Hack n Slash
- May 6, 2014
- Double Fine Productions
- 6h median play time
Hack 'n' Slash starts as a clever game about game design, but ends up feeling like homework.
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Get on itch.io Store"Hack n Slash" is a hacking-themed action-adventure game where you play as a character with the ability to manipulate and control electronic devices and systems. The game features puzzle-solving and combat, as you navigate through various levels and encounter different types of security measures and enemies. As you progress, you can upgrade your hacking abilities and customize your character's appearance.
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Reviews
- Unique concept that allows players to hack and manipulate game code, providing a fresh take on puzzle-solving.
- Clever writing and humor that adds charm to the gameplay experience.
- Engaging mechanics that encourage experimentation and creative problem-solving.
- Steep difficulty spike in later chapters, making it frustrating for players without programming knowledge.
- Poorly explained mechanics and lack of direction can lead to confusion and aimless wandering.
- Numerous bugs and crashes that disrupt gameplay and hinder the overall experience.
- gameplay90 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a unique hacking mechanic that allows players to modify in-game code to solve puzzles, offering a fresh take on traditional adventure elements. However, many players find the mechanics poorly explained and the puzzles can become frustratingly obtuse, leading to a mixed experience that often feels tedious rather than engaging. While the concept shows promise and appeals to those familiar with programming, the execution suffers from a lack of depth and polish, resulting in a gameplay experience that can quickly lose its novelty.
“As a software engineer by trade, I feel like this game was made for me. Seeing how creatively Double Fine took these programming concepts and translated them into Zelda-esque gameplay elements is extremely novel and refreshing.”
“The core mechanic of changing the game engine while it is running is really compelling, and leads to very open-ended puzzle design.”
“The gameplay is fun, the gameplay feels fresh and really innovative, it has some nice characters and cheesy dialogue.”
“The gameplay is way too easy, as you can literally restore all your health by setting a bush on fire.”
“It's got promise as a proof of concept, but there's just so much frustration over the actual gameplay that it sours the whole experience.”
“The setup of the game starts out nice, but the deeper you are able to dive into the code, the more you start to get annoyed by the awful gameplay.”
- story72 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it either boring, thin, or poorly executed, often feeling like a mere backdrop to the gameplay. While some appreciated the humor and quirky characters typical of Double Fine, others criticized the lack of depth and coherence in the narrative, leading to a convoluted experience. Overall, the story seems to struggle with pacing and engagement, leaving players wanting more substance and polish.
“The story follows a player named protagonist and their BFF sprite, while the two combat the evil wizard in his quest to corrupt the world around them.”
“It has a great story, and I enjoyed the way the programming aspect fits into the story.”
“The writing in parts is great and amusing, as is the story and setting.”
“The story is paper thin and not engaging at all.”
“However, the story and tropes are uninspired and lame.”
“The paper-thin storyline, flat dialogue, and cardboard-cutout characters do nothing to make the puzzle headache worthwhile.”
- graphics40 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the colorful, cartoony art style reminiscent of classic games like Zelda, while others criticize the overall execution as lacking polish and clarity. Some users find the graphics charming and fun, but many express frustration over poor animations, unclear pathways, and a general feeling that the visuals are outdated or messy. Overall, the aesthetic is seen as a double-edged sword, offering potential but often falling short in execution.
“Super cute graphics!”
“The graphical style is really nice and refreshing, not to mention the idea behind the game has so much potential!”
“The art style is nicely done, intentionally evoking similarities between itself and Legend of Zelda.”
“I don't like the overall graphic style; it looks like some old ugly cartoon to me.”
“The graphics themselves are not impressive.”
“The art style often leaves it difficult to tell the difference between walls, cliffs, and walkable areas without the use of the hat or info opacity tool.”
- stability31 mentions
- 3 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 97 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of severe bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder the gameplay experience. Players have encountered issues such as freezing, janky controls, and inconsistent performance, leading many to describe it as an unfinished and unpolished product. Overall, the consensus is that the game is too buggy to recommend, even at a discounted price.
“The overall experience was just too buggy and frustrating to recommend buying the game at any price.”
“I found this game absurdly buggy.”
“Unfortunately, the first 2 hours of the game were a chore, and the last 2 hours were crazy buggy.”
- humor25 mentions
- 96 % positive mentions
- -8 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The humor in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it clever and genuinely funny, particularly praising the witty dialogue and amusing interactions. However, others criticize it as juvenile or overly forced, leading to moments that feel more annoying than humorous. Overall, while the game has its comedic highlights, it may not resonate with all players, especially those seeking more sophisticated humor.
“Funny, cleverly written, and with excellent gameplay.”
“The first part of the game is really, really, really funny and interesting.”
“Great game, love the cartoony style and the funny sense of humor.”
“He supposedly has all the power you have, but, to keep spoilers to a minimum, he either doesn't use them for some reason or uses them in a ridiculously stupid way... stupid enough that it feels like poor writing, not funny stupid.”
“The attempts at humor often fall flat, making the game feel more awkward than entertaining.”
“I found the jokes to be forced and unoriginal, which detracted from the overall experience.”
- music15 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it pleasant and fitting the theme, while others criticize it for being repetitive and forgettable, often looping within a short timeframe. Although a few reviewers appreciate the originality of the soundtrack, many express that it fails to leave a lasting impression, contributing to an overall sense of mediocrity in the game's audio experience.
“Music sounds original, and fits well with the theme.”
“The music is great.”
“Excellent concept, nice music and design and a fun story-line.”
“The art, music, and story are all cute, but not really good enough to carry the game.”
“If the writing is inconsistent but generally terrible, the puzzles can be unfairly obscure, the soundtrack merits a level 'meh' if not a disapproving 'feh' at some times.”
“Music is the same 5 to 15 second music loop per area and will slowly drive you insane.”
- grinding12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being extremely tedious and frustrating, with players noting that the constant respawning of enemies and steep difficulty curve contribute to a lack of enjoyment. Many find the gameplay repetitive and boring, with puzzles that feel obtuse and inaccessible, leading to a sense of monotony rather than engagement. Overall, while the concept may be intriguing, the execution results in a tedious experience that detracts from the fun.
“It is extremely tedious, made much worse by the fact that all enemies respawn when you change screens.”
“This game is not fun, it's tedious... much like real programming.”
“It's a neat concept, but once the novelty wears off it really just feels tedious rather than fun.”
- replayability7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The reviews on replayability are mixed; while some users highlight almost infinite replayability and enjoyment in mastering the game, others express disappointment with low replay value, particularly for those who prefer to conquer and move on quickly. Overall, the game's replayability seems to depend on individual player preferences and play styles.
“Replayability: there is almost infinite replayability.”
“Lots of replayability the more you know about the game.”
“Overall, I found the game highly enjoyable; while it has low replay value, that's not usually important to me in games - I conquer and move on.”
“And I don't feel like starting from scratch as I don't see much replay value in it.”
“Pretty much no replayability.”
“A bit on the short side, with low replay value unless you just want to test how far you can go with the hacking.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is polarizing; while it effectively captures a programmer/hacker vibe that appeals to some players, others find it frustrating and clunky, particularly due to the cumbersome hacking interface and controls. Overall, the atmosphere is seen as both engaging and irritating, depending on the player's experience.
“I enjoyed a lot the game, its atmosphere, story (mainly the final talk), and winks to old games.”
“The hacking interface, while pleasing and atmospheric initially, quickly becomes an irritant and discourages the use of complex hacking in favor of 'turn thing off' due to the clumsiness in setting advanced things like enemy pathing.”
“The entire atmosphere of this game is basically designed to be annoying.”
“- frustrating atmosphere in general coupled with clunky controls”
“This game is perfect for those who love the programmer/hacker atmosphere.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for its lack of engagement, with users finding the story to be boring and uninspiring.
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers praise the character design as exceptional, highlighting it as a standout aspect of the game. However, there is no specific mention of character development in terms of growth or narrative depth.
- optimization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users note that optimization in the game involves the use of bytecode and assembly, which are designed for machine efficiency rather than human readability, indicating a focus on performance over accessibility in the code structure.
“The problem is, bytecode and assembly are not meant to be read by humans; they represent optimized code that is much closer to the machine than to what a human would write.”
“The problem is, bytecode/assembly is not supposed to be read by a human; it's optimized code much closer to the machine than to what a human would write.”
