Hob Reviews
Great adventure game which doesn't have some kind of outstanding plot, but keeps you engaged because of how smartly the elements of the world are connected. One of this year's best indie games.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Hob presents a remarkable visual style, a beautiful world that shapes as the player advances through it and concise gameplay. Even though the developer has chosen to follow a more secure path, some points could be better developed, specially a better polishing in the technical part.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
It's a shame that less than tight platforming controls and major framerate issues hinder Hob overall. There is a fantastic game here that will just have to settle for being a really good one.
Hob is a solid adventure game. If you can live with brief moments of frustration when you're lost and nothing is going on, you'll often be rewarded with a large chunk of the game where the pacing is just right and the balance between combat and puzzle elements is fair. Despite a few issues with stuttering, the presentation is exquisite, and the game comes in at a satisfying length. Adventure fans would do well to give Hob a look.
If you're a fan of the old-school The Legend of Zelda release, or the newer The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on the Nintendo 3DS, then you're going to love Hob on PlayStation 4. It's charming art style, fun gameplay mechanics and clever puzzle dungeons will keep you entertained until the end. Other than some mild framerate dips here and there during areas with more flora and fauna, or during areas like the desert in which lightning bolts come crashing down onto the ground, but this never got in the way of the adventure.
Hob is a rare gem. It has mass appeal, regardless of preferred genre or style.
Hob is a beautiful but unoriginal Zelda-like that lacks an interesting story and has mind-numbingly dull combat and exploration.
With a below average combat system, a lot of technical issues and almost no story to speak of, Hob is a hard sell for lovers of the previous Runic games. Still, it is graced by a very good art design and clever puzzles.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Though it pains to proclaim such a promising title as this — given how obviously ambitious its world-building stands, how undeniably strange-but-enticing its organic-mechanical aesthetic is or how inviting the otherwise isolating ambience of its sound design is — Hob may well be one of the more disappointing showings for the genre this year when all is said and done.
Hob is a prime example for how indie games should be made. It's a true gem for fans of artistic, yet mysterious titles with engaging gameplay, although there are some annoying technical problems.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Hob creates a magical and wondrous world that adapts and changes thanks to your input. Watching the world shift around you and sometimes underneath you is awe-inspiring and magnificent. Seeing the fruits of your labour literally coming to life is one of Hob’s biggest selling points and makes the game worth playing by itself. The game’s art, world design and wordless narrative all come together to make a genuinely special experience. Some aspects of Hob’s gameplay and systems can hold it back from being truly unique and captivating, but it more than makes up for it through personality and liveliness alone.
Hob is a beautiful puzzle action adventure game with an enjoyable sense of discovery. Bringing the world back to life by solving the dungeons was a pleasure, and the painterly quality of the visuals are a treat. The game emphasis exploration over the combat, so the mechanics may feel lacking when compared to other games in the genre. There are plenty of hidden secret for you to find once you complete the main narrative.
Overall Hob is a fantastic game and just be on a play list for anyone who enjoys puzzle platformers and wouldn't mind some light RPG elements thrown in. The story is told organically and beautifully through gameplay and has some of the best sound design I've seen in a game.
Hob is a charming action adventure that shows that the way is more important than the goal.
Review in German | Read full review
There is something about Hob that I really enjoy. I'm not quite sure if it's the cartoonish art style, clever puzzles, or an amalgamation of the two, but my overall experience was quite pleasant. However, frequent frame rate drops, mindless combat, and its open-world facade hindered my amusement and often relinquished any feeling of consequence while exploring the game's dangerously portrayed world. Similarly, the unspoken and symbolic mystery that unfolds begins as an interesting tale, but quickly becomes shallow when there are no other factors to create a meaningful and emotional conflict. Hob boasts a lot of promising ideas at the outset, but ultimately fails to fulfill those promises by the game's end.
Hob is a beguiling action adventure that's hamstrung by its platforming and a sub-par second half.
Runic Games take you on a wondrous mysterious journey through fantastic environments making HOB well worth your time.
Hob is an action adventure with a stunning visual style, engrossing world and enjoyable combat. It is a standard bearer for what the genre can achieve at this level.
Hob is an enjoyable experience, providing hours of great puzzling and platforming fun – despite the game's face-value story and technical issues.