Hellpoint

Review

Hellpoint is an in-depth souls-like RPG, set in a distant desolate future, onboard a derelict space station, lifeless, dark, and full of unholy mysteries.  You will have to go through the dark unknown of this space station, figure out what has happened, and discover the purpose for which you were created.

Plot: Once a pinnacle of human achievement, this space station, named The Irid Novo, now lies fallen in ruins.

Overrun by cruel and lifeless beings, puppets of interdimensional malevolent cosmic Gods, death and destruction now plague the station. 

You were once a lifeless clone, and now you have been put into service by the Author. Originally printed in The Irid Novo, now you must set out on a mission to find out how this catastrophe took place and put an end to it.

Gameplay: Hellpoint is an amazing Souls-like hack and slash RPG. The gameplay consists of traditional RPG movement and combat mechanics. A great combination of well-oiled movement and hack and slash combat, including gunplay.

Where the game shines is with its unique mixture of large dark open playable areas full of mysteries, and an army of ungodly beings.

Right from the get-go, you will be pushed into harms way without any weapons or armor, or indeed any clue of what the hell is going on.

Anxiously going through the hallways, you will be introduced to wall-mounted outlets that teach you one function or feature of the game at a time.

This is both slow and annoying; by the time you get to a point where all the tutorial outlets are mounted in a single general area, you will be have been forced into pushing every button to figure out what is going on with this game.

Since there is no escape menu, you will be forced to use the default key binding and settings with no chance of changing during gameplay.  

As you are pushed out in the open without weapons, armor, and gear, you will have a hard time with survival and progression.

Dying is a part of this game. There can be an unholy creature hiding in the dark corner, and before you know it, you’re dead and sent back into a distant spawn point without any saving option nor check points.

However, as you get your hands on some decent gear, armor, and weapons the game gradually gets easier to handle.

The beginning is still brutally difficult to navigate. As there is no map, objectives, marker, or quest menu, you will struggle with both the navigation and objective-based tasks and puzzles. And it doesn’t help either that the game is based around a massive playable area that’s both dark and full of unholy creatures that can kill you with a few hits as you won’t have much to defend yourself with.

Game saves and progression: By far the most difficult part of Hellpoint is its re-spawn point system. As you progress, you will come across glowing objects called breaches.

As you interact with these breaches, a portal will open up that will allow you to interact with your player status and upgrades, teleportation, etc. Because of the way in which the game progresses and the re-spawn point system works, each breach is located far apart and as many times as you die, you will be sent back to your last interacted breach to restart that stage and you will have to kill the same enemies repeatedly with minor changes in their positioning.

On top of going through the same enemies repeatedly, as you die, you will have to confront a wraith in your last image with the same weapons you were carrying before you died, which makes things much more difficult and interesting.

World design: The world itself is beautifully made, with amazing attention to lighting and structural objects. Going around the large lifeless station drifting through the void of space felt surreal and empty.

The only thing that breaks an otherwise impressive immersive experience is how empty this game is; there is not much to interact with.

There are many creatures to go through but compared to each playable area they are few and far between.

Review written by BiteMexD for Zeepond.com!