So far, I can safely say Runic has done it yet again, after the great games that are Torchlight and Torchlight II.
I had it pre-ordered on GOG since day one, not really sure what to expect, relying on the facts that I love action-adventure games, found the art direction to be gorgeous and because I honestly trust Runic with making good games. I haven't played much, yet, but I'm definitely enjoying Hob a lot. It looks even better than what trailers and screenshots made me see, every animation is fluid and makes the heavily stylized world feel alive, with a lot of attention to detail, like different animations for when Hob climbs ledges, jumps, runs, or how he turns his head in a very seemingly natural way to look at points of interest or just scenery (like birds, deer, architecture, etc). The game really doesn't tell you *anything*. You press New Game and there you go, the main menu background turns into a cutscene, something happens and then Hob is standing by a newly-opened doorway, looking onto a field, the wind rustling his cloak. It took me about one minute or so to figure out I was already playing; no prompts, no nothing, just Hob standing there in front of a field. After exploring a bit (I can safely assume this game promotes and rewards exploration *a lot*), I eventually found out where I needed to go and what I needed to do. The game doesn't really tell you, it just gives you subtle hints and indications. There are times when an "Interact" prompt will appear when in front of or near some things, but I honestly don't mind those, as otherwise I really wouldn't have known what is context-sensitive and what's not. Other than that, we're on our own. No big arrow pointing us where to go, no always-on mini-map with quest markers; it's just us and the world. The part I played of it, thus far, has been straightforward enough, I think they created an intuitive way to communicate with the players without the need for an actual language, and I think that's an awesome achievement. I'm expecting the game to get harder as I progress, but if they keep this basic design throughout it, I don't think it'll ever become frustrating or cryptically annoying. Experimentation and exploration seem to be the core of the game and, to be fair, I've been missing something like Hob for a while, now.
Even if you dislike "cartoony" graphics, I still highly recommend this game, especially if you're a fan of good old action-adventures like some Legend of Zelda titles, Tomb Raider or the Crystal Dynamics' Legacy of Kain games. It may not look like any of those but, trust me, it definitely scratches that itch.
As for the controller vs. keyboard+mouse debate, sadly, I'm without a controller at the moment, so I can only play using the latter method and, because of that, I can't really say for sure which one is better. All I can say, though, is that the game *is* most definitely more than playable with keyboard+mouse -- it even has two methods of movement input, one using WASD and the other using RMB while moving the mouse. However, it also feels like using a controller could be somewhat more accurate when controlling precise 3D movement, especially when jumping, so, if you do have a controller, you're probably better off using it. If you don't, though, no worries, it plays just fine just with your regular computer peripherals.
That's it, I guess. Thanks to Runic and GOG for releasing this awesome game in here, I truly hope it gets the love it deserves down the line, even though the "gaming community" seems to be giving it all to freaking Larian.
TL, DR: awesome game, buy it if you like action-adventures with no hand-holding and LOTS of exploring and experimenting. Plays wonderfully with keyboard+mouse, though probably slightly better if you use a controller.
[EDIT] I'd like to add that, true to Runic fashion, Hob runs smoothly on *really*... "modest" hardware. I've been playing it on my crappy (non-gaming) Acer laptop all afternoon without a single hiccup or slowdown, with the game set to the "High" graphics preset (Ultra slowed the game down a lot, for me).
Post edited September 27, 2017 by groze
