Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo news & patch notes

Hello everyone, Just wanted to drop a quick note that we are now officially Steam Deck Verified! Thanks so much for playing and for your amazing support! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/6b4d36e7c20f1014c60fd9410d121a5fc2042055.jpg

One day after launch, we wanted to say thank you so much for the support! As of now, our little yo-yo game is number 9 on MetaCritic's Top Rated Games of 2025! Cannot believe that was a sentence we typed. Especially thank you to everyone who has left a review for us on Steam-we truly appreciate it! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/7e477f1c78e796bf9424cda1bf50bdcf888cdc77.jpg Shoutout to the review about the fact Pipistrello does support PS5 adaptive triggers and controller lights! Thank you for noticing! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/43b18b6c18c803df044dcf8b342baa47bc119be9.jpg One question we are getting a lot is if Pipistrello is Steam Deck Verified. We are currently working on the official Verified status and waiting on the official seal from Valve, but the game is playable start to finish on the steam deck. Here's Pipistrello demonstrating: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/36f9cbfd416a4bc6c7395b4c5f2bf6e047c20dd4.jpg In addition, we are constantly monitoring player feedback for how to improve the game. Thank you all so much! Join the PM Studios Discord!

A special Soundtrack deserves special treatment, and we couldn't be more proud to partner with iam8bit to bring you this amazing vinyl release! 2xLP featuring Music by Leonardo Lima, Henrique Lorenzi and the Legendary Yoko Shimomura! Pre-order now! https://www.iam8bit.com/products/pipistrello-and-the-cursed-yoyo-2xlp {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/22b4240963a377ded5207eb1a2e85a8e361bb2bd.png

The day is finally here! It has been amazing to see the love and support from everyone. From all of us at Pocket Trap, thanks for being along for this ride and we hope you enjoy our little yoyo game! Please consider leaving a review-it really helps out! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/cbf0c98e3884b967bcf2ecca3615e448296ee4f7.jpg Shoutout to the two devs missing from the pic! Our writer: Tiago and Pixel Artist: Miguel Check out our launch trailer!

Coming in close to launch we want to show off all the (what we think are cool) display options in Pipistrello! We grew up playing Nintendo handheld games and love the experience. Some of us had cracked screens, dead pixels, and who could forget the horrible glare of trying to play back then if there was any sunlight! We thought it’d be fun to bring back some of those experiences in Pipistrello-warts and all! Don’t worry, it’s all optional. Let’s take a look! For starters, you can play the game in its entirety in “handheld/3D Console” mode! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/0b4f4d912bd571e96b90782de042388700ab29ca.jpg {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/3efb5ed75b97ee3ad52e5880c1b6559ea1ac304d.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/4941e0cb7696c58377021f86bf4eaa292132167d.gif And if you’re feeling extra nostalgic, there’s an option to play with the glass screen on. There are different handhelds you can get too! One might be in perfect condition…and one might be slightly cracked! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/3c1f8be54fb26a87fc3d476285327e75b5de3546.gif Next up, we’ve got a few options for screen filters. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/7d455c0bf86628670e1dd7fc90c0d155ac49271f.gif LCD, Pixel Perfect, or LCD+Pixel Perfect Finally, you can adjust the pixel scale and the font! The two font options are Pixel Perfect and Double Resolution. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/914ae441a804be4657110701983ef6f2f244da7f.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/2a9ab2a9ce90ef66ff3e8425dee22eff451f466c.gif That’s all for this quick update, we hope you enjoy the viewing options in Pipistrello! Launch is just around the corner!

We're so proud to say we've been selected as finalist for best gameplay and best game from Brazil for the Gamescom LATAM BIG Festival! AND we're included as an official selection for GAMESCOM LATAM showcase! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/6df416cf53e62dead3b9697f5200d51a59f339cf.png Tune into GAMESCOM LATAM Twitch or Youtube on May 2nd at 2pm est/3pm BRT to watch! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/f97a7cd89ad5769fe46c251c15b41f840d881cc1.png Thank you all so much for your support! Release day is less than a month away!

Prepare for your first Yoyovania adventure! Pipistrello & The Cursed Yoyo is releasing May 28,2025! It is also releasing for consoles on the same day! Thank you for following Pipit and family on the journey to release! We'll see you there!

Upgrade Contracts

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/e2c1e846332b4534c774ec1d4dcfa3f20be90273.png Yo, Pippit! Got some cash burning a hole in your pocket? Good. Cousin Pepita’s got a little business opportunity for you! When you sign one of my Upgrade Contracts, half of all those shiny coins you rake in go straight into my pocket! ...Let’s call it our “accounting arrangement.” Now, don’t make that face — you’re not just forking them over for nothin’. Each Contract lands you a juicy reward upfront, but there’s always a catch. You’ll have to deal with a little inconvenience — a negative effect — until the Contract debt is fully squashed. Finding it too difficult to keep up? Just call off the Contract, and I’ll let you claw back most of your dough, but you can kiss all the progress towards that reward goodbye. When you’ve finally crawled out of the red, you’d better hurry back to the Safe House to wrap things up and make your acquittal official. That’s the only way to shake off the nasty negative effects still clinging onto you. Oh, and keep in mind I got more than 20 Upgrade Contracts up my sleeve. They’re not all on the table right away, though. I’ll certainly let you take a peek at all of their terms and rewards, but if you’re looking to get one of the shiniest ones, you gotta work hard for it… And by that, I mean you gotta take it step by step, paying off Contracts in order, inching your way ever closer to your much-desired Upgrade… Hey, I don’t make the rules. Oh, wait — actually, I do. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/28e195e4e95922a02969bde0bb644d9b888ac6d1.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/3f6b058bd0ab9fb4e72ac6c707b8e985d0fe42fe.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/6919eed7a527de70fac06bec090b2a9ee9b3a30b.gif

Diamonds

Diamonds, huh? Now that’s the real treasure. They’re just waiting for someone with sharp eyes and sticky fingers to snatch ‘em up. There are over 10 of these shiny beauties hidden all over the city, and the more you sell, the sweeter the jeweler’s deal gets. But, hey, it ain’t all glitz and glamour — getting ‘em to the jewelry shop ain’t exactly a cakewalk. These babies aren’t just for showing off, though! They’re your ticket to the big bucks. Use it to pay off a pesky Contract, pick up a pricey item from a store, or just stack your wallet for a rainy day. The choice is yours, hotshot. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/754b1627db7ea83f2b6e9de13271ba65ad3c0325.gif

Petal Containers and BP Shards

Ah, the good ol’ bread-and-butter of survival in the big city — Petal Containers and BP Shards. Find enough of ‘em, and you’ll increase your life points, or boost your Badge Points (BP) to pull off even wilder Badge combos. These precious trinkets ain’t just lying around, though. You’ll have to earn ‘em! Solve tricky puzzles, win grueling battles, or poke your nose into every nook and cranny to find hidden ones! For the daredevils speedrunning through, these goodies are prizes from optional challenges, so naturally they can be left alone — you might wanna flex your skills by facing that big boss with only 3 life points. And for those stuck in the unfair battles that life gives us, they’re lifelines to make the climb a bit less steep. Whether you’re a fighter or an explorer, there’s something in it for you. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/81b8a704e0d9f07eb938bb95d5fc421eeed97c91.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/ce1c3b7cbe004fb8b8a1c00e3fffe5cc404a8e68.gif

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/c2f245bf7fd4764d8de95d4b4b785b777f723ef3.png

BADGES

Oh, Mr. Pipistrello, sir! Cousin Pippo reporting for duty! I see you’ve acquired some new Badges, sir! Please take a moment and use that Workbench to equip some of them. You should not ever pass up an opportunity to fine-tune your loadout, sir, if I may be so bold. Combining their effects is key to your success! It is my understanding that there exist more than 40 different Badges, sir! Among the effects, I read they can grant you new traversal abilities, combat skills, and a variety of stat boosts. Take a look below at some examples of Badge effects, sir!

• Granting New Traversal Abilities

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/4baacf9a65c89fc69ee39e749a7a3882ca08743a.gif

• Improving Combat Efficiency

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/1414f3ea18b871df44082282b6919ae59fe1438e.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/ce43121fc80c76987c687bbf427f0a020234664b.gif

• Offering Quality of Life Improvements

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/ec106c2a904e27ad3a21ad13ec9028d5b5a279fb.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/134663e509b1f7eeccc81e6ae94ca09a8554565c.gif

BADGE REFINEMENTS

I know you might be enticed to equip all of your Badges at once, sir, but I must remind you they require Badge Points (BP) to work! I can most certainly help you with that, though, sir. Bring the Badges to my workshop, and I can work on a Refinement to reduce their BP costs and even heighten their effects! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/be7106487d0960cdd9bcbdab999dd8ed889f78c4.gif

BLUEPRINTS

As the lead scientist on Pipistrello Industries’ R&D division, I am also quite capable at developing new Badges! If you ever come across a Blueprint during your travels, sir, be sure to present it to me when you have the chance! For a small price to cover my labor and the raw materials, I can build you a brand-new Badge from any Blueprint, sir! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/244f711cd48a04232fa9c71739eb4ce76deff063.gif

Pippit Pipistrello

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/e788b71e245683707674e0c465fe3e67d135ce6a.png The name’s Pippit! I’m on my way to become the best yoyo player in the world! Now, behold this little beauty! My lucky yoyo! My weapon of choice, you could say. Not that I go around whacking people in the face with it, or anything like that… I mean I use it in every tournament. See the stickers? I must be a genius designer or something. I’m only 16, but I’ve already got the 319th place in my last tournament! …Oh? Ah, yes… You wanted to hear about my family too. Errr… My family are the Pipistrellos. I know, I know… Everyone starts behaving so weirdly when they hear about my family, so I usually try not to bring them up… But, fine — I’ll tell you all about them.

Pepper Pipistrello

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/a44698335f70d6ff53ab17f65338d3aad74d2229.png I call her "auntie", but her full name's Pepper Pipistrello. But if you work for her, you should make it a point to call her "Madame" Pipistrello! She’s the big-person CEO for Pipistrello Industries. We single-handedly run the electric grid in the city, and do stuff like energy generation or whatever. I say "we", but the company's more her thing. She’s always cared more about it than anything else. She’s still nice to me, I guess, but she’s always about business and so formal. Oh! If you ever meet her, watch out for the weird old-person accent, and be sure to bring a dictionary for the big words she loves to use. Not that I’m not smart! She just-- She doesn’t have to talk like that. I’m not really sure where she's from, but I heard our family comes from somewhere else. I think she insists on calling me "pipsqueak" just to make me angry. Yeesh, I'm not five anymore — I'm practically the yoyo champion in the regional division! Have some respect!

Pepita Pipistrello

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/e2c1e846332b4534c774ec1d4dcfa3f20be90273.png Pepita’s one of my cousins! But she acts more like she’s my big sis or whatever. She’s all about the numbers for auntie… Accounting for the family, or something like that? I dunno — it sounds boring. She handles all the money, and she seems pretty stingy. I hear she hands out Upgrade Contracts too, but if you don’t read the fine print, it’ll get you in a deep, deep hole! I don’t think I’d wanna be on the receiving end of one of her Contracts, but I assume there’s a bunch of powerful Upgrades you can get. Maybe something that helps me win yoyo tournaments? It looks like the benefits outweigh the negatives — at least if you’re able to pay off the Contracts quickly!

Pippo Pipistrello

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/c2f245bf7fd4764d8de95d4b4b785b777f723ef3.png Cousin Pippo is one of the big-brain science dudes working for auntie, always wearing his lab coat like he’s in some kind of science show. He’s always putting on this military speech style, calling me “sir” like he’s all fancy. He’s the one testing all the crazy new machine ideas for auntie, to help with energy generation or whatever. Auntie says it’s all a secret, though, so I don’t know what’ll come out of it. I also hear he’s good with Badges. Y’know, the kind you can wear on your shirt, or pin to your backpack. But his are not like anyone else’s! He says they’re technological science-y Badges, and he’s always babbling about the effects. Maybe someday I’ll ask him to Refine one of my own Badges… But, man, it’s not like I wanna spend too much time hanging out with him. He’s got those creepy vibes, y’know?

Don Mauretti

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/5d2a0246849b42936f4bf5552bd938c74fd3b33f.png Ugh. He's the big, dumb rat in charge of Plaza Roquefort, the largest mall in the city. He likes to put on a theatrical routine, adding flourishes to his every sentence and movement — the cheese smell must be getting to his head. I hear he’s into junk-food — but I mean, he’s into selling it! Viciously! He’ll get you addicted in no time. You gotta watch out for that stuff. If you believe the rumors… *whispers* …They say he’s killed someone. He’d do anything to protect his business. Maybe we should stop talking about him…

Slime Tycoon

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/035f5eb8ad51d18e7d3d35e6a829708b45ca59b6.png The Slime Tycoon’s straight up nasty. Literally all greasy. He acts like every one of his employees are stupid. I don’t think he’s got much respect for them… He's the one in charge of construction around the city, digging up everything around here and destroying those fun parks I played at as a kid. At least, that’s what he says he does, ‘cause I’ve never seen a single one of his buildings get finished. As if the never-ending construction noise wasn’t enough, the city’s riddled with potholes now. Why can’t he ever finish these buildings? What is he even working on…?

Toxy

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/74c0cdf654b8c069727fe425153516c3fe3a1cf9.png She’s like the ultimate nerd queen, running some yearly pop-culture convention with all the latest celebrities. She’s got this whole cute act going on, but don’t let it fool you. She’s just hustling her nerd fans into buying her latest gadgets and stuff. Oh, the zPhone 18 comes in a Toxy-light-blue casing now? I…have to resist the urge. It’s all just about making money to her…

Linkoln

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/d5f0ad619bdcc53a5da807dd5df86e270be393bf.png He’s a cosplayer, and a pretty fanatic one at that. He always attends Toxy’s convention, and I hear he’s made it to the finals of the cosplayer face-offs this year…again. I’m, uh, not even sure what he actually looks like beneath all that makeup, to be honest. I don't even think *he* knows what he looks like without the costume. I kinda like to read the same manga, but not in the level that he does… Maybe he knows something I don’t — I should try cosplaying sometime. People always say I look like the Dark Shadow Lord of Shades, anyway.

Cuca Carrara

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/543dd69a045687d21c21a863410631ee3156186f.png He owns the city’s football team, the Poultries. You wanna watch a game? He owns the stadium. You wanna place a bet? He owns the betting agency too. To be honest, I don’t know who’d wanna watch the Poultries play… They suck. Well, they sucked until recently, that is. Apparently they got into a streak of luck, beating even the Dream Team United 7 to 0 — and those guys had three world championships under their belts! I think there must be some foul-play involved in this… It’s not a coincidence he runs the betting lounge, right? See you in our next chat with Pippit where we'll dive into some gameplay! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44926360/41c1daa46a2014fdda3d6219e270a4a6b0b1b29b.png

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is an exciting Yoyo-vania from Pocket Trap, adding an exciting twist to the genre as you go on an adventure to save the city; now you can try it out in Steam Next Fest! Tighten up that string, and bust out the yoyo moves! In this 2D top-down adventure you'll explore a sprawling urban landscape, reinterpreting your surroundings through your mastery of yoyo tricks. Solve puzzles, fight the city's rival crime lords, and regain the influence of the Pipistrello family! This exciting demo gives you a taste of the abilities, enemies and fun that'll arrive soon in Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is an exciting Yoyo-vania from Pocket Trap, adding an exciting twist to the genre as you go on an adventure to save the city; now you can try it out in Steam Next Fest! Tighten up that string, and bust out the yoyo moves! In this 2D top-down adventure you'll explore a sprawling urban landscape, reinterpreting your surroundings through your mastery of yoyo tricks. Solve puzzles, fight the city's rival crime lords, and regain the influence of the Pipistrello family! This exciting demo gives you a taste of the abilities, enemies and fun that'll arrive soon in Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo.

Stay tuned, because we've got some more cool yoyo action coming tomorrow at the IGN Live event in Los Angeles, USA during the PM Studios Showcase at 3:00pm PDT. We'll be sure to update you here, too!