The Void is a twilight place between the world of the living and the world of the dead – a region that gathers souls that have been lost on their last journey. One such soul is Skaramazuzu – not his real name, but one bestowed upon him by a divine figure known as the Master.

The Master has bestowed a quest upon Skaramazuzu, and he’ll need to see it through if he ever wants to leave the Void or recover his memories of life.

Explore the Void in visually appealing scenery

Skaramazuzu is a sidescrolling adventure game which follows the titular protagonist as he explores the Void and helps out other lost souls in hope of finding the Orbs he needs to move on.

The puzzles are quite simple – generally requiring the player to find a hidden object or manipulate dials to match some pattern. It’s the kind of gameplay that’s unlikely to leave anyone stuck for long.

The main draw in Skaramazuzu is the setting. The rooms that comprise the Void are hand-drawn and largely in black and white, giving the game a ghostly feel. The other characters in the Void are an odd and often whimsical lot, as is Skaramazuzu himself.

Skaramazuzu: frightening feeling

Indeed, while the graphics contain some horror elements, the overall feel is far more surreal than frightening and you shouldn’t be surprised to see your vaguely demonic protagonist cracking jokes with other characters and even inanimate objects.

Skaramazuzu is a short and easy experience, one that’s unlikely to last more than a single session. There’s very little action to be seen, so it’s really only a suitable choice if your audience has an appreciation for unusual visual design.

Skaramazuzu

PC (2024)

Performance

Streamability

Audience Engagement

Replayability

Summary

Skaramazuzu is a short, easy adventure game that relies on its visual design to compensate for its brevity.

2.6

STEAM

Drew Johnston

ANDREW JOHNSTON is a teacher, writer and journalist based out of mainland Asia. He is a regular contributor to Superjump Magazine, where he specializes in independent video games and the gaming culture of East Asia. He has published short fiction in 30 markets and anthologies including Daily Science Fiction, Nature: Futures and the Laughing at Shadows Anthology.