Some context, to help potential buyers with a decision: while I'm a big fan of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1, I never truly enjoyed the other FromSoftware games, as I felt they were missing some fundamental aspects of what made the first two Souls games great. Of all the Soulslikes I've played over the years, Hellpoint comes closest to capturing the original lightning-in-a-bottle. It's got a great setting, interesting lore, good combat (not too fast-paced) and big levels with lots of details and secrets. It never gets boring or outstays it's welcome, and there is a whole bunch of stuff to uncover. The levelling system is ok. The levels are fantastically interconnected, unfortunately not as majestic as those from the original Dark Souls, mainly due to the setting and the game taking place in a closed environment. Like with Dark Souls and Demon's Souls, the average gamer should glance at a beginner's guide before the first play-through, just to get a better sense of the game's mechanics and progression and to avoid some common progression pitfalls (like when to use Breach Synchronisers or how to access some more obscure questlines). I've not played this in multiplayer, so I can't attest to the couch or online co-op. I've noticed the game getting quite a bad rep from online critics, which actually put me off from starting the game, but there seems to be some pervading misunderstanding on what this game actually is and how it should be played. So if you're at all interested, try not to look to much into the bad reviews floating around, and give this a shot.
Esthetically, the game looks really nice and it's got some really good voice acting. However, the style of the game doesn't really serve a purpose, and there is no reason for the cardboard cutout style drawing. It could just as easily be 3D models, or anything else, and the game would function the same exact way. That isn't really an issue, though. The problem is that most of the gameplay is very repetitive: find someone, read their mind, "pick" their mind, and finally click on someone else. Problem solved! Don't believe me? Well, you'll see for yourself; absolutely no variety, and it gets boring pretty soon. That's reason behind the grade. There are better platformers out there. There are better adventures out there. Overall, there are better games out there.
It really is! It has a good story, good puzzles and great pacing. The story progresses nicely, and almost each puzzle solved brings with it some story progression. That is a trait of great adventure games. You never feel stuck, and when you do actually have problems with a puzzle, you're aware that it is your own fault and you have overlooked something. A great game overall, one that has a story to tell and does not insult your intelligence or waste your time while doing it.
A big fan of Daedalic I am, and I always expect their games to have a cinematic, story-driven approach. However, this game takes the opposite route - puzzles, puzzles and more puzzles at the expense of good pacing. While puzzles are not a bad thing, there should be a limit. In this game, I never felt like I was progressing enough. Every puzzle I solve brings another puzzle instead of story progression. The story itself is nothing special. There is no magical redeeming quality, no emotional connection to the characters and the world (since there are waay too many characters to properly flesh them out), and most of the story is told in exposition instead of us being the centre of the tale. All of this makes for an OK game with some interesting tidbits here and there, but it never rises to the greatness of The Whispered World, Chains of satinav, A New Begining or Deponia.
