Maroc - 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - Hier 03:24

Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel – Review

Slightly under a year ago, we took a closer look at Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel, an interesting-looking new entry in the Survivors-like genre. While the content was very limited at that time, we still got a good impression of what to expect in the final build, and also the things we felt were missing at that point. Nonetheless, we concluded that the game already had a very solid foundation, impressive graphics, and a very entertaining gameplay loop. Now, with the game available on PC and consoles, we were ready to see what Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel’s full release had to offer. Story There is a short introduction to the game, as well as a small conclusion when you defeat the final boss, but other than that, Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is pretty much without an overarching plot or fleshed-out narrative. The Norse theme is just the framework for the title, very much like it is in Nordic Ashes or even Viking Survivors. Even so, the fact that we do get a bit of dialogue and a tiny story that unfolds as you progress is still nice. Graphics Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is probably one of the best-looking Survivors-like games out there. We immediately felt like we were playing a Viking-inspired version of Diablo 4, with amazing skill effects, cool enemies, interesting backdrops, impressive boss designs, and so on. We truly enjoyed how everything looked, and even with more and more skill and attack animations, we still kept a good overview of what was going on. With the full build, there is a greater variety in stages, enemies, characters, and skills, resulting in a highly appealing end result. We did feel that a few boss designs leaned very close to designs we have already seen in Diablo 2 and Diablo 4, but this didn’t bother us too much. Sound The sound design of Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is quite decent. The music is appropriately cinematic, and the sound effects pack a proper punch. It’s rather satisfying to hear all your skills going off, as well as the impact of them. There are a few voiced lines here and there, but they are just there to add some flavor to the Nordic theme of the game. Gameplay Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is a Survivors-like game, such as Nordic Ashes, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, or Time Treker. You basically pick a character, a level, and a difficulty level, and you’re good to go. In Jotunnslayer, you won’t just have to wait until the clock runs out to fight a boss, but you’ll have to complete objectives and actually trigger the boss battle before the timer reaches zero. If you don’t do it on time, you’ll fail the level and will have to try again. Other than that, Jotunnslayer follows the same format as other titles, as you automatically attack enemies around you, and you’ll get to choose between different passive, active, and skill upgrades each time you level up. Everything feels straightforward and really polished. Each of the selectable characters has its own set of skills that it can unlock during a run, but the game also has gods that can offer you their skills or passive upgrades. You can have five additional combat skills during a run, and many different passive upgrades. Each level up, you’ll be offered the choice between two gods or one god and your class skills. You then select one, and then you’ll be offered more choices within the chosen option. The game lets you upgrade your chosen characters and god abilities in between runs with the money you amass during a run. Character upgrades will only count for the chosen character, while god upgrades will give boosts to all characters. You’ll notice a steady progress after a few runs, and your characters will get a lot stronger, making it easier to tackle higher difficulties. The biggest issue we had with Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is that the final build still had very limited content. There are only five levels to clear and six characters to select, making it so that you will have seen most of what the game offers in a couple of days. Don’t get us wrong, what’s present in the game is highly polished, but we felt a bit disappointed that we went through all the content that quickly. Of course, you can still grind for additional coins to unlock everything on the skill trees, and you can always try the highest difficulty levels for all stages, but we would have liked a few levels to play through or characters to try out. Conclusion Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is a capable Survivors-like title with an entertaining gameplay loop and impressive visuals, but it sadly suffers from a lack of content. Don’t get us wrong, what’s present is highly amusing and might just offer one of the best experiences in the genre, but you will probably have seen most of what the game has to offer after a day or two, which is a shame. Even so, we feel the game is fairly priced, and if you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll have a blast with it. We do hope additional content is added in the future.