Harbinger

About

Harbinger is a single player hack and slash game. It was developed by Dobrx and was released on October 3, 2024. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Blast, slide, and tear through waves of monsters in Harbinger's retro-inspired combat, a free boomer shooter bringing '90s combat into the modern era. Fight through waves of enemies in brutal arenas and regroup at the tavern to upgrade your arsenal. Shred through your enemies! Fight waves of monsters and utilize a diverse arsenal of weapons. Every weapon provides a different playstyle, choose…

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97%Audience ScoreBased on 488 reviews

gameplay36 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Fast-paced, fluid movement and satisfying gunplay reminiscent of classic boomer shooters like Doom and Ultrakill.
Great art style with a Halloween-inspired, charming aesthetic and catchy, high-quality metal/electronic soundtrack.
Engaging gameplay loop with upgrades, unique mechanics such as losing health on missed shots, and amusing NPC dialogue with characterful story elements.

Game is quite short with limited content including only two main arenas, few weapons, and a relatively easy final boss.
Some bugs and technical issues such as enemies getting stuck, occasional crashes, and softlocks in weapon shops that can affect the experience.
Certain weapons are unbalanced or less useful due to the health damage on missed shots mechanic, which can frustrate players and limit weapon variety.

gameplay
101 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
58%
6%
The gameplay is widely praised for its fast-paced, smooth movement mechanics and engaging shooting dynamics, notably the unique health-draining mechanic on missed shots that adds challenge and risk-reward depth. While its wave-based combat and arena design offer satisfying, accessible action reminiscent of classic shooters, some players find the gameplay loop short and repetitive, with limited long-term variety and occasional balance issues. Overall, it excels as a fun, polished free-to-play experience with tight mechanics and a memorable soundtrack, though it could benefit from more content and refinements.
- “From the moment it begins, the game establishes a clear identity built around momentum and mechanical skill, offering an experience that is easy to understand but challenging to master.”
- “The gameplay centers on wave-based combat within contained arenas, where players must constantly move, react, and adapt to survive increasingly aggressive enemy encounters.”
- “The mechanic of missing shots lowering health was strange at first but soon allowed for riskier and riskier shots while low health for hp pickups and enemies.”
- “While the core mechanics are strong enough to sustain interest for a time, the lack of significant variation in objectives or environments may reduce its long-term appeal.”
- “The weapons need rebalancing, enemies get stuck on terrain constantly and the mechanic of losing HP for missing shots is poorly thought out at best (as it makes the LMG and crossbows completely useless), but those are the only gripes I have with the game.”
- “There's a gimmick where you take damage if you miss (what a dumb idea, but you can and should turn it off). This makes the game even less fun to play... but with these kinds of contentless shooters, 5 minutes of gameplay and you've seen the whole thing.”
music
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
32%
3%
The music in the game is widely praised for its energetic, headbanging, and bombastic soundtrack that perfectly complements the gameplay and atmosphere, often drawing positive comparisons to the Doom series. Players appreciate the variety and quality of tracks, which enhance immersion and enjoyment, though a few note some repetitiveness and uneven sound mixing. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature that significantly contributes to the game's appeal.
- “The background music during runs fits the gameplay perfectly and kinda reminded me of the old Doom games.”
- “This game is incredible, banger music, relatable funny dialogue between characters, amazing art style, quality sound design and a lovely mix of modern guns and a fantasy theme.”
- “The soundtrack is orgasmic.”
- “The music choices, to me, are a little too similar.”
- “Only the soundtrack is kinda repetitive but for a free game that's understandable.”
- “I just died because I got bored with ridiculous gameplay and the first song the 20th time on repeat.”
graphics
73 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
38%
4%
The game features a charming and distinctive retro-inspired art style that effectively blends pixelated, spooky, and neon-glow aesthetics, creating a unique and immersive Halloween-themed atmosphere. Reviewers consistently praise the visuals for their beauty, cohesion, and nostalgic appeal, often highlighting the well-designed animations, level design, and vibrant colors. While some report occasional technical issues when adjusting graphics settings, overall the graphics are considered a strong and enjoyable aspect that complements the gameplay experience.
- “The style of art in this game resembles older pixelated games; overall aesthetic is amazing and I love that the world changes as you play, with examples like after the first portal with the puzzle and obtaining the relic (called hay-mar in-game). Yes, this game has puns.”
- “It still takes its ‘90s shooter aesthetic and makes it feel modern and polished through its lighting and texture adjustments.”
- “Gritty retro graphics mixed with neon glow, and the soundtrack absolutely slaps.”
- “The graphics in this game are okayish, obviously inspired by the art style of Valheim, which at least makes the game look more appealing (to some, I guess).”
- “My game often crashes for no reason and for some reason my game has a seizure every time I try to turn the graphics up even though I can run pretty high graphic demanding games quickly.”
- “A boomer shooter with pixelated graphics.”
story
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
53%
7%
The story is generally praised for its engaging characters, humorous dialogue, and enjoyable world-building, though it is consistently noted to be short and simple. Many players appreciate the light narrative as a motivation between gameplay rounds but express a desire for a longer, more developed story with additional missions and side content. Overall, while not complex or deep, the story adds charm and enhances the game experience.
- “Noticed this game because of the souls-like tag but oh-boy the game actually is a hidden gem, everything from the controls to the graphics to the storytelling, everything is top-notch. The game doesn't get repetitive because of the perfect difficulty and gameplay loop. 100%ing the game was a fun experience, 10/10 would recommend to give it a try.”
- “Harbinger is a title that has surprised and impressed me in equal parts in all aspects: main story, characters, gameplay and soundtrack.”
- “The story, characters, dialogue, gameplay, and soundtrack have enchanted me.”
- “☐ no story”
- “The main story is pretty simple.”
- “Only complain, story was too short.”
humor
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its funny, relatable, and well-written dialogue, particularly in NPC interactions and character banter, often compared to charming, quirky styles like "Nightmare Before Christmas." Players enjoy the humorous artifacts, playful moments, and comical situations that add personality and levity, making the gameplay experience both entertaining and memorable. Overall, the humor significantly enhances the game's appeal, balancing seriousness with lightheartedness and keeping players engaged and smiling throughout.
- “The humor is great and reminds me of Nightmare Before Christmas.”
- “The dialog is funny too, with just enough personality to keep you grinning between the chaos.”
- “Genuinely one of the best free-to-play games I played; funny dialogues, insane gameplay... but what makes it 10/10 is you can throw rats!”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The atmosphere is highly praised for its distinct and well-designed arenas, immersive visuals, and excellent music and sound. It effectively combines dynamic environments with engaging character and gameplay elements, creating a captivating and memorable experience.
- “Atmosphere top notch, visuals great, music and sound great, everything is great.”
- “Short, sweet, and to the point with plenty of character and atmosphere.”
- “All this dynamics, atmosphere, fighting style, game mechanics in general, all this is very fascinating.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game "Harbinger" is impressively well-optimized, delivering solid performance on most machines, especially those meeting optimal specifications. Players can enjoy smooth gameplay without stutter or lag, enhancing the overall entertaining experience despite its indie, solo-dev origins.
- “Harbinger feels perfectly charming and offers an entertaining and well-optimized experience, especially impressive for a free solo-dev indie game.”
- “Between runs, players can access a central hub where upgrades and unlocks become available, offering small but meaningful boosts to performance.”
- “Performance-wise, the game runs pretty solid on most machines, with those meeting the optimal specifications experiencing smooth gameplay without stutter and lag.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Grinding in the game is relatively light compared to others in the genre, with a short overall playtime and reasonable unlock requirements. However, some users mention the need for additional effort to fully complete content and express desire for an endless mode, while noting occasional exploits used to ease grinding.
- “45-60 minutes to beat the game, but it takes 2 hours to 100% due to grinding for gun and music unlocks.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Although I can't recreate it, it would be nice if there was an endless game mode as it all stops on wave 12; then again, I've been farming crystals with a flying glitch I found.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is somewhat compromised by frequent glitches, such as enemies and the player clipping into walls, but these bugs add an unintended layer of fun. Despite the bugs, gameplay remains enjoyable, with developers acknowledging and addressing some issues.
- “A bit buggy, with enemies and myself glitching into walls pretty often.”
- “It was fun finding all the glitches, although I know they are not intentional. It was amusing to see the developer message if you clipped through the map.”
- “Buggy, but still fun to fly around shooting the crossbows.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect is criticized for its current implementation, with users suggesting either its complete removal or a redesign of the ads system to include features like iron sights for better accuracy. Players appreciate weapon variety but want improvements in aiming mechanics rather than relying on ads, as the current zoom-in method hampers effective aiming.
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Users find the emotional aspect of the game somewhat mixed, noting a boring story but appreciating the pleasant and wholesome NPC dialogue.
- “Boring story”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features fun and creatively designed characters with a lighthearted tone. While character development is not deeply complex, the enjoyable and playful design enhances the overall experience.
- “I love the character design, and I appreciate that the game doesn't take itself too seriously.”
- “Short, fun shooter with some really cool character designs and enjoyable gameplay.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers strong replayability despite its short length, encouraging players to revisit and fully complete it multiple times.
- “This game is short and you will probably 100% it in one day but it has an incredible amount of replayability.”
- “Good replay value.”