Hellpoint | Review | Nintendo Switch

  • Developer: Cradle Games
  • Publisher: tinyBuild Games
  • Price: £31.49 / $34.99 
  • Release Date: 25/02/2021
  • Review code provided by tinyBuild Games

Introducing: Hellpoint Switch Review

Hellpoint is a Soulslike RPG sprinkled with action-adventure elements. Explore a dark and desolate space station to uncover the truth behind the events that have caused chaos amongst the habitants of the ship. Surely it can’t have anything to do with the supermassive black hole that the space station is aimlessly floating past, could it? Find out how we fared in our Hellpoint review for the Nintendo Switch.

Deep Space

When jumping into our review of Hellpoint, we took control of a creature that emerges from a tar like substance resembling the scene from T2 when the T-1000 appears from the liquid metal whilst the Terminator and John Connor flee the scene. The character is named Spawn and takes the form of a human. Fans of this genre will know that Soulslike games are unforgiving. With difficulty levels amped up to the point a part of the player dies inside and are never the same again left with an unnerving twitch and a glazed look in their eyes. But is Hellpoint tactically difficult or a bumbling mess causing the player to rage quit?

Black Hole Syndrome

To make a decent Soulslike, a fine-tuned combat mechanic is key. Unfortunately, Hellpoint lacks just that. Attacking enemies can feel clunky and repetitive. Making it more like a hack and slash with 2 attack modes. It lacks the incentive to keep the player invested in the game. Each attack is painfully slow and hitting the enemy can feel down to chance rather than skill. To add to the messy controls, I found the stamina bar diminishes too quickly, leaving the player with no choice other than to retreat and wait for the bar to refresh.

You can increase your stats by collecting axions. Once you have gathered enough you can spend them on certain aspects. These range from strength to health and stamina. Levelling up stats felt quick and easy but didn’t seem to improve gameplay that much. After mainly building up my strength and health, I reached level 10 in no time. But my health seemed to deplete just as quick and enemies were just as difficult to defeat.

Hellpoint does offer an online co-op mod. I was unable to test this feature or join a game due to not being able to find anyone to team up with. There was no option to search for a game and you needed to input a code to join a room or give out your code to friends for them to jump into your game.

Aesthetically Pleasing But Lacks Atmosphere

I didn’t find everything bad in my Hellpoint review. Cradle Games have created a visually stunning environment that stands out on the Switch both in docked and handheld modes. Unfortunately, this can feel hindered due to the natural darkness of the game. Even with the brightness set to full, areas were just too dark to even see the path in front of you. The game also felt empty, with huge halls and long corridors to explore which on the surface looked breathtaking but there was nothing to interact with other than the enemies and switches to open doors. My enthusiasm to proceed was wearing thin due to constantly dying and having to start over. Running through the same rooms quickly felt stagnant and combining that with the long loading times, it appeared that little to no progress was being made after ploughing hours into the game.

The soundtrack was none existent with big chunks of the game missing music completely. It lacked atmosphere and felt soul-less. The sound effects added some ambience but the echo of feet running down corridors quickly lost its appeal. I found myself turning the volume off completely especially when playing in handheld mode.

You Sent Me To Hell. I’m Here To Return The Favour…..

After spending my time with Hellpoint, it was apparent the game was flawed. I really did try to look for the positives but my experience with the sci-fi Soulslike was painful in nearly every way. With game-breaking bugs and weird glitches causing enemies to fall through floors, I never stood a chance. I stumbled on another problem whilst playing. I’m not fully sure whether it was done by design or down to a bug, but there is no way to pause the game. On many occasions, I found myself at the loading screen because an enemy had brutally killed me whilst I was innocently perusing through the menus and inventory thinking the game had paused. Hellpoint also seemed to be still active when I was on the Switch’s home screen, after jumping back into the game I was always back at the checkpoint as if I had died and it loaded back up in the background.

Conclusion

After the increase in popularity for the genre thanks to game franchises like Dark Souls, Nioh and Darksiders it was inevitable there would be an influx of Soulslike titles all fighting for the player’s attention. Unfortunately, Hellpoint falls short in many ways of being a good game. I wanted to enjoy my time with my Hellpoint review as I found the concept unique with an interesting storyline. The environment was visually stunning in places. Especially when looking out into space. If fans of the genre can work through the issues or if the developer could address them via a future update there could be a rewarding and enjoyable experience on offer. For the casual gamer, there are far better Soulslike games out there.

Pros

  • Visually impressive
  • Online Co-op mode
  • For fans of the Soulslike genre
  • Plenty of upgrade options

Cons

  • Clunky combat mechanics
  • Game breaking bugs and quirky glitches
  • There doesn’t seem to be a way to pause the game

Verdict
Hellpoint has the potential to be a great addition to the Soulslike genre but unfortunately, the game is marred by troublesome combat mechanics and filled with glitches that hinder your experience.