Let's Try Hellpoint (Pre-Alpha Demo)

Channel:

Ethervil

Subscribers:

1,720

Published on April 13, 2017 8:40:33 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTkUwMsz94c

Game:

Hellpoint (2020)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 41:07

308 views

4

Here's my Let's Try of the Pre-Alpha demo of Hellpoint. It's a dark science fiction action RPG in development by Cradle Games. Cradle Games is notable as they are staffed by several game industry veterans who worked on series like Assassin’s Creed, Skylanders, Rainbow Six, etc.

The game takes place in a derelict research colony called Irid Novo, which is orbiting around a massive black hole. An unknown amount of time has passed since a massive quantic cataclysm has occurred, causing most of the denizens to be driven insane or turned into hideous monsters, and attracting other monsters from deep space and other dimensions. The player takes on the role of a mysterious character created by an AI called the Authority. Their goal is to unravel the "Truth", whatever that means, and stop the spread of this calamity to the whole multiverse. And in order to accomplish that goal, they'll need to venture deep inside Irid Novo, hone their skills, equip themselves with better gear, and face the many dangers within.

The base gameplay is really reminiscent of the Soulsborne games. There's the deliberate combat with a lot of weight put into it, where many mistakes are punished rather harshly. There's also the fact you have Axions which you collect from slaying enemies, and you can spend them at Breaches to level up one of your stats. There's a lot of customization in terms of what character build you can pursue - the starting classes only determine your initial stats, skills, and equipment. Equipment have a differing variety of stats to support different playstyles. Plus, equipment and magic will be able to be upgraded or modified to improve stats and add new effects. Some of the proposed mods seem quite crazy in fact - modifying the base nature of equipment/magic.

So, the base gameplay is essentially Dark Souls in space. However, one of the main distinguishing factors of this title is the Quantic System. It's essentially a game master which can dynamically alter many parts of the game experience and world. Depending on the player's actions and game state, it can for example, buff up or add more enemies to certain areas, spawn rare mobs, open up secret portals, modify the level design, and alter what NPCs are present. It's meant to keep the game fresh for repeated playthroughs, and to keep players at their toes. Sadly, it wasn't demonstrated much here. But, I did have one scenario during testing where some enemies were more durable than their brethren.

There are several things I missed while recording this. Here are most of them:

* You can rebind some of the keys in the launcher. In the final game, I'd like this option to be in an ingame options menu.
* Hellpoint supports splitscreen local PvE and PVP multiplayer gameplay. So, two players can work together or compete in this game. Another plus is that another player can jump in and out whenever they like.
* There is no Estus Flask or Blood Vial equivalent in the game yet. Hopefully, in the final version, there will be one.
* If you die, you'll leave behind a phantom in the vicinity. In order to reclaim your lost Axions, you'll need to slay that phantom. If you die again before slaying the phantom, it'll disappear and you'll lose all the previous Axions you had. Be warned, as it'll fight using the previous set of gear you equipped.
* I could have applied that melee weapon upgrade to upgrade one of my weapons.
* By leveling up your weapons, they can provide benefits to your stats as well as unique weapon skills. For instance, with the Officer Glaive Sword, I could have used a long range lunge attack. The final upgrade tends to be the most powerful, so it incentivizes sticking with a particular weapon.

A few suggestions:

* An options menu to tone down the graphics. Right now, the only option is "Fantastic", which can cause problems with weaker systems.
* Explanations of what each stat does. Stuff like Strength and Stamina are self-explanatory, but stuff like Cognition, Foresight, and Tenacity aren't.
* Breaches should restore some of your health and energy. It can be either free, or a player can pay Axions for a restore.
* Improve some of the camera angles.

My experience with this title is mostly positive. The core gameplay loop is satisfying, and it's fun exploring this derelict facility. Combat is simultaneously very punishing and rewarding. There are some technical hiccups with some stuttering, and the menu being a bit unstable. But other than this and the items I mentioned before, I'm happy. It's a competent Soulsborne-like title. I look forward to see how this title develops.

Main Website: http://www.cradlegames.com/index.php/hellpoint
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hellpoint/hellpoint-a-dark-sci-fi-rpg
Stream Greenlight page: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=898450408

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Hellpoint is in development by Cradle Games.

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