Hellbound starts out by warning the player, “This game is being made like it was the ‘90s, some people may find it too difficult.” And yet, while playing it I wasn’t reminded of Doom, which the aesthetic was so clearly modeled after. Demons, blood, hell, lava, all of it is meant to invoke memories of Doom. But the game doesn’t play like the wildly popular 90s first-person shooter, it plays much more like the ’00s first entry into the mindless shooter genre, Serious Sam.
The first level starts out with you standing in a room surrounded by health, armor, and ammunition pickups. As you progress through the level you’re met with demonic enemies that can’t jump onto platforms like you can and will get stuck across gaps and, if they’re lucky enough to have a gun, shoot you. Reaching way back into the 90s, my first task was opening a door that required a colored key card. I really have to compliment Saibot Studios for getting the older mindless shooter to feel right. Running into an empty room with an upgraded gun or key card, grabbing it, and suddenly being surrounded by enemies tapped into something inside of me that hasn’t been tapped into since I was a teenager two decades ago.
From the spinning ammo pickups and armor shards to the world map at the end of the level showing me where I’d be going next, Hellbound is tapping into mindless shooters at its core. The old-school first-person shooter is en vogue and Hellbound is taking advantage of the current gaming climate. The demo only allowed me to play a single level but if the game continues to build as well as the first level did, it should be a solid shooter. My only issue was an unstable frame rate plaguing certain sections of the level, especially when multiple enemies were on screen.
brendan yong
July 1, 2020 at 10:58 pm
I try to play this game once. it’s ok i like it. two thumbs up!