Dark Souls crossed with Dead Space? Bloodborne set within the bowels of a great big derelict space station? Yes. Yes please, we like this, we want this, sign us up! Cradle Games' Hellpoint has got a great premise, a fantastically atmospheric setting and gameplay that unashamedly pilfers ideas and mechanics from FromSoftware's superb back catalogue while adding a few little twists and tricks of its own. It should be a success, it should an easy recommendation – especially for Soulslike fans – however, a Switch port that massively downgrades graphics while introducing some pretty serious technical issues results in a sci-fi action-adventure that feels like it's bitten off quite a bit more than it can chew – on Nintendo's hybrid console, at least.
The story here, in true Soulslike fashion, is a cryptic thing that you'll need to piece together haphazardly as you traverse the innards of the Irid Novo, the enormous derelict space station onto which your character is birthed at the beginning of the game. The general gist though, if we've managed to pull the sparse shreds of evidence together in any way properly, is that you've been created by a mysterious AI known as The Author, who requires that you "collect data" by fighting hordes of hellish space demons in order to save the Novo, which is currently orbiting perilously close to a supermassive black hole in the aftermath of a cataclysmic event known as The Merge. Your standard day out in space, basically.
Fans of FromSoftware will immediately feel at home with the core gameplay loops here as the basic rhythm of combat is essentially identical to the good old Dark Souls series. You'll attack foes with light and heavy swings of various brutal melee weapons, block incoming damage with your trusty shield and make heavy use of an exaggerated roll manoeuvre which, like everything else you do, is tied to a stamina gauge. Where Hellpoint does mix things up a little with regards to its slow-paced scraps is in the successful introduction of guns. As you level-up your character by hoovering up Axions from defeated enemies and trading them in at bonfir... we mean breaches, you can raise your reflex stat in order to reach a point at which you can handle railguns, rifles, cannons and something known as the Mouth of Filth, a weapon which breaks life down at a molecular level and is therefore probably best handled with care and pointed away from your body.
In another twist on the usual Soulslike gameplay mechanics, both the energy gauge to which your weapons and magic attacks are tied and any health refills you've currently got at your disposal are recharged not by resting at a breach, but by causing damage to your enemies. It's a nice little wrinkle that enables you to pull yourself right out of a hole on occasion, battling back from near death to restock your health charges fully and give yourself the energy necessary to clear immediate threats with a barrage of laser fire from your trusty marine rifle of daemon cannon. Defeated enemies won't reappear when you hook up to a breach in order to level up either, instead re-emerging after a set amount of time – unless you happen to die, in which case areas will immediately repopulate. These subtle tweaks and changes manage to give Hellpoint's core combat and exploration its own unique flavour while remaining close enough to the genre's tried-and-tested formula that fans will immediately feel reassured.
As you discover breach points scattered around the Irid Novo, you can also raise or lower the difficulty of the surrounding area in order to either make things slightly easier or line yourself up for greater rewards by battling tougher foes – something it took us an age to figure out how to do due to the cryptic nature of just about everything going on here. All of the weapons and armour you find as you venture deeper into the space station can be upgraded and fitted with various modules that increase their capabilities, and you can even collect blueprints in order to create your own gear using precious resources gathered on your journey.
Alongside all of this, and dependant on the position of the nearby super black hole in relation to the space station itself – as indicated by a pretty confusing icon in the top left-hand corner of the screen – hellpoints will open up in certain areas, spewing out hordes of tough enemies that drop high-level rewards, weapons and armour. This mechanic, in particular, is really cool but, for some reason – most likely a rather foolhardy adherence to genre expectations – it's also very badly explained, to the point you may in fact miss its existence or meaning completely and spend the entire game wondering what on earth that diagram in the top corner of your screen is actually pertaining to.
A handful of ill-explained mechanics aside, however, the general exploration and combat here is pretty solid stuff. Enemy variety may not be massively impressive, but they do provide a decent challenge overall and there's enough variety in locations that the act of pushing steadily forward through areas, slowly discovering secrets and picking up little bits of lore and all manner of strange items as you go, has the capacity to be almost as enjoyable here as it was in the games that have so very obviously provided much of Hellpoint's inspiration.
As for the Irid Novo itself, much like any other derelict space station we've ever encountered in a video-game, it's immediately the star of the show here. Cradle Games has very obviously expended a great deal of effort into this labyrinthian nightmare of corridors and it's resulted in a setting that we wanted to explore every nook and cranny of; one that we wanted to push further into no matter how many times we perished along the way. It does suffer somewhat from a lack of direction, there's no map to help you find your way and some areas are real mazes that it takes quite a while to get a handle on, but it's just so atmospheric, even with the huge graphical downgrade that's occurred to get this one running on Switch, that it still manages to impress.
If only Hellpoint had made it to Switch in a better technical state than it has done, it really would have been pretty easy to recommend to fans of tough, Dark Souls-style action RPGs. There's plenty to like here overall and, having played more technically proficient versions of this one on more powerful hardware, it's actually a reasonably solid Soulslike effort, all things told. However, there are problems with this port – serious problems – that make playing on Switch feel like a really messy and frustrating experience.
The framerate, which actually manages to hold up pretty well in the first few hours of the campaign, slowly but very surely begins to struggle noticeably, with combat deteriorating into a rather stuttery and unresponsive mess as you progress through later stages. This port's graphical downgrade then adds to the misery with low-resolution textures on enemies making it hard to parse their movements and attacks as they shamble around you.
These issues make fighting rank and file foes far more annoying and haphazard than it should be, and once you reach one of the game's boss battles, well, prepare to start pulling your own hair out – we've honestly never been so glad to be bald. When faced with a screen-filling monstrosity who can one-shot you at any given moment, the last thing you need is unresponsive controls, a struggling framerate and graphics that make reading attacks nigh-on impossible, but that's exactly what you get here and, combined with a few instances where the camera turns into a real mess (Consumer boss battle, we're looking at you), you're left with an often excruciating experience on a technical level that absolutely sullies the solid gameplay that's buried somewhere underneath.
Adding insult to injury, loading times when you die can also really drag – we counted up to two minutes on multiple occasions to load back to a breach point – and this, combined with increasingly persistent full crashes to the console's homescreen, makes it hard to keep going, the whole endeavour coming off as a slog in the end; a messy affair that seemed to get worse the further into the 20+ hour campaign we ventured. It's a real shame too, because if this Switch port wasn't so constantly dragged down by technical woes, we'd most likely be handing out a pretty solid recommendation here. Hellpoint has got the combat, it's got the setting, the atmosphere and a few neat tricks of its own to add to the usual mix – it's even got co-op thrown in for good measure – but, alas, until there's some serious patching undertaken to fix the myriad issues here, what we're left with is a decent indie effort that's just not up to scratch on Switch.
Conclusion
Hellpoint is a reasonably decent sci-fi/Soulslike effort that sticks closely to FromSoftware's well-worn formula whilst introducing a few neat new tricks and twists of its own. The combat here is solid, the space station setting often spectacular and the narrative as enticingly cryptic as you'd expect from the genre. However, the whole thing suffers massively due to myriad technical issues on Switch. Constant crashes to the console's homescreen, a seriously flaky framerate, long loading times and a pretty huge graphical downgrade result in an experience that's infuriating for all the wrong reasons and one that it's almost impossible to recommend in its current form. Here's hoping Cradle Games has some big patches incoming.
Comments 67
This kind of stuff shouldn't even be released. Too bad as it sounds like there is a decent game buried somewhere behind the technical mess.
Yeah. Should have waited for reviews. Bought and uninstalled it day 1. But like it has been said: there is a cool game in there somewhere.
Sorry to read this. This game seemed quite interesting.
I’ve developed a decent eye for game quality over the years and after watching one gameplay video for this game I could see that it looked pretty rough. With so many great games available and coming soon to the Switch any poor games like this don’t stand a chance of being successful.
Should have waited on switch pro.
Panic Button? Saber Interactive? I'm pretty sure they exist.
The poor optimization for the Switch really goes to show that only developers who spend enough time knowing how to optimize games onto the Switch can actually port games properly.
Was interested in buying this at its price point but at this point only if they patch some fixes and make it more enjoyable. Always willing to give it a chance under the right conditions
Doesn't look like my kinda game but pity for people who were interested in this.
It runs super smooth on PC I would recommend that release. Games get patched. I hope this review gets updated if performance patches improve the framerate.
NINJA APPROVED
Nice! I saved 35$!
@ModdedInkling the game has performance issues on base PS4 and PS4 Pro. Base PS4 real bad performance problems! Saber or Panic Button wouldn't have got this running smooth on switch either.
@BloodNinja I don't think they need to update reviews after patches. Games like this shouldn't be released.
@MisterMan Sometimes, you have to release software as part of the development process to see what happens in the wild, and then patch it post release. From the videos I’ve seen, I wouldn’t call this game a mess. Rough, but again it could get patched and it would be great if review sites updated their reviews to reflect such things, in the case of major improvements.
NINJA APPROVED
@MisterMan Seems to run pretty smooth:
https://youtu.be/9hBkT2xFYz0
@ModdedInkling Seems to run just fine. Heres 30 minutes of footage captured on Switch:
https://youtu.be/9hBkT2xFYz0
NINJA APPROVED
Man I hope this gets patched.
@kobashi100
Now THAT'S scary. When a game doesn't function properly on a console that should be powerful enough to do so, there's not much hope for a Switch port being good.
@ModdedInkling to be fair I think the development team is like 7 people. Stretched thin with PC, PS4, Xbox and now switch.
@kobashi100
To be fair nothing, release it in a respectable working state or not at all. The size of the team does not matter.
People are paying their hard earned for the game and they should get a decent running game in return.
Far too many apologists for devs releasing shoddy games these days (on all consoles/PC).
The problem is the day one buyers, with all the reviews and metacritic it’s easy to avoid buying bad games just do your research and wait before buying anything that looks cool ! Even wiser put on wish list wait for reviews then wait for a sale if the reviews are good .
I just picked this up for Steam
@TheFullAndy I just try and look at the situation the developers were under. Multiple release with 7 people not easy and people should stop putting blame all on developers.
Nobody knows what time constraints they were put on by the publishers. For all we know the Devs didn't want to release the games at the time they were released but the publishers said no delay. Or maybe the engine for consoles was just a bridge too far for the Devs to optimize fully and they just couldn't achieve the results they wanted.
Doesn't mean they put in all the work they possibly could. I don't understand why the gaming industry is treated by some totally different than the real world. The concept that every developer should be the very best and shoddy products shouldn't exist is just not realistic at all.
Also shoddy software has existed since day 1 and will continue to exist as some people are just better than others at what they do. that's no different than any other industry.
@BloodNinja I disagree. The Eshop should only allows screenshots of the game running on Switch to be shown on their store page. This game runs horribly in sections that have more than a couple enemies. The video you posted is basically the character walking down empty corridors, and even that looks bad. I feel bad for anyone who pays full price for this based on what they see on the Eshop. Hopefully more people read this review and games stop being released on the Switch in this state. Every developer doesn't need to release their game on the Switch if they can't make it playable.
@kobashi100
I didn't say it is limited only to videogames, I was talking videogames because this is a videogame site, not an "every product in the world" site.
End of the day if people release a shoddy product they should be criticised for it.
@MisterMan Thank you for disagreeing with me, I’m certain it solved the problem on the Eshop.
NINJA APPROVED
@TheFullAndy They should also be given the room and patience to fix it. If they never fix it, I think the criticism is much more warranted.
NINJA APPROVED
@BloodNinja
They should fix it because they have released a shoddy product, and they should not be praised for that because they still released it in this broken state in the first place.
These game devs need to take some pride in their work or at least have some bloody shame.
@BloodNinja Why the first review should be updated if the game is released in bad state? It should stay with the poor reception just to show that it was improperly released.
If there are big improvements new reviews should be posted.
Also they decided to print the carts with the version that is a mess.
Such practices need to be shamed. Otherwise they will never learn.
OK, I think it's obvious, @BloodNinja is either a huge troll or a moron. Stop feeding him.
@MisterMan
Don't think the Ninja will approve of that comment!
@TheFullAndy Ok. The game just came out. Give them a chance to patch it and hear feedback. I’m sure they are being made aware of the performance issues.
NINJA APPROVED
@MisterMan I haven’t said anything to you to warrant such language. I think it’s ok to respectfully share information aid differences of opinions. Have a little more patience, man. 🥳
@Zuljaras If a patch addresses something huge, the review should be updated so that people know the CURRENT state of a game. Someone reading the review in a year might not know better. It’s ok to communicate that information, you know!
It’s better to simply let the developer know, rather than shaming them. What’s the use in telling them something is broken if you don’t take the time to tell them exactly what areas have the poor frame rate, for example?
NINJA APPROVED
@BloodNinja
How about no?
You finish a game and then release it, not the other way around.
@BloodNinja If they didn't bother to finish their own game why should the paying gamers do the same?
Bad products need to be shamed. Otherwise we allow the practice of "release now, fix later" to run wild. And we ALL know that they do this KNOWINGLY!
@Zuljaras That's been a practice for the past two decades, it's pretty firmly engrained in gaming as an industry. Sometimes you gotta just release your software into the wild and see how it functions. Not the best method, but it's exceedingly common, even huge publishers like EA have done it, and usually they fix their stuff up after getting the most feedback they can. Annoying for people that pay for it, but hey, nobody is forcing anyone to buy this stuff. It's part of being the "paid beta testers." I think most people are pretty savvy to it, these days, and there's always plenty of info on the net regarding game releases so there's really no excuse either way!
NINJA APPROVED
@TheFullAndy Not sure why you're telling me this. I don't develop software or games, I'm only pointing out what happens. If you're mad at software developers for that practice, email them. Messaging me about it doesn't do a darned thing, though.
NINJA APPROVED
@BloodNinja
Son I am replying to you because you replied to me first. You told me your view and I am telling you mine, that is how it works.
Duh.
@NGNYS
Yeah OK michellelynn.
@TheFullAndy Right, but now you're trying to troubleshoot the games industry through a post to me. I'm not saying don't reply, I'm saying reply with relevant info, I can't do anything about your suggestion that they finish a game and then release it. Send that info along to the devs, they can actually do something about it.
If you wanna talk about anything else, I'm open, but if it's not relevant to what I'm able to do, then I will say something to fill you in, pretty simple!
NINJA APPROVED
@BloodNinja
Ya wha?!
I am talking about game devs in general not just this one.
Did you think I thought you made the game?
And again, you engaged with me first.
And all this "NINJA APPROVED" stuff makes you look a fool.
@kobashi100
To be fair, other developers have been able to make working games with a small number of people. It's really just how much time is spent and where their priorities are set.
In this case, it seems like they didn't really take the PS4/XB1 versions into priority and focused on PC, which is generally a bad idea if you consider other sub-par PC ports (even large games like PUBG).
@BloodNinja Still a banner of shame is a must for such practices even more nowadays.
@TheFullAndy
I actually give the thumbs down to every 'NINJA APPROVED' post I see. I never usually give thumbs down for anything.
The guy might actually make a little sense in some posts for all I know. I just can't see past 'NINJA APPROVED' to be reasonably objective about it. Clearly my failing.
@ObsidianEleven
For me it is the fact they appear to just be confirming their approval of their own comments.
Every.Single.One.
Who even does that?!
The game is pretty damn good, and the developers said they are aware of the Switch issues and will patch it. I got it on Steam.
@BloodNinja that's like trying to glue a jar you broke. No matter your skill or how much glue, truth is, you shouldn't have broken it. Games that cost 29£ shouldn't be "experiences" to be fixed post launch because 29£ with the economy as it is, it's pretty steep.
@CarlosM87 You don’t have to buy it. You can choose to spend 0. This game is one or two patches away from being fine. Really over the top analogy there my guy!
NINJA APPROVED
@Zuljaras 100% agreed. Let’s see if they fix it
NINJA APPROVED
@TheFullAndy Weird that I can share my difference of opinion with you and still be nice, are you capable of that? Or do you get this hostile with everyone that disagrees with you, then do the “but you started it” nonsense?
NINJA APPROVED
@ObsidianEleven It’s wonderful that the thumbs down does absolutely nothing!
NINJA APPROVED CARRY ON
@TheFullAndy Yikes, get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, Mr. Grumps?
NINJA APPROVED
@TheFullAndy I seem to walk fine, nothing gimpy here! Thank you for your concern.
The beautiful thing about all this is the lovely ignore button. Can't wait to press it so I don't have to take your abuse.
NINJA APPROVED
@BloodNinja
Press it and do me and everyone else a favour you waster.
I understand the development team is small and they have to juggle different versions of the game. So why didn't they wait two more months before releasing the Switch version? Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning is coming out on Switch several months after the PS4 and Xbox One versions. Why have to endure the bad publicity of putting out a buggy version? I know why: there's no such thing as bad publicity. People know it'll get patched and so they hear about the game a few more times than they otherwise would have. The more times you hear a product mentioned, the more likely you are to buy it.
@BloodNinja should be 2 patches away from being sold then.
And this NINJA APROVED does make you seem like a kid, or someone with brain damage who cannot understand what they're saying.
No offence, my guy.
@CarlosM87 Keep your negative thoughts inside your own head, convert them to something positive. Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of your negativity. Best convert that intensity into something that can better those around you, not bring them down.
NO APPROVAL
@CarlosM87 What makes you think anybody would want to hear such abusive language coming out of you?
Keep your own negativity in your own head. The internet is not a dumping ground for you to abuse strangers, verbally.
NO APPROVAL
@CarlosM87 Abusers on the net tend to abuse others outside of these confines. I suggest you take a deep look at yourself, and ask why you use such abusive language towards others.
NO APPROVAL
@CarlosM87 Pot calls kettle black, news at 11.
Seek help. You don’t have to keep abusing others verbally online.
@CarlosM87 All that nonsense you wrote about, saying that I have "aids" in all caps at me 5 times in a single post is how you care for people and better their lives?
Oh, you erased all that, what a shame and how convenient for you. What a hypocrite, saying something so utterly disgusting to someone and then erasing it and acting like an angel.
Someone called you out on your abuse, and you got offended. Just drop the abusive language. It doesn't serve you, it doesn't make people around you better, and it certainly doesn't make you look like a "carer." And over all topics, but a patch in a video game? Wow, dude. That's some intense stuff you have to work through.
To what end people will go to cover up their lies and past actions never surprises me.
Toxic doesn't even begin to describe a person like you.
NO APPROVAL
Hellpoint was garbage on PS4, figured it would be worse on Switch.
-Magician Disapproved
@kobashi100 I know this is an old article, but thanks for the post. Yes, this game seems to have issues on all platforms except PC. I have the Xbox one S and it has issues there also. Some friends have the X and say this also has issues.
Game was patched today and it runs much better. Still has occasional crashes (usually after you die so you don't lose any progress). But it's totally playable and genuinely fun/challenging. Much recommended.
This game looks amazing! my only problem is where the hell is the weapons? No guns?? What the hell!
@TheFullAndy totally agree with you. Or either these people are rich and have money to spend on "poor devs" or I'm just too poor to pity someone who I just gave money for a product I won't be able to use.
If anyone was still on the fence, it’s had a ton of patch love. Not perfect by any means, but addressed many of the issues above. if you like Dark Souls you’ll like this. I’m about 25hrs in and still having fun. Almost like DS, Event Horizon and Lovecraft had a baby.
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