Ever wonder what a 90’s shooter would be like if it was released today? With stunning fidelity, the new FPS, Hellbound, from Argentinian developer, Saibot Studios, partnering with veteran developer and now publisher, Nimble Giant, evokes much of the notalgia of classics like Doom and Quake.
Hellbound promises to be exactly what it turns out to be. For $14.99 USD, Hellbound packs in a quick and engaging campaign and offers a horde-style survival mode for extended replayability.
Gameplay
Everything one would expect to be in a 90’s style hellscape shooter is here: the circle-strafing, hip-firing shooting mechanics, the small carnival of weapons to inflict special kinds of violence, the simple mission to eliminate everything on your warpath. It’s a simple formula, and in reality, is executed quite simply as well.
There are not many weapons to choose from. There are only a handful of different enemies. There are just a few smart-labyrinth level designs. And there’s just one boss at the end of a short (1-2 hours) adventure.
And yet … that didn’t even matter. I had fun playing Hellbound the whole time, and wished I could explore the campaign past its conclusion. Hellbound is somewhat lacking in ingenuity and variety, but makes up for it by staying honest to its foundation.
In terms of replayability, Hellbound offers a “Hellscape!” mode for those that best the “Old School” (Hard) difficulty, but I do not recommend playing either of those. For me, upping the difficulty changed the pace of play from rapid rampaging to plodding pathfinding.
Aesthetics
Where Hellbound impressed me the most was the simple, yet beautiful landscapes the small team at Saibot Games created. Many hellscape settings blend together, but Hellbound felt unique with an arcade-neon style adorning the pick-up items scattered throughout every level.
The hard-hitting metal of course fits well in Hellbound. Despite there only being a few tracks that end up repeating, even accounting for the short total playtime, I still kept it on to keep the glue of hellscape theme together.
Conclusion
For those looking for the hottest take on an old-school genre, Hellbound isn’t the game that will fulfill your expectations. It’s sold as a 90’s game and it truly is that. Despite its shortcomings, I enjoyed my romp through Hellbound and would encourage fans of retro-shooters to as well.
Score: 8.5/10
Check Out the Hellbound Trailer:
Hellbound is available for PC via Steam for $14.99. For more information, please visit the official website.
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Steam Review
Recent Michigan State University grad and current Game Studies researcher who plays fantasy RPG's to escape, Smash to compete, and Stardew to chill. Also have a +1 to rage/toxicity resistance due to the many hours sunk into WoW, R6, and LoL.
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