Hellpoint Reviews
On the surface, Hellpoint should have been a worthy contender. But too many technical issues suck any real enjoyment out of it.
Quebec City based developers, Cradle Games, didn’t hold back showing where the roots and inspiration behind their recent title, Hellpoint, had originated. As someone who has sunk A LOT of hours into the Dark Souls games, I was pretty excited to see what this one had to offer, and if it was worthy enough to be placed among the ranks of this newer ‘genre’.
Hellpoint is another one of those games that wears its Dark Souls inspirations proudly but doesn’t understand what exactly makes Dark Souls so beloved. It struggles to forge an identity for itself, while also not doing any of the main Souls mechanics as well as other games. It does, however, have a certain rough charm hiding within its bleak sci-fi corridors and behind its many, many hidden doors. If you’re a glutton for smacking evil stuff around and getting lost then Hellpoint might be worth buying after a price drop.
Hitching framerates and drab visuals take away from an otherwise decent hack and slash with a terrific atmosphere.
All in all, the game is challenging, beautiful, horrifying, exciting, and exhilarating in all the ways players want from a game of this genre.
The end result is a highly entertaining and challenging take on a modern classic, with both innovations and rough edges alike.
Hellpoint didn't venture too far beyond the genre's boundaries, but its gameplay and atmosphere are, at the very least, above average. If you can forgive the lack of invention and repetitive environments, the game can provide you with a decent amount of fun.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Hellpoint is not the best game of the souls-like genre, but it makes a fine job trying to accomplish that task.
As much as I enjoyed most of my time with Hellpoint — it’s a good Souls-like on the whole — the excitement of unfettered exploration alone can only sustain it for so long.
Cosmic gods, interdimensional entities and space stations orbiting black holes. Sounds like my kinda sci-fi party, if I spent the night with a ‘kick me’ sign on my back as well.
While it doesn't match up with the best of the sub-genre, due to performance issues and generic designs, it provides enough exploration opportunities, deadly combat scenarios, and mysteries to satisfy hardcore fans.
Overall, I like how the character looks like the Hellraiser and the aesthetic changing when you change armor sets. I love the design locations that screams nightmare in space. I don’t appreciate the sound effects, in the long run, there is not much variety in them. It’s just pure ghoul-vomiting-sounds playing every time. Weapon variety and stat upgrades are okay even though the game doesn’t really tell you much which can be a pain in the ass, not just on the guides but the story as well. It just really fell flat where it should’ve shined brightly – combat mode. I wasn’t confident in its reaction time as it was tedious and frustrating.
Hellpoint makes no bones about it, It’s a Dark Souls game through and through. It is also a very good Dark Souls type game with a really good setting and satisfying combat, it’s hard not to fall in love with it all.
Hellpoint does some things right and some things wrong, but possibly its greatest sin is gloating over what it seeks to imitate, rather than aspiring to something else.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
So overall, Hellpoint has some good ideas and it has a great framework in place. Unfortunately, even with the good ideas and the framework it feels a bit bland as even with the inclusion of being able to jump and it being part of the exploration, the areas held no mystery of threats of death by those that live within them like Bloodborne, Demons or Dark Souls or the The Surge. That said, the devs are still working on this and I’m hopeful that some of these issues get addressed and I would be glad to try it again down the line and also hope for a sequel or new project with the ideas that they’ve put in place here.
Hellpoint ends up being for Soulslike fans who are just dying for more experiences within the genre, but if that doesn’t describe you, then you’ll be disappointed. The sci-fi nature of the game and its story offering allows it to find its footing right before it ultimately falls apart from its uninspired gameplay. There’s a decent experience to be found during some late-game plot offerings, but that will require you to be invested past the first boss, which is asking a lot.
Another Indie-title attempting to leave a mark in the souls-like genre. Hellpoint brings in some interesting ideas and at times offers stunning visual design. Imprecise gameplay and frustrating difficulty spikes however mean that this game is better left in space where nobody can hear the screams of frustration.
Review in German | Read full review
Hellpoint is a mediocre game with an uninteresting world overshadowed by a slew of superior entries in the genre.
Hellpoint offers us a light and entertaining soulslike with a sci-fi theme and enemies everywhere. The handling of the character is quite pleasant and the different novelties that are included to give it a distinctive touch take effect. On the other hand, the set design and visual style are not up to par with what would be expected from a game of this type.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Cradle Games’ attempt at keeping the Souls-like genre alive is a commendable, albeit flawed, one. Its intrinsic weapon system and atmospheric design indicate there is potential for Hellpoint to be a truly awesome carrier of the Souls-like torch, but ultimately falls flat in execution. Still, it’s a great way to scratch your Dark Souls itch, and for a really attractive price.