Hellbound Reviews
Although Hellbound has a short campaign that you're able to finish in two hours, I don't think it's a bad title that doesn't deserve a place in your library. If you're a gamer who enjoys Serious Sam or Doom style games, Hellbound will not disappoint. Sure, it's not as polished and a lot of things could be improved, such as a greater variety of enemies, a repertoire of weapons or a longer campaign, but it's still a pretty good title that you can buy on Steam for €12.49.
Review in Czech | Read full review
In the 90’s the term “DOOM Clone” was given to First Person Shooters following the runaway success of iD’s Demon Slaying Magnum Opus. It wasn’t always used negatively though as this era saw many great titles including Heretic, Blood and of course Duke Nukem 3D. Hellbound however is a DOOM Clone in the sense they actually tried to clone the game but something was contaminated in the test tube.
Hellbound attempts a return to the classic and beloved twitch shooters of the 90's, but falls flat in too many ways to earn a recommendation.
I would recommend Hellbound to anyone looking for a 90’s inspired shooter or just a short fun first-person shooter to play. The smooth fast-paced gameplay combined with the awesome soundtrack makes up for the lack of variety. I’d say this game is definitely worth it.
Hellbound does not expect to innovate or make us reflect or rethink the existence or any aspect of the video game world. Its premise is honest, simple and straightforward, and it delivers on what it promises. Its main handicap is that, in the current panorama, there are enough titles of this style, both current and classic, independently developed or large productions, that it is really difficult for Saibot Studios to break through, stand out and give a reason to acquire this title and not another that can be wider or have a rounder finish. Only if you are a big fan of the genre and / or you have already devoured everything that has been put in front of you, or perhaps if you are looking for an inexpensive and short game and it catches your attention despite not having many pretensions, you can give it a gap in your Steam library.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Serviceable if not a little unremarkable. Really aimed for people who’ve exhausted the genre.
Hellbound is an excellent title for old-school FPS fans and more. However, the gameplay is slightly let down by the level design and the lack of content.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Nostalgia aside though, Hellbound is a well refined first person shooter that has you diving through the forces of hell in a high octane killfest supported by heavy metal tracks to keep the pace up as your heart pumps blood to the beat of the music. It’s bloody hard but it’s fun in that classic sense where you have to be better than the game as the game won’t just hand victory over to you.
Hellbound isn’t a bad game. It can still be enjoyed, so long as you get it on a steep sale and you’ve got a spare afternoon for some mindless killing. This is a first-person shooter that emulates the past, but fails to recapture the magic of it. When you just turn your brain off, the game is at its best, but it just doesn’t last long. With a woefully short campaign mode, and a repetitive wave-based survival mode, Hellbound is surprisingly… deficient.
Hellbound is a very fun game, but I can’t see it being appealing to anyone other than hardcore old-school shooter fans. It succeeds at providing players with a Doom-esque experience that is a bit more faithful to the 90’s originals than Id Software’s more modern iterations, all while featuring more modern graphics and physics. However, it’s short, unpolished, and frankly, not very innovative.
While many will at first dismiss the game as a DOOM clone, Hellbound lovingly takes its ques from a myriad of games and creates a nostalgic, challenging, and fun experience.
Hellbound is more imitation than inspiration. Lacking in originality and flair with merely passable gameplay, it makes us wonder why we shouldn’t just play Doom.
The fact that 90’s shooters are as popular as ever is a testament to their sound design philosophy. Of course, the catalogue is as extensive as ever, what with a steady stream of retro-styled shooters gracing our screens on a nigh-regular basis. Hellbound is another such title, now a full-fledged game, which has emerged from languishing in Steam’s Early Access. And does it hold up against its peers? To put a fine point to it: oh, Hell yeah.
The fact is, Hellbound is too loyal to 90s shooter games. The game has nothing eye-glazing new compared to classic games. Only big fans of DOOM series might tolerate this game.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Hellbound is a great experience. Although it does rely heavily on the DOOM aesthetic, Saibot Studios have created a core gameplay experience that could be the launchpad of something brilliant.
Hellbound is a rip-roaring homage to classic Doom that hits almost all of the right notes.
Hellbound resembles 90's shooters very well but on a much smaller scale, its a modern version of those games but with a noticeably shorter content and less charisma.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
There’s a good few hours of fun to get from Hellbound‘s campaign. Maybe even more if you’re the type that wants to discover every secret and beat every par time.
Saibot Studios clearly has a fair amount of talent and passion, they just need more experience and a greater budget to expand upon what Hellbound offers. Hopefully, the developers are able to keep at it and deliver a truly unforgettable game sometime later on.
Hellbound is based around recreating the classic first-person shooter game experience of the 90s, which it does succeed in doing. If you were a fan of those games or wanted to experience what they were like in a modern package, then the developers at Saibot Studios have delivered, for the most part. Unfortunately, the game falls short of a great experience.