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The Skin Stapler

The Skin Stapler

Tainted Pact · released Aug 5, 2026

ActionIndiePC

The Skin Stapler is a retro-styled PSX grindhouse horror adventure set in the rotting, crime-soaked sprawl of Carrion City. Players follow jaded detective Dick Slater and his eager rookie partner Robbie Knox as they hunt a mysterious serial killer known only as The Skin Stapler.

84
VGC Score
·No trend datamedium confidence
83%
At launch
90%
Steam all-time
n/a
Press
92%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)0
All-time Steam reviews90%85242
Metacritic user ratings0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)92%87148
Calibration prior (typical game)7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 422 total reviews in window · weighted 107.1 up / 8.8 down · computed 12h ago · full methodology →

Patch history

No patch announcements found on Steam yet.