Skullgirls 2nd Encore

Skullgirls 2nd Encore is an expanded version of the hand-drawn 2D fighting game Skullgirls. It focuses on duels, character-specific special attacks and freely assembled teams. The battles combine cartoon-style animation with a Dark Deco game world and music by Michiru Yamane.

The 2nd Encore edition adds, among other things, fully voiced character stories, challenges, combo trials and a survival mode. Today's Steam version carries the name of the expanded edition.

Today's Steam listing under app ID 245170 first appeared on Aug 22, 2013 as Skullgirls. The expanded 2nd Encore edition first came out for PlayStation 4 in North America on July 7, 2015. For the German PlayStation Store, July 21, 2015 is given. The PS Vita version followed on April 5, 2016, and Nintendo Switch on Oct 22, 2019. The Xbox One version carries a store date of July 19, 2023. Microsoft lists Xbox Series X|S as a compatible device, without a standalone native Series release.

On PC, the original store entry was later upgraded to 2nd Encore for free. The first Steam date therefore reflects the product's history, not the standalone release of the 2nd Encore edition, which did not yet exist at that time.

Skullgirls 2nd Encore is available on PC (Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux), PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One, and according to Microsoft also playable on Xbox Series X|S. PS4 and PS Vita were offered as cross-buy products. Microsoft lists Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on the same product page, but this does not confirm a separate native Series release.

PS4 games can in some cases also run on PS5 without appearing there as a separate native PS5 release. Likewise, the compatibility with Switch 2 listed on Nintendo's store is not a separate Switch 2 release. Historical PlayStation cross-play details explicitly apply to PS3, PS4 and Vita and should not be transferred to the other platforms.

The combat system combines fast ground duels, aerial attacks, special moves and long combos. Players can fight with a single character or choose a team whose members complement each other through assists and switches. Each character has their own attack speed, different reach and special tools: Filia, for example, works with living hair, while Peacock relies more on unusual ranged attacks.

Hits must be set up and the opponent's attacks must be blocked properly. Those who just mash buttons quickly hit limits. The flexibility in team size and the different character roles, however, allow both an easy start with one character and demanding team strategies.

The original 2nd Encore release combined the additional fighters and new game modes of the time. The offering was later expanded: Annie, Umbrella, Black Dahlia and Marie are the four playable characters of the Season 1 Pass. Each brings its own moves, stages, color variants and additional character content.

On Steam, the fighters can be bought individually or through the Season 1 Pass. The historical "2nd Encore Upgrade", sold separately, is not another new character and became obsolete after the later change to the PC base game. An edition with the Season 1 Pass should be distinguished from the standard version.

Skullgirls 2nd Encore is technically fairly undemanding. The Steam minimum requirements list a dual-core processor, 2 GB RAM, Intel HD 3000 graphics, a broadband internet connection for online features and 14 GB free space. Steam still lists Windows, macOS and Linux as operating systems; the minimum OS versions shown partly come from the game's older product history.

On Windows, you should check the current Steam client requirements: since January 2024, the client only supports Windows 10 and later. A separate, reliably listed recommended hardware configuration is not included in the store excerpt used here.

Skullgirls 2nd Encore adds combo trials and special challenges to the regular tutorials. The trials set fixed input sequences, while the challenges require fights under special conditions. In Survival mode, increasingly strong AI opponents follow one another. These modes teach the mechanics and provide lasting goals beyond regular matches.

Skullgirls offers local matches and online fights with GGPO rollback netcode. Nintendo lists two people on one console and online lobbies with up to eight participants for the Switch version. Microsoft lists local two-player multiplayer and two to eight online participants. A lobby with eight members is not a fight with eight characters active at once.

The historical cross-play between PS3, PS4 and PS Vita was confirmed by Lab Zero. This does not mean there is general cross-platform matchmaking between PC, Nintendo and Xbox.