Do you like FromSoft games, do you like the movie Event Horizon? What if there was a game that captured the essence of both.
That on paper sounds cool, and in the right hands can potentially lead to something fun. Sadly, Hellpoint is merely a poorly cast shadow of what makes a good soulsborne title.
Before even talking about the game itself, one thing that must be addresssed is the poor performance of Hellpoint. Even on PlayStation 4 Pro hardware — the game seldom remains at a steady framerate, often dropping well below 30fps, making an already challenging game, feel unnecessarily frustrating and clunky.
If for whatever reason, the poor performance doesn’t deter you from the game, Hellpoint is in essence, a 1:1 Soulsborne derivative with a sci-fi coat of paint. Aesthetically, the game seems to want to ape the works of famed artists and writers such as Zdzisław Beksiński, HR Giger, and of course HP Lovecraft.
In practice, however, Hellpoint at best looks like an uninspired mess of interconnected rooms in a derelict spaceship, one in which features the same, flat-looking textures with the occasional glimmer of neon that remind you of the fact that you’re in Space and in the future (probably).
Enemies as well, feel as though they’ve been directly lifted from a Fromsoft title as well. Ranging from drones of zombie-like grunts that resemble the hollows of Dark Souls to the more formidable sentries that mimic the behaviour of the Dark Knight enemy.
In other words, there is very little in Hellpoint that feels truly original. Thankfully, although uninspired, some enemies and bosses do still look cool, making the journey throughout the game somewhat warranted for those who really want to see everything the game has on offer.
In terms of unique features present in Hellpoint that helps set it apart from its obvious inspirations, include things such a blackhole system that dictates what spawns in the world and subtle changes that can occur depending on the time of day.
The above is a pretty cool system, however, one that requires the player to be familiar with the game world, making it somewhat feel random for those playing the title for the first time.
A bonfire-like system is also present in Hellpoint, a more forgiving one than in what is found in Fromsoft titles, as they tend not to respawn enemies after resting. Players can also leave messages and request other players to be summoned via glowing handprints similar to the messaging system found in Soulsborne titles.
When it boils down to it, Hellpoint is a decent-enough game, one that may be too closely apes its contemporaries and one which should only be played on a capable PC. As the PlayStation 4 version of Hellpoint as it stands, can barely be considered to be enjoyable.
