Hob Reviews
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.
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 rare gem. It has mass appeal, regardless of preferred genre or style.
Hob is definitely a game that is larger than the sum of its parts, which come together almost perfectly to create a truly singular adventure. Hob not have the AAA budget and polish of the franchises it draws inspiration from, but it has lots of heart and something to say, which is impressive for a game without a single spoken word.
The occasional design issue aside, restoring Hob's ramshackle world is satisfying, with its cel-shaded art style and tech-infused nature concealing a complex network of pulleys, valves and hidden paths.
Runic Game's Legend of Zelda inspired adventure takes players on a mundane journey through an extraordinary world.
Hob is a genuinely beautiful game, as you'd expect from the very talented people at Runic Games, the developer of Torchlight, but I do feel that there could've been, at times in the game, a bit more detail about the world the game's set within, what has happened and why, as wel as more information on Hob himself!
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.
I left the game not regretting my time, but with no desire to continue or relive the experience.
Runic Games has something special here and every facet of the game reeks of quality aside from one element. System performance on PS4 has a ton of stuttering or slow down moments. They have already updated the game a few times since it launched and the post support seems great, but this issue is literally my biggest and only issue. In an otherwise fantastic experience, captivating in its grandeur, this always took me right out of the experience. That blemish aside, every time I played Hob, I just got lost in its world, exciting to see everything the game would throw at me next. Exploration, combat, and the world all merge together in such a cohesive thought with almost no frustration, it’s just a sublime experience even with its performance issues.. Hob wasn’t on my list of must play games, or even known games for 2017. Don’t make the same mistake I did, Hob is definitely worth playing and a huge surprise.
Hob is an adventure that will keep you enthralled right up until the very end, and even then you may not be ready for what it has in store.