This game deserved more credit than it got in my opinion. It's not perfect but I still consider it an above-average souls-like game. The art, tone, and atmosphere are all great. The gameplay and level design are solid enough. This is definitely one of my personal favorites.
short "Review" or better a comment for the matter
it's not the sort of game I usually would buy, but on giveaway, Thanks GOG
the graphics are pretty good, (a bit outdated)
Game-story, might be OK, but not really all that New
Game-play, very repetitive, kill Zombies? all over again until you get super Bossfights where they show you, yes this game is Hell
runs very good on Linux like all other GOG games
that's the best part no matter how bad a game story is, GOG knows their business
Gameplay is really good, story and lore are alright, if confusing at first. However, the worst part that I found gamebreaking are the environments. I spent the entire game trudging through same looking, claustrophobic corridors that are too dark to see anything in fighting the same enemies over and over again. After I entered the fifth area or so and it looked exactly the same as the last 4, I just couldn´t bear it anymore. The layout is confusing, you can´t fast travel as you´d like and I could feel my eyes hurt trying to make out if I´ll fall off a ledge if I take another step or if that is just more of the same, dark floor. Every now and then you´ll get a nice vista of the area you´re going to navigate through in tight, dark corridors with the camera fighting you every step of the way. There´s a decent game underneath all that, but I just couldn´t anymore.
I have tried for the better part of a week to describe Hellpoint in a way that would both satisfy potential buyers and my own experience. The best I can come up with is, 'A cheap and easy Souls-like.' Let me be clear; this is not a bad game. In truth I love the art direction (elements of Dune and Event Horizon are spread throughout), the combat is pulled from Souls and the basic elements of the 'genre' are here.
It's simply an easier, cheaper to buy Souls-like - and I can't really complain too much about that.
You are an Avatar, printed (yes, tech has gotten to THAT point) onto Novo Irid, a colossal space station orbiting a singularity (presumed to be Sagittarius A*). Something has gone terribly wrong and you need to find out what (while maybe getting out of there yourself).
Like any Souls-like the plot is rather bare-bones on its own and requires digging to get any tangible bits out of it. The combat is fast, reflex-based and rewards pattern learning. Dying is not only inevitable but, as many a Souls fan will attest, necessary to learning the mechanics of the game/level/boss. The art style and level design makes up for the graphical...ho-hum nature. This is not going to win any awards for beauty (but expecting revolutionary graphical fidelity out of a game that costs less than half of a Dark Souls title is, in my humble opinion, asking too much).
The difficulty is rather easy for a title in this 'genre;' there is a certain 'je ne sais quoi' about the feel of the characters attack strength and the enemy attacks...they feel too skewed for the player. The game has no clear objectives but with a bit of time (and perhaps a Youtube video or two) most new players will find their way.
This is a commendable effort from Cradle Games and tinyBuild. It allows people curious about the Souls 'genre' to get a taste on the cheap. It won't reinvent the wheel but that's not the point; it wants to be a fun game and, for anyone who likes this sort of game, will love it.