Hammerwatch II

63%
Game Brain Score Based on 914 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Hammerwatch II Game Cover
If you're tempted to pick this up as a fan of the original, I'd encourage you to think twice; dated design decisions and uninspired writing make for a slog of an adventure.
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Gather your heroes and journey beyond the dungeons of Castle Hammerwatch to explore a pixelated world like never before. Aid King Roland’s resistance while helping villagers along the way. Battle beasts, finish off hordes of the undead, and face the forces of evil in this epic ode to classic ARPG.

  • PC
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

63%
Audience ScoreBased on 914 reviews
story44 positive mentions
grinding46 negative mentions
  • Engaging combat system with diverse character classes and skill trees.
  • Beautiful pixel art and immersive world design.
  • Fun to play with friends, offering a nostalgic dungeon-crawling experience.
  • Frequent bugs and crashes, especially in multiplayer mode.
  • Tedious backtracking and lack of fast travel options.
  • Vague quest descriptions and time-sensitive quests can lead to frustration.
  • story416 mentions

    The story in this game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its classic fantasy elements and world-building, while others criticize its execution, particularly regarding quest clarity and NPC interactions. Many players find the quest system frustrating due to vague descriptions, time-sensitive tasks that can fail without warning, and a lack of clear indicators for quest givers, leading to confusion and backtracking. Overall, while the narrative has potential and can be engaging for those who invest time in reading quest details, it suffers from design choices that detract from the overall experience.

    • “The story is a classic in a good way: an old-fashioned fantasy quest of honor and courage to fight an oppressive evil.”
    • “The game introduces a handcrafted world with a fun storyline, providing players with an immersive and engaging experience.”
    • “The story is good and it's fun to read it.”
    • “The story itself feels like an extreme railroad that grasps at straws to keep up.”
    • “The quests need work, often providing little to no explanation.”
    • “The main quest path is completely unclear and I am stuck in Aventurine at level 25 and have no clue where to get the next breadcrumb.”
  • gameplay199 mentions

    The gameplay of Hammerwatch 2 has received mixed reviews, with many praising its core mechanics, combat, and pixel art, while others criticize the clunky user interface, frustrating day/night cycle, and various bugs that hinder the experience. Players appreciate the depth added by RPG elements and the engaging multiplayer aspect, but some feel that the game lacks polish and direction, leading to tedious mechanics and a less enjoyable overall experience compared to its predecessors. Despite these issues, the game remains fun for those who enjoy cooperative play and action RPGs, though expectations should be tempered regarding its execution and design choices.

    • “The online play is flawless, the gameplay is quick, fair, challenging, and well-paced. The NPCs have nice flavor, and the map traversal and exploration couldn't be better.”
    • “The gameplay loop is fun and challenging, the music is incredible, the quests are interesting yet simple, and the pixel art is unreal!”
    • “Fantastic gameplay all around, and the ability to spec out different skills in your tree really adds depth that this series hasn't had before.”
    • “The day/night system is a bit inconvenient at times; frankly, the game underutilizes the mechanic enough that there's really not much value in it outside of inconveniencing the player, making you have to sleep to be able to find the NPCs you're looking for.”
    • “Unfortunately, it feels like the mechanics as well as the layout of the world are half-baked.”
    • “Bugs and mechanics making the game needlessly tedious are killing the experience.”
  • graphics83 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their stunning pixel-art visuals and attention to detail, evoking nostalgia while enhancing the overall atmosphere. However, some players have noted issues with optimization and visibility, particularly in later levels where certain elements can blend into the background, causing confusion. Overall, the art style and animations are considered a significant improvement over previous titles in the series, contributing to a visually appealing experience.

    • “The graphics are downright gorgeous.”
    • “Music is fantastic, graphics are literally jaw-dropping for a pixel-based video game, animations are super crisp.”
    • “The pixel graphics are amazing and the combat is incredibly responsive!”
    • “Considering this game is not a high graphic output game, there is no excuse for the poor optimization and performance at all.”
    • “Although the art style is still very charming at the beginning, the choices for the later levels hurt the eyes.”
    • “The art and visuals should not come at the expense of the actual game fluidity, especially for this game genre.”
  • grinding53 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and frustrating due to excessive backtracking, respawning enemies, and a lack of meaningful rewards for time invested. While some appreciate the grind as a typical feature of ARPGs, others criticize it for being overly punishing and monotonous, particularly on higher difficulties. Overall, the consensus suggests that the game could benefit from better balance and design to enhance the grinding experience.

    • “There are also repeatable quests that are there for some easy money or XP that cover typical fetch/kill quests, and so far I've found them useful and not tedious.”
    • “Also, the quests are cool; they add flair to the game and aren't tedious.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Was fun for about ten minutes until you hit the east wolf caves. The large wolves are absurdly overpowered and will kill you in 10 seconds. Sure, you can move and block, but the telegraphing is rubbish and inconsistent. Then you die, lose your gold for dying, and on top of that, the enemies can respawn after a very short amount of time. This needs serious rebalancing; as of now, it is unplayable. If you're one of those people that likes tedious games, you'll probably enjoy this for some reason, but if you are an average gamer, I would steer clear of this one. Thanks for wasting my time and money.”
    • “The only thing that could be better is if there was a kind of town portal to get out of a dungeon fast. I don't mind backtracking; it just gets a bit tedious having played for a while.”
    • “A big part of why it didn't click for me is that everything is overwhelmingly slow and tedious, whereas the first game was very fast-paced with clear objectives. Hammerwatch 2 feels like it pulls you in many different directions, and the dynamic time cycle makes it even more confusing.”
  • music50 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its catchy and enjoyable soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere and nostalgia, particularly for fans of pixel art games. However, some players find the music repetitive or forgettable, with a few noting that it doesn't always match the game's moments effectively. Overall, while the soundtrack is generally well-received, opinions vary on its uniqueness and impact on gameplay.

    • “Cute game, great music, funny characters!”
    • “The game's music kept me floating along as well, it's catchy and pretty enjoyable overall.”
    • “The music is absolutely amazing, and I appreciate them continuing that tradition from the prior game.”
    • “I'm not a big fan of the music; it often felt uninspiring and not appropriate for the moment.”
    • “The music can be alarmingly repetitive to the point I need to turn it off only 4 hours in - but what is there is good if it weren't for the frequency of those loops.”
    • “As you're leaving Castle Hammerwatch, the music fades from a familiar jam to utterly forgettable ambient fantasy music.”
  • stability28 mentions

    The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with many users reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. While some players note that the game can run smoothly at times, the overall experience is marred by issues such as input problems, inventory glitches, and multiplayer instability. Despite the developers' efforts to address these problems, many feel the game was released without sufficient polish, leading to frustration among players.

    • “The pixel art is great, it's basically bug-free on launch, the music is decent, and the controls feel tight enough.”
    • “Runs great, plays great!”
    • “The game is fantastic, runs great, looks great, and has smooth controls.”
    • “It is a frustrating bug-ridden mess that should have had a lot more polish before having people purchase it at full price.”
    • “Full of glitches, it would get hung up on loading and freeze about 75% of the time when entering different areas of the map, which was only fixed by closing and reopening the game. Inventory glitches made items disappear or turn into other tools, shop menu glitches would make items disappear when moving items around in inventory, and several areas of the map are still not accessible despite completing the game.”
    • “The interface is also very buggy, does not work well for controllers, and the game crashes a lot to the point it is unplayable for me.”
  • humor20 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its quirky characters, funny dialogues, and amusing design choices, contributing to a lighthearted atmosphere. Players enjoy the comedic elements woven into the gameplay, such as unconventional combat abilities and humorous quest names, which enhance the overall experience. While some technical issues exist, the game's charm and humor make it a fun choice for those who appreciate a comedic twist in RPGs.

    • “Cute game, great music, funny characters!”
    • “Some good humor to the RPG setting (I mean, I completed a quest called 'I'll be the hooker!' and actually laughed a little).”
    • “Hammerwatch 2 takes the classic hack-and-slash formula and turns it on its head by introducing a range of classes with unconventional, yet side-splittingly funny, combat abilities.”
  • atmosphere10 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its strong visual and artistic elements, complemented by effective music that enhances the overall experience, though some find it somewhat forgettable. While it successfully retains the atmospheric qualities of previous titles, opinions vary on whether it fully captures the essence of earlier games, with some noting a shift towards a more open-world feel. Overall, the graphics and atmosphere are consistently highlighted as standout features.

    • “Art style is very good, music supports the atmosphere excellently.”
    • “I gotta give credit where credit's due: the game looks wonderful and the atmosphere is great.”
    • “I'm loving the graphic style and combat mechanics, the game is just so atmospheric.”
    • “Whilst it does retain the atmosphere and look of the previous games, it isn’t the simple roguelike you play to take a break from; eventually tiresome, open world games - it is now kind of one of them.”
    • “At the same time, it isn't quite either, due to not having the atmosphere of former games and due to character being tied to a save unlike in ARPGs.”
    • “Works fairly well to establish atmosphere.”
  • replayability9 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is viewed as limited, with some players expressing disappointment compared to its predecessor, Hammerwatch. While there are elements like multiple classes and difficulty levels that suggest potential for replay value, issues such as disconnect bugs in multiplayer and a lack of inspiring progression mechanics detract from the experience. Players recommend exploring earlier titles in the series for a more fulfilling replay experience.

    • “Yeah, Hammerwatch (the previous one) is a great game, replayable, with cool progression mechanics through the town and its development.”
    • “It's rogue-lite, meaning there is a lot more replay value and you can join random servers with your character.”
    • “This looks like it will have a ton of replayability, with 5 classes and 4 difficulty levels, not to mention the mod support.”
    • “Only cons I find are the consistent disconnect bugs in multiplayer and the lack of replayability.”
    • “Honestly really sad about the replay value here; if it goes on sale for maybe 15 bucks, buy it then.”
    • “The first games were amazing and I spent tons of hours in them; go back and play those, they are co-op friendly and you will get a lot of replayability from those.”
  • optimization7 mentions

    Overall, players express disappointment with the game's optimization, citing poor performance issues despite its low graphic demands. Many believe that the game requires urgent optimization, particularly for cross-region play, to enhance the overall experience. While the effort put into the game is acknowledged, the current performance shortcomings are seen as unacceptable.

    • “First and foremost is performance.”
    • “- The stats system is classic but extensive enough for gear optimizations and crafting.”
    • “Considering this game is not a high graphic output game, there is no excuse for the poor optimization and performance at all.”
    • “There is so much work put into this and it shows; however, it should be optimized a little bit, in my humble opinion.”
    • “This game needs to be optimized ASAP.”
  • emotional3 mentions

    Players express a mix of frustration and emotional impact in their experiences, highlighting moments of heartbreak due to unexpected character deaths and a lack of meaningful interactions with NPCs. While the game offers fun elements, the emotional depth is undermined by superficial dialogue and interactions that fail to resonate.

    • “Besides that, it was fun, just heart-breaking.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development in this game is significantly enhanced compared to previous installments, contributing to an overall improved experience in exploration and combat. Reviewers emphasize the importance of engaging with character development to fully appreciate the game's depth.

    • “It is the best Hammerwatch game to date; the world, exploration, combat, and character development have all improved compared to previous games.”
    • “To me, you can't fairly judge a game if you have not engaged with the character development or ventured out of the starting area.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression.”
    • “I was disappointed by the limited options for character growth and customization.”
    • “The characters seem one-dimensional, making it hard to connect with their stories.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

63% average critic score

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Play time

35hMedian play time
28hAverage play time
19-40hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 7 analyzed playthroughs

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