 339 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 26 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 286 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 318 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 347 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 36 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 308 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 255 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 368 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 253 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 297 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 290 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 307 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 32 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 215 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 172 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 171 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 215 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 196 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 227 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 158 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 185 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 135 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 150 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 160 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 155 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 143 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2026-09-01: 116 positiveWeek of 2026-09-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2026-10-01: 58 positiveWeek of 2026-10-01: 4 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

9182032026-09-15 12:00 — 621 players2026-09-16 20:00 — 292 players2026-09-18 03:00 — 413 players2026-09-19 11:00 — 882 players2026-09-20 18:00 — 439 players2026-09-22 02:00 — 434 players2026-09-23 10:00 — 546 players2026-09-24 17:00 — 462 players2026-09-26 01:00 — 332 players2026-09-27 08:00 — 695 players2026-09-28 16:00 — 528 players2026-09-29 23:00 — 214 players2026-10-01 07:00 — 508 players2026-10-02 14:00 — 818 players2026-10-03 22:00 — 292 players2026-10-05 06:00 — 633 players2026-10-06 13:00 — 789 players2026-10-07 21:00 — 203 players2026-10-09 04:00 — 543 players2026-10-10 12:00 — 805 players2026-10-11 20:00 — 303 players2026-10-13 03:00 — 344 players2026-10-14 11:00 — 559 players2026-10-15 02:00 — 340 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
4.9k206Feb 2020Aug 2026Feb 2020 — avg 1,772 · peak 3,608Apr 2020 — avg 244 · peak 934Jun 2020 — avg 404 · peak 1,815Aug 2020 — avg 377 · peak 1,121Oct 2020 — avg 231 · peak 548Dec 2020 — avg 206 · peak 479Feb 2021 — avg 4,876 · peak 14,281Apr 2021 — avg 1,962 · peak 4,451Jun 2021 — avg 1,525 · peak 5,712Aug 2021 — avg 1,237 · peak 2,594Oct 2021 — avg 1,238 · peak 2,840Dec 2021 — avg 1,286 · peak 2,743Feb 2022 — avg 2,102 · peak 5,156Apr 2022 — avg 1,065 · peak 2,770Jun 2022 — avg 1,775 · peak 3,858Aug 2022 — avg 2,014 · peak 4,895Oct 2022 — avg 1,105 · peak 2,275Dec 2022 — avg 1,204 · peak 4,576Feb 2023 — avg 3,008 · peak 6,825Apr 2023 — avg 1,954 · peak 4,206Jun 2023 — avg 1,169 · peak 2,337Aug 2023 — avg 893 · peak 1,908Oct 2023 — avg 1,077 · peak 2,645Dec 2023 — avg 2,975 · peak 8,430Feb 2024 — avg 1,657 · peak 3,880Apr 2024 — avg 2,494 · peak 6,429Jun 2024 — avg 1,308 · peak 2,822Aug 2024 — avg 962 · peak 2,119Oct 2024 — avg 1,008 · peak 2,156Dec 2024 — avg 978 · peak 2,061Feb 2025 — avg 913 · peak 1,906Apr 2025 — avg 847 · peak 1,858Jun 2025 — avg 853 · peak 1,894Aug 2025 — avg 670 · peak 1,429Oct 2025 — avg 569 · peak 1,206Dec 2025 — avg 632 · peak 1,391Feb 2026 — avg 563 · peak 1,312Apr 2026 — avg 492 · peak 1,017Jun 2026 — avg 517 · peak 1,070Aug 2026 — avg 470 · peak 912
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Chart history

PositiveNegative
10102026-09-212026-10-132026-09-21: 10 new positive2026-09-21: 1 new negative2026-09-22: 7 new positive2026-09-22: 2 new negative2026-09-23: 2 new positive2026-09-24: 8 new positive2026-09-27: 6 new positive2026-09-28: 5 new positive2026-09-28: 1 new negative2026-09-30: 1 new positive2026-09-30: 1 new negative2026-10-01: 1 new positive2026-10-02: 5 new positive2026-10-03: 3 new positive2026-10-03: 1 new negative2026-10-04: 7 new positive2026-10-04: 1 new negative2026-10-05: 4 new positive2026-10-06: 2 new positive2026-10-06: 1 new negative2026-10-07: 3 new positive2026-10-08: 5 new positive2026-10-08: 1 new negative2026-10-09: 7 new positive2026-10-11: 4 new positive2026-10-11: 1 new negative2026-10-12: 3 new positive2026-10-13: 2 new positive
New Steam reviews per day (census review snapshots). Positive above the line, negative below.

Price history

$19.99$9.992020-02-192026-10-152020-02-19 — best price $14.392020-07-16 — best price $12.592020-12-15 — best price $19.992021-03-17 — best price $19.992021-09-17 — best price $19.992021-12-04 — best price $19.992022-02-23 — best price $17.992022-05-18 — best price $19.992022-08-05 — best price $13.992022-10-14 — best price $12.992022-12-13 — best price $12.992023-02-25 — best price $15.992023-04-14 — best price $11.992023-06-16 — best price $11.992023-08-01 — best price $10.992023-11-04 — best price $19.992024-01-15 — best price $11.992024-03-07 — best price $10.992024-05-01 — best price $9.992024-06-21 — best price $11.592024-08-17 — best price $19.992024-09-28 — best price $19.992024-11-21 — best price $9.992025-01-07 — best price $11.592025-03-03 — best price $9.992025-05-06 — best price $11.422025-08-04 — best price $9.992025-11-04 — best price $19.992026-01-23 — best price $19.992026-04-22 — best price $9.992026-07-11 — best price $19.992026-09-10 — best price $19.992026-10-15 — best price $9.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

74152026-05-29 — 24 pageviews2026-06-02 — 31 pageviews2026-06-06 — 31 pageviews2026-06-10 — 44 pageviews2026-06-14 — 27 pageviews2026-06-18 — 23 pageviews2026-06-22 — 28 pageviews2026-06-26 — 39 pageviews2026-06-30 — 32 pageviews2026-07-04 — 31 pageviews2026-07-08 — 32 pageviews2026-07-12 — 33 pageviews2026-07-16 — 33 pageviews2026-07-20 — 21 pageviews2026-07-24 — 24 pageviews2026-07-28 — 30 pageviews2026-08-01 — 37 pageviews2026-08-05 — 35 pageviews2026-08-09 — 34 pageviews2026-08-13 — 25 pageviews2026-08-17 — 37 pageviews2026-08-21 — 33 pageviews2026-08-25 — 30 pageviews2026-08-29 — 33 pageviews2026-09-02 — 33 pageviews2026-09-06 — 29 pageviews2026-09-10 — 17 pageviews2026-09-14 — 59 pageviews2026-09-18 — 39 pageviews2026-09-22 — 38 pageviews2026-09-26 — 33 pageviews2026-09-30 — 31 pageviews2026-10-04 — 25 pageviews2026-10-07 — 34 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Twitch viewers

1202026-10-01 05:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-01 14:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-01 23:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-02 08:34 — 2 viewers2026-10-02 17:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-03 02:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-03 11:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-03 20:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-04 22:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-05 07:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-05 16:34 — 10 viewers2026-10-06 17:34 — 3 viewers2026-10-07 02:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-07 11:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-07 20:34 — 7 viewers2026-10-08 21:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-09 06:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-09 15:34 — 1 viewers2026-10-10 15:34 — 5 viewers2026-10-11 00:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-11 09:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-11 18:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-12 19:34 — 1 viewers2026-10-13 04:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-13 13:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-14 13:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-14 22:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-15 04:34 — 0 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Completion

60+
achievements tracked
91.2%
earned "The Legend Begins"
27.5%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsmacOSLinuxFull controller supportSingle-playerFull controller supportSteam CloudRemote Play on PhoneRemote Play on TabletRemote Play on TVFamily Sharing2 DLC

11 supported languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, German, French, Spanish - Spain, Russian, Traditional Chinese, Portuguese - Brazil, Polish

Post-launch support: 2 DLC released, first 2021-01-20, latest 2023-11-16 (Steam store data)

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
PS4 (PlayStation)20,9515%24
Steam (Steam)16,7011%101
Xbox One, Windows (Xbox)11,6182%23
Switch (Nintendo)980%0

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

2DIndieActionAdventureDifficultPlatformerRogue-likeRogue-liteMetroidvaniaSingleplayer

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Toby: The Secret MinePLANET ALPHAForgotton AnnePikunikuSemblanceDream AloneUnbound: Worlds ApartApsulov: End of Gods

Similarity via IGDB.

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