VIDEO GAME REVIEW
Heroes of Hammerwatch:
Ultimate Edition
Sony PlayStation 5

Tesla Force
Sony PlayStation 5

As Far As The Eye
Personal Computer via Steam

Crackshell’s Heroes of Hammerwatch is every bit the roguelite gamers expect it to be. With randomized levels, stylized pixel art, and an addictive gameplay loop revolving around exploration and combat,  complete attention is all but assured in the first runup until the unfortunately inevitable demise. The key is to try and try, again and again, until success enables progression.

Such is the fate of all Heroes of Hammerwatch players, and now, with the release of Heroes of Hammerwatch: Ultimate Edition, everything’s gotten even crazier than before.

In Heroes of Hammerwatch: Ultimate Edition, gamers get to live, explore, die, and rinse and repeat. Survival relies on both the skill to dodge attacks and the capacity to make use to equipment that can be scavenged during each run. Waves of enemies litter the road to bosses at the end of each level, with necessary looting in between. And, make no mistake, not getting lost in the labyrinthine design is a requisite.

Which, in Heroes of Hammerwatch: Ultimate Edition, is easier said than done. Gamers choose from one of four classes, and then march off in search of adventure, perusing dark caverns, forgotten dungeons and sandy deserts. Levels are procedurally generated, so runs will always feature different layouts, offering a unique experience each time. As exploration goes deeper into each stage, the soundtrack blares its catchy beats aid battles that grow ever more dangerous. Honestly, it’s quite addicting, and while the base experience is somewhat simple, it’s a game that never feels lacking.

Heroes of Hammerwatch: Ultimate Edition manages to sustain interest with its outstanding level design. With a decent selection of weapons to choose from and myriad special abilities to unlock and use, gamers are treated to a ton of variety. And if that’s not enough, each run in the dungeon crawler nets resources that go to equipment level-ups, ensuring better preparations for the next run. And so on. Even the losses feel like an accomplishment. Regardless of the outcome of runs, progress is evidently made – and until the final boss awaits.

Heroes of Hammerwatch: Ultimate Edition adds a plethora of goodies outside of the base content for gamers to enjoy. There’s more to explore in the form of additional levels, an extra class to play with, a brand new campaign to get immersed in, and updates that definitely amp up the fun factor. It’s by no means deep, but it sure is entertaining as heck.

Heroes of Hammerwatch: Ultimate Edition doesn’t really have any flaws that stand out. A minor gripe, though: It plays completely safe in its mechanics. The art is lovely, the gameplay is solid, and the overall experience is enjoyable, but fans of the genre who are looking for something unique might be disappointed. It’s a brilliant, addictive game, but it’s not a genre trendsetter. Still, it delivers in spades a solid, dungeon-crawling, roguelite actioner. It might not reinvent the wheel, but it gives an enjoyable ride from start to finish.

THE GOOD:

• Simple, addictive gameplay loop
• High replay value, with a lot of unique content to explore
• Frantic, enjoyable cooperative play

THE BAD:

• Nothing particularly unique in its mechanics
• Lots of content, but most of it repetitive in nature due to its rogue-like, dungeon crawling gameplay
• Can sometime feel unfair due to the nature of procedural generation

RATING: 8.5/10

POSTSCRIPT:

Developer 10tons’ Tesla Force can best be described as an eccentric little distraction. It pulls from history the four genius minds of Nikola Tesla, HP Lovecraft, Marie Curie, and Mary Shelley, and tosses them into a twin-stick rogue-like shoot-’em-up arena of blood, bullets, and robots. With procedurally generated levels, a plethora of weapons to pick up, and tons of enemies to mow down, Tesla Force is all but ready to provide bite-sized levels of entertainment.

Tesla Force doesn’t really know when to hold back. After a brief tutorial level, the rest of the game is really up to gamers to explore. They can choose what stages to play through, navigate its maps, accomplish a variety of small objectives, and mow down waves of undead in the process. And, truth be told, despite its seeming simplicity, it holds interest. Its art style is flashy but not garish, with its eye-catching particle effects shooting across the screen while not being overly flashy or silly. Combat feels punchy and impactful, especially with weapons that can be acquired deeper into the game, and enemy density is balanced well enough that pressure is felt from all sides, but not to the point where close-to-impossible effort is required. Movement is fluid, and the presence of upgradable abilities, from simple damage passives to more entertaining active abilities like teleportation, gives it some much needed depth as it chugs along.

If there’s any problem with Tesla Force, it’s in what is continually offered. As it’s essentially a rogue-like, keep-going-to-the-end offering that restarts gamers’ progress each time death occurs, there isn’t much progression to be had other than seeing how far patience and resolve will go. Levels are randomly generated, but the designs tend to have a been-there, done-that feel. Coupled with the lack of variety in the objectives, the slog becomes evident a few hours in.

It’s Tesla Force in a nutshell. It’s an interesting game with a ton of variety in the first few hours, but it gets let down by its repetitive nature. Its true lack of variety to spice things up becomes a hurdle as time goes on. And while it’s an entertaining experience overall, it’s one that does better with repeated respites in gameplay. Those looking for an hour or two of diversion at random intervals will find some pretty good twin-stick action in Tesla Force. It’s not deep, but it doesn’t pretend to be, and what gameplay there is will certainly tide gamers over until the boredom’s gone and frustration takes over. It begs to be played with, and then left alone, time and time again.

THE GOOD:

• Charming art style with a decent amount of flair and personality in its designs
• Smooth gameplay and framerates, especially on the PS5
• Fast-paced action that’s simple to pick up and pretty easy to get the hang of

THE BAD:

• Rather simplistic and straightforward, leaving not much room for experimentation
• Repetitive gameplay loop, even with randomly generated level variations and a variety of power-ups
• Plays a bit too safe with its silliness instead of going all out

RATING: 7.5/10

THE LAST WORD:

As Far As The Eye is an expertly crafted game. From its visually pleasing art to its surprisingly deep and engaging gameplay mechanics, developer Unexpected has managed to set its creation apart from others in the genre. One could scarcely expect a roguelike game to dabble in explore-expand-exploit-exterminate resource management systems, and yet it proves that it can be done well as long as they’re properly thought out. Indeed, the mechanics will be integral to success, as it’s a game that rewards ingenuity, forward-thinking, and on-the-spot creativity.

In As Far As The Eye, gamers are expected to help a travelling caravan flee from a storm, and reach its destination. To do so, resources must be collected to ensure the ease of its travel, compelling choices between various different regions and their different biomes to collect much-needed supplies. The gathered materials, however, need different buildings and specializations to make use of, and with each new region comes its own share of terrain to navigate, difficulties to conquer, and even more supplies to gather. All the while, the storm rages behind. The result is a balancing act that requires both stocking up for the next region and moving to safety as soon as possible.

Initially, As Far As The Eye’s objectives don’t seem that difficult. Its slow turn-based nature working in tandem with its soothing visuals evokes an image much closer to a relaxed city-building game than anything else. Decisions don’t need to be rushed as gamers are never really pushed into making a turn as fast as they can. In a game like this, there’s all the time in the world to plan out moves with care, and, at times, it almost feels like a cozy-looking board game. Don’t be fooled by its first impressions, though. What initially seems like easy stages paired up with its cute artistic design slowly turn into far more challenging and engaging obstacles.

As simple as As Far As The Eye’s concepts are, managing them is where the real challenge lies. The game aims for a more thought-provoking gameplay-oriented style, and it does this in spades through its randomization. Each region gamers travel through is randomized, and the events and resources that they have access to will slowly change over time. This forces them to constantly adapt their resource management and gathering; not everything they can harvest can prove to be of use, and not all resources can be accessed at the onset. For example, if they’re in dire need for stone, do they aim to gather as much of it as then can and build a quarry by using up all their available wood? Or should they instead save the wood and hope that the next region has better stone deposits? What will they do when a forest fire strikes, or a sudden flood washes away their harvested materials? These are all choices they’ll have to make, and everything they do, for better or for worse, will affect the caravan’s survival.

At times, As Far As The Eye doesn’t seem or feel fair. The randomized nature of events can certainly be off-putting; losing runs over some bad luck and poor foresight can be frustrating. On the other hand, it never makes losses feel like a permanent setback. If anything, it just leaves gamers wanting for more, as it constantly sets out to test their skills. It demands them to make do with the map they’re given and cope with the events they find themselves in. And when they’re able to make full use of their environment, it’s when the game truly shines.

As Far As The Eye proves that strategy games can benefit from some good-natured random number generation. Its relaxing gameplay sessions are always engrossing and immersive, and its unique art style is one that’s hard to forget. Highly recommended.

THE GOOD:

• Unique art style that pops off the screen
• Interesting game mechanics that revolve mainly around opportunity cost, resource management, and efficient use of time
• Compelling twist on a roguelike system

THE BAD:

• Still mostly beholden to RNG, which can feel frustrating with bad rolls
• Lack of time pressure may make the game feel a little slow and boring at times
• Chill nature and generally on a slower pace compared to other mainstream roguelikes

RATING: 8.5/10