Ok So I put this on not long after posting, Yep just finished playing that "little" session. The game has grabbed me and now turned into a huge loot collecting, hole in the wall finding, bug killing frenzy!
I found the first half hour boring somewhat but after a while and you learn the lay of the land, It all opens up and you realise just how clever this game is. Found out you can kill alot of enemies by just shooting them off screen but it never felt cheap. Im rocking the archer dude and havent tried anyone else yet. Really want to try out the co op as I bet its brilliant.
I have now beat this a couple times, but since it keeps popping up on deals I thought I should say some stream of consciousness about it.
Hammerwatch is a soso game in singleplayer. Unlike Gauntlet Legends where you can play singleplayer and still enjoy it, Hammerwatch is like Gauntlet 1 where it is just a nightmare. It is still beatable but just not that fun. Hammerwatch in multiplayer is infinitely better. I last beat it with Ack, his brother Goji, and our mutual friend xen, and we beat it in two sittings in about eight (8) hours. I will add that we play with one crutch of infinite lives - since it is a Gauntlet-like, I do not view it as cheating.
So if you enjoy old school Gauntlet, you will enjoy this. There are four main stages, broken up to multiple levels each. Each level has dozens of hidden areas and items. You have a handful of classes and each patch makes them slightly better (on launch you could not move and shoot as the ranger, now the ranger can play it like a bullet hell shooter). I have beaten the game using both the keyboard and an arcade stick, a controller is recommended for the game, keyboard controls are functional but not great. I only dislike four things about the game: 1. The HUD is gigantic, solid, and blocks the lower part of the screen, so going south is treacherous sometimes. 2. No on screen indicators of where your partners are (there is a map but a pointer would be nice). 3. No way to fast travel to an exit if your teammates are already there. Lending to a lot of downtime if you are searching for hidden planks. 4. If you do not get enough of the hidden planks, you cannot "win" the game, and there is no indication of how many planks are hidden or are needed.
Overall it is a great game, and there is a second campaign coming.
