There are a lot of games on Steam right now that clearly owe something to Vampire Survivors, especially now that the whole bullet-heaven style of gameplay has become so popular. However, Hellforged, from developer Moonpyre, caught my attention because it looked like it was taking that type of game and putting it much closer to something like Diablo, with a dark fantasy setting and more traditional action RPG progression incorporated into each run. I've played plenty of games like both of those over the years, so I figured there was a pretty good chance Hellforged would be up my alley. And, after spending some time with the game's free demo on Steam, that very much turned out to be the case.
Hellforged is described by Moonpyre as an "extraction bullet-heaven," so there is more going on here than simply entering an area and surviving against increasingly large groups of enemies. There is permanent gear progression, a skill tree, crafting, and quite a bit of control over how each run can develop, but the actual gameplay itself is simple enough that I can settle into it without having to think too hard about every second of what I'm doing. That's probably the biggest reason I've enjoyed the demo as much as I have so far, because once everything starts working together, Hellforged becomes one of those games I can sit down with and suddenly realize I've been playing far longer than I intended to.
A typical run in Hellforged takes place in the Undercrypt, where enemies continue showing up while I work my way through the area, level up, and gradually improve whatever build I'm using. At the beginning of a run, things are fairly manageable, but it doesn't take long before there are enemies all over the screen and multiple abilities going off at the same time. The interesting thing is that it never really felt overwhelming to me once I got used to the pace of it. If anything, that was when I started enjoying it the most, because there is a point where I can stop thinking quite so much about every individual enemy and just focus on where I'm moving and what I want to do next.
That's where the Vampire Survivors layer really comes into play, because a lot of the appeal comes from watching a build gradually become more powerful during a run. However, Hellforged is also much more involved than simply choosing another upgrade every time I level up and seeing how long I can survive. There are objectives and challenges to complete throughout the Undercrypt, different routes and layouts to work through, and loot to find along the way. Completing every challenge in a stage can also cause the Goblin Merchant to appear, which gives me three random cards to choose from in exchange for gold. If I don't like any of them, I can reroll the choices, although the cost increases each time.
The other big difference is that Hellforged doesn't let me keep everything I find just because I picked it up. I eventually have to extract from the Undercrypt, and anything I collect during a run is lost if I die before I make it out. I have a certain fondness for extraction games, simply for the risk-reward loop of it all, but I think it works especially well here because the whole game isn't built around the stress of potentially losing everything. Most of the time, I'm still focused on building my character up and clearing the enemies around me, and the extraction side becomes more important once I actually have something in my inventory that I care about.
At the beginning of a run, things are fairly manageable, but it doesn't take long before there are enemies all over the screen and multiple abilities going off at the same time.
It also changes the way I look at a run once things have been going well for a while. If I've found some gear I want to keep, I have to start thinking about whether I actually want to keep going or whether I'm better off getting out while I can. At the same time, if the build I'm using has become strong enough, there's always the temptation to stay down there a little longer and see what else I can find. I like that the game leaves that choice up to me, because it adds something to each run without getting in the way of the part I've been enjoying most, which is simply getting stronger and seeing how far I can take a particular build.
The Hellforged demo currently has two playable characters, Thoren the Paladin and Mortenzia the Dark Elf Mage, and I enjoyed both of them quite a bit. Thoren is much more suited to being right in the middle of everything, and I had some good runs with him once I started getting used to how he played. Still, I'm a spellcaster main in pretty much every RPG I play when I'm given the option, so Mortenzia was probably always going to have an advantage with me.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://gamerant.com/steam-action-rpg-diablo-vampire-survivors-hellforged/
