Review: Hammerwatch (Xbox One)
Set in a fantasy pixel art environment. Play solo or co-op in this adventure from bottom to the top of Castle Hammerwatch. Kill hordes of enemies with varied looks and features through four unique environments with traps, hidden secrets, and puzzles.
Pros:
- lush pixel graphics.
- Graphics option- CRT mode, Dual sticker mode, 8 directional shoot and overscan compensation.
- 16 save slots.
- Help section.
- 4 player co-op (local)
- Seven characters- Paladin, Wizard, Ranger, Warlock, Thief, Priest and sorcerer. Each has unique abilities and stats and you get a brief description of each before selecting them.
- Can change character color scheme.
- Four modes-
- Hammer watch- Story.
- Temple of Sun- Story DLC.
- Survival.
- Hero defences-Hoard mode.
- Three difficulties- Easier, Medium and hard.
- Modifiers menu- Infinite lives, HP regen etc. Choose challenging or crutches options to increase/decrease score multiplier bonus.
- Fast loading times.
- Dungeon crawling gameplay.
- Dramatic chiptune OST.
- Can bring up a screen sized transparent map, Runs in the background as it were so you can still move when it is up on the screen.
- Vendor coins- Collect these to lower prices.
- Hidden rooms, Doors, and walkways.
- Shops- Both secret and normal sell upgrades and items.
- 384.3MB Download size.
- 1000 Gamerscore.
- Fun to explore with huge maps.
- So many enemy types that trigger when you get in proximity.
Cons:
- No online as of yet but it is coming.
- OCD gamer nightmare with so many breakable objects, Coins to collect and levels are huge and just packed out.
- No controller options.
- The screen doesn’t fit properly.
- Slight slowdown at times.
- Controls feel weird, Tapping RT hurts your fingers after a while whilst holding the button down does an auto combo attack that feels like cheating.
The Numbers:
-
8/10
-
7/10
-
8/10
-
8/10
-
8/10
Summary
Excellent dungeon crawling game with so much content. It has local support but to shine it really needs the online portion up and running. That said the game is more than fun in solo but you can get very fatigued with so many enemies and collectibles and breakables. I cannot play for long period of time but when I do play it, I enjoy it.