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| Windows / MAC / Coming to PS4! |
Hammerwatch is a multi-player dungeon crawler released on Steam in August of 2013. It currently has a ton of very positive reviews on Steam.
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Premise:
You are trapped! Separated from and unable to reach your comrades! Work your way through expansive dungeons, destroy hordes of enemies, and solve mind-bending puzzles to find a way to escape Castle Hammerwatch alive!
Visuals:
A sprite based game. Most visuals look pretty good, although I think the player characters could have had a little more work put into their attack animations and overall character design. They are honestly kind of sparse on detail.
Most environments and enemies in this game convey a really dark and gloomy feeling. It definitely doesn't look bad, but the subdued visuals feel oppressive at times. While I personally enjoy games with lots of color, the subdued backgrounds seem to be within the mood of the game, and I think it fits incredibly well.
This being said, visuals can actually be modified in many ways to fit your own liking. There are a surprising amount of customization options for this little game. Fiddle with the settings and see what you like best!
Sound/Music:
Sound isn't anything special, but the effects get the job done nicely.
Music does have its good moments, and it can really add an extra layer of immersion to the already moody visuals.
Controls:
Pretty simple to understand, but not always the most responsive. The game asks you to strafe by holding the spacebar, and this makes it difficult to make precision strikes on enemies. Also, the player is only able to fire in 8 Directions, which I find to be very restrictive on player options. Enemies are able to attack in any direction, so why can't the player? It just seems a little unfair and inconsistent.
While not the worst control scheme ever, I believe that a mouse and keyboard control scheme would have worked incredibly well instead. This would allow the player to attack from any angle, and increase player efficiency.
There are some special abilities, and those can be pretty fun to use.
This being said, visuals can actually be modified in many ways to fit your own liking. There are a surprising amount of customization options for this little game. Fiddle with the settings and see what you like best!
Sound/Music:
Sound isn't anything special, but the effects get the job done nicely.
Music does have its good moments, and it can really add an extra layer of immersion to the already moody visuals.
Controls:
Pretty simple to understand, but not always the most responsive. The game asks you to strafe by holding the spacebar, and this makes it difficult to make precision strikes on enemies. Also, the player is only able to fire in 8 Directions, which I find to be very restrictive on player options. Enemies are able to attack in any direction, so why can't the player? It just seems a little unfair and inconsistent.
While not the worst control scheme ever, I believe that a mouse and keyboard control scheme would have worked incredibly well instead. This would allow the player to attack from any angle, and increase player efficiency.
There are some special abilities, and those can be pretty fun to use.
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Gameplay
Gameplay consists of defeating enemies with a bow, sword, or magic, depending upon what class you choose, and progressing through each level of the dungeon. Combat isn't anything special, but it has its fun moments.
You'll need to solve some 'puzzles' along the way as well. The reason I say 'puzzles' is because they can barely be considered such. Mainly you just run around and find everything in the level to progress. There isn't any problem solving or connecting of dots involved, just a giant time-consuming treasure hunt. A lot of things are hidden behind secret walls as well, and finding those can be a little frustrating.
Dungeon levels are incredibly long, drawn out, and can get quite tedious at times. There isn't much variation in level design, so things get pretty repetitive after a while. The scenery and enemies only change every 3 (Very long) levels. Even then, a lot of the time the game re-uses previously encountered enemy types.
You can bring some friends along for the ride or go solo. Solo play makes the game feel a little empty, but it seems a lot more entertaining with friends.
Boss design ranges from pretty good to absolutely horrible. Oddly enough, the first boss is the absolute worst. If you want to get past this boss easily, I strongly advise you use the archer class. After this, the boss battles are reasonably well designed.
Unlike most dungeon crawlers, Hammerwatch doesn't have an actual inventory system with armor and equipment. I found this to be a very odd design choice, and I personally miss finding new equipment to help progress through levels. They even completely forego the classic levelling system with experience from killing enemies. Instead of equipment and experience, Hammerwatch asks the player to collect gold to buy upgrades and level up. So in a way, gold is your experience. I personally would like it with equipment, but I believe that is only my opinion.
Summary:
A decent dungeon crawler with some control issues and not the greatest pacing of content. If you are a fan of dungeon crawlers with other friends who are a fan of the genre, this game might be for you and your buddies!
- Pros:
- Very moody visuals and music.
- Multiplayer
- Cons:
- Terrible first boss
- Repetitive and tedious level design
SCORE: 7 / 10
Do you agree? Let us know in the comments section below!
If you like this, you might also like this other dungeon crawler:
FATE: Undiscovered Realms Review
If you like this, you might also like this other dungeon crawler:
FATE: Undiscovered Realms Review
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