The time has come for you to take arms as either a wizard, paladin, ranger or warlock and climb to the top of Castle Hammerwatch. What’s that? Oh I know, climbing a castle – where’s the challenge in that? Well, you didn’t let me finish: as you ascend, you’ll have to deal with hordes of bats, slugs and other nasty creatures, all of which will be more than happy to test your skills! Good luck.
Upon starting a new game, you’ll have to pick one of three classes (note: for some reason, the warlock is not playable), each of which comes with its own unique attack and special ability. As the name implies, the ranger fires arrows from afar while the wizard roasts enemies with fireballs and the paladin, well this guy is all about getting up close and in your face. They do all have one thing in common, however – a thirst for battle, and believe me, Castle Hammerwatch’s floors are all filled with vile creatures, all of which are more than eager to bite, claw or burn your skin with corrosive acid if you’re not careful; told you it wasn’t going to be easy! But combat is not all you’ll be doing, since every so often, a switch puzzle or floor spikes will temporarily block your progress.
I’m sure you’ll find that after all that sword swinging or fireball flinging, a brain teaser is a welcome change. Something tells me the developer decided that none of the four classes were too bright though, as none of the ‘puzzles’ provided a great amount of challenge. As such, Hammerwatch is – for the most part – all about kicking ass and taking names, complete with pixelated violence (nothing quite like it). Heck, you can even bring up to 3 friends along if you need some meatshields extra firepower, both online and offline! So to summarize: it’s a fast-paced hack ‘n slash inspired by classics like Gauntlet, with several difficulties and various multiplayer modifiers to increase/decrease the challenge – all in all, a very accessible and fun game.
So what’s not to like? I certainly had fun! Remember to drop a vote on their Greenlight page and its development can be followed right here. Got all that? Then grab the open beta already and start playing!
