Hob

The game starts without explaining anything in details. You collect stuff you first don't know what they are but when you collect enough of it you see that you get more health or more energy or you can buy abilities with them. There is also no hints at the beginning on how to move or what the mission is. This is irritating at first but creates a strange mysterious feeling that is intensified because no one is talking to you in a comprehensible language but just sounds. The game wants you to be curious and looking for hints on where to proceed. To be fair you can easily spot the things the game wants from you if you are no beginner in video games. The fighting feels good and is not too complicated. Moving and jumping feel good but sometimes it's not working as expected because there is some invisible object or something blocking. The world looks beautiful as can be seen on the screenshots. It's somewhat a mix between tech-green-spiritual-wooden objects. If you don't like to explore and find out for yourself what is going on, this game may not be yours. Because there is not much explaining on what you have to do and how you have to do it, it is not for beginners that want guidelines.

So, I thought about a 3/5, but it earns its stars. The quality is there, and you can tell that the team behind this game put real passion into it. But for some reason it fails to grab me at almost every turn. Worst part is that it was really hard for me to figure out why. I think it is the lack of sound, in general and the overall flow of the gameplay. There is no music, and most of the sound effects don't have much oompf. Which is fine sometimes, if you're in the mood for a really chill game to explore I really do recommend this one. However, if you're looking for a world to get lost in this probably isn't it. I say that because it doesn't feel very expansive and is fairly linear. Anyone calling it a metroidvania is a little off the mark. Yes, there is exploration, but that exploration is within the bounds of a fairly linear gameplay path. Yes, you can backtrack, but it is pretty much just to finish finding collectibles, not new paths using the new powers you've unlocked, or at least not new paths that aren't pointed out to you very blatantly. So, if you kind of like exploring and want a chill game, then this is a solid buy. If you're looking at it because you're a fan of "metroidvania" games than I'd recommend watching some gameplay first and really thinking about why you love the genre. If you, like myself, enjoy getting lost in the world and having to think for yourself to find progression then you may find this one a bit lacking. This is a hard one for me to grade, its a great game, but at the same time its a great game that I I'm positive won't stick in my memory once I beat it.

Hob has decent visual design and sound to start off, but there isn't enough to the gameplay to make it worth it to play through the whole thing in my opinion. I found the combat fairly repetitive with little enemy or attack variety, and exploration just consists of running around and jumping while pressing buttons. The animations of new areas being revealed are quite cool at first, but at some point I felt like I was just running around and pressing buttons mindlessly, waiting for something interesting to happen. I've never played a game that looks this good and unique while also making it feel like a chore to progress. If the visual style seems really captivating for you, this is possibly worth trying out when it's on sale. Otherwise, I can't recommend it.

The comparisons to Zelda aren't unwarranted. Though I would argue that its spirit is closer to 2D Zeldas than 3D Zeldas, with some Shadow of the Colossus and Hyperlight Drifter. Just like those games there is no real dialogue in Hob, which accentuates the atmosphere immensely. The gameplay focus is on exploration. Aside from the many secrets to uncover, the main story path requires you to take a good look around the environment to figure out what to do. And it manages to make you actively want to seek out more of this world. The true brilliance lies in Hob's level design. It excels at nudging you into the right direction to keep you going, and the world itself will shift as you progress. And should you find yourself at a complete loss, there is a functional map with markers. Combat is surprisingly varied in what you're able to do. Sword attack, punch, dodge roll and teleport. And all of it can be upgraded. Unfortunately this is not well utilized as there is not much variety in enemies. And the few enemies that are there have very limited movesets. No bosses either. It is somewhat disappointing as the combat really is engaging when you're up against a slightly more challenging foe. A sadly missed opportunity. The visuals while minimalist in graphics are breathtaking in design alone. Hob has many what I would call 'wallpaper moments'. There are even vantage points through-out the game that just let you stand there, have the camera sweep to take in how beautiful the environments are. It's like the devs are screaming "Pleeeease look at this, we put so much effort, love and care into creating this world!" The only objective negative I have to address is the technical side. Hob has bugs. I myself had luckily only about 3 occurrences where I had to quit the game and restart. There were repeated visual glitches, screen tearing or graphics fading in and out of existence. This is an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise fantastic game that it is absolutely worth playing.

One of the rare games that rewards those of us who like to explore every nook and cranny. That's generally how you find your upgrade materials. Very satisfying. Awesome level design. Also very aesthetically pleasing. The only fault I would find with it is the occasional odd camera that makes a couple of the jumps a bit awkward.