Hellbound Reviews
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 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 retro FPS with some neat ideas that suffers from lacking execution and a lack of content.
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.
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.
An earnest but empty love letter to Quake and Duke Nukem 3D that never gets around to doing anything to call its own.
Hellbound has really good movement and the texture quality looks nice, but it's insanely short, the level design is mediocre, and there's nothing here that FPS fans haven't seen done better for decades.
Hellbound has potential, and will surely find an audience for both its nostalgia and its challenge.
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
Serviceable if not a little unremarkable. Really aimed for people who’ve exhausted the genre.
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's core gameplay loop is punchy, satisfying, and cathartic. It's just a shame there's so little of it.
Bottomline, all things considered, if you’re looking for a fun, fast, short-lived, throwback FPS game, Hellbound is definitely worth considering. Just don’t expect too much out of it and you’ll find your time and money well spent.
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
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.
Hellbound is a fun shooter that's got all the hallmarks of what made the 90s FPS genre so great. Unfortunately, just like the 90s games before it, it's pretty dated in both optimization and graphics. There's a large number of bugs and game-breaking glitches to be experienced, all of which tarnish what is otherwise an incredible experience.
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
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
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