Hardland
- September 17, 2019
- Mountain Sheep
- 6h median play time
Get on Steam"Hardland is a single-player, open world fantasy game with a good plot and masterful graphics, featuring mild swearing, alcohol use, and surreal themes. As an adventurer in the kingdom of Hardland, you'll uncover secrets, solve mysteries, and search for clues to influence the power struggle between the Elder King, the Queen in Snow Peak, and shadowy forces. The game encourages exploration and delving deep into the stories of its inhabitants for a memorable and hilarious experience."
Reviews
- Unique playstyle and beautiful artwork that creates an engaging atmosphere.
- Challenging gameplay that encourages exploration and puzzle-solving without hand-holding.
- Interesting lore and character interactions that add depth to the experience.
- Game feels unfinished with many bugs and crashes, leading to a frustrating experience.
- Lack of clear guidance or quest tracking makes it difficult to progress.
- Perception of abandonment by developers, causing disappointment among players.
- story161 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its unique, non-linear approach that encourages exploration and memory, while others criticize the lack of a clear narrative and quest tracking, leading to confusion and aimlessness. Many enjoy the intriguing world-building and dark themes, but feel that the absence of a quest log and repetitive quests detracts from the overall experience. Overall, while the game has potential for a rich story, it currently suffers from inconsistencies and a lack of direction.
“The surreal story is exciting and captivating, and you always want to find out more.”
“Cleverly written and wrapped in layers of symbolism, it gives you the feeling like you're making things up as you go along but comes together quite brilliantly at a number of points when multiple quest lines converge in a real 'aha!' moment.”
“Hardland is an open-world RPG that does things differently; beyond its beautiful clay art style, it has a brilliant story, and a quest structure that, while hard to grasp for most, is wildly refreshing in a world where games love to hold your hand.”
“Story was non-existent and, after going dark for many months and then hiring a writer, is still weak and kind of doesn't make sense.”
“A big world full of potential and an art style that drew me in, only to find there is no content to this game; it's a huge empty island with not even a thread of a plot to follow.”
“There is no storyline in the game; it's basically just a sandbox with random mobs scattered about and the devs have been silent since November 2017.”
- graphics112 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their unique and charming art style, often compared to claymation and reminiscent of classic titles like Fable. Players appreciate the stunning visuals and attention to detail, which create an enchanting and immersive world, although some note that the gameplay may not fully match the quality of the graphics. Overall, the artistic direction is seen as a major highlight, drawing players into a whimsical yet mysterious adventure.
“The graphics are beautiful, the people and the quests are charming, it's open world, everything is a mystery waiting to be solved, it's just amazing.”
“The graphics are insane.. the character models are hilarious.. can't wait for more!”
“The art style is almost off-putting in a way.”
“Even though Fable is old, the gaming industry hasn't really progressed that much graphics-wise for years.”
“They probably realized that under the charming visuals, they had no idea how to make an actually good game.”
“They're worried about polishing the graphics (see the last update) and not worrying about the game experience at all!”
- gameplay71 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its primitive mechanics and bugs that hinder the experience. While some appreciate the unique elements and artistic visuals, others find the combat shallow and the overall gameplay lacking depth and direction. Despite these criticisms, there are glimpses of potential, with some players enjoying the nostalgic feel and the promise of future improvements.
“Nevertheless, the art and design as well as the overall gameplay experience is still worth experiencing and has some of the more unique elements I've seen.”
“The gameplay is nice, nothing too complex or innovative, but good enough to keep the story going.”
“Hardland has a perfect balance between moderately challenging gameplay and the fun of exploration and looting.”
“Gameplay is weak.”
“The mechanics are admittedly primitive.”
“Riddled with game-breaking bugs within the first 5 minutes of gameplay.”
- music16 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its beauty and ability to enhance the atmosphere, while others find it sparse or lacking depth. Many players appreciate the soundtrack's charm, but some express disappointment over its repetitiveness and the absence of more engaging ambient sounds. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's whimsical tone, there are calls for more variety and refinement.
“Beautiful looking mystery/adventure game with an amazing soundtrack, lore, and atmosphere.”
“Besides the gorgeous graphics and charming music, there is a deeper and almost darker undertone to this fairy tale-like world.”
“It perfectly establishes the whimsy of the game, and when the music and lighting are tweaked during certain circumstances, they propel you into the surreality that gushes beneath the surface of this world.”
“And these negative points just go on, from map exploration that just does not feel rewarded to a boring soundtrack or if there would be any ambient sounds at all.”
“- boring soundtrack”
“Same enemies everywhere, same looking rooms, very dull sound effects and 'music'.”
- optimization14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some players report significant improvements in performance and frame rates after updates, others experience persistent issues such as long load times, crashes, and bugs. Despite the developers' active engagement in addressing these problems, many users still find the game to be poorly optimized, particularly on higher-end systems.
“The graphic style is great, the performance is good (with the random fps fall, only for 1-2 seconds), but the most important part: the devs are pushing constant updates, content and are here on the discussion board, ready to answer any question and repair any bug.”
“Edit 2 (9/18/15): optimization got a big improvement as my fps has had a huge jump, from an average of 20 to an average of 60!”
“A well optimized game!”
“The game is also badly optimized, started to get long load times, slow downs, and even crashes late into the game.”
“There are some big problems with bugs and performance, so be warned the game is a little rough around the edges in that department.”
“Horrible, glitchy, unoptimized and boring.”
- humor10 mentions
- 90 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players highlighting its funny writing, hilarious dialogue, and quirky character interactions that often lead to laughter. The blend of beautiful visuals and absurdity contributes to a whimsical experience, making the game enjoyable for casual play. Overall, the humor is described as random, bizarre, and a key element of the game's charm.
“The writing is also quite funny; some dialogue exchanges had me bursting out laughing.”
“A strikingly beautiful and surreal journey into a world full of intrigue, action, bizarre lore, and humor.”
“The interactions are fun, funny, and sometimes downright crazy.”
“I have started over so many times from this bug; it's not funny.”
“The jokes in this game fall flat and feel forced.”
“I expected a lot of humor, but it just ended up being cringeworthy.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its beautiful visuals, immersive world-building, and captivating soundtrack, creating a unique and soothing experience. While some describe it as bleak rather than surreal, it effectively draws players in, making it a recommended choice for those seeking depth and a more relaxed ambiance. Overall, the game's atmosphere stands out as a significant strength, enhancing the overall adventure.
“Beautiful looking mystery/adventure game with an amazing soundtrack, lore, and atmosphere.”
“The world-building in the story, atmosphere, and art is good and was enough for me to ignore the weaker parts of the game.”
“The atmosphere in the demo is soothing and the sound effects are very nice: everything feels a bit dreamy.”
“The atmosphere is more bleak than actually surreal as they like to claim.”
“Are you getting exhausted from playing games with a dark intimidating atmosphere that take themselves too seriously?”
“Recommended to RPG players who like Zelda but would like more depth and atmosphere.”
- stability5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent glitches, buggy lighting, incomplete controller support, and instances of lagging, freezing, and crashes. Many users feel that the game is unfinished and not worth the current price due to these technical problems.
“There still seem to be some glitches like missing sounds, incomplete controller support (menus...) and action activation at the wrong time.”
“Horribly buggy, it almost seems unfair that the devs are charging people for such an unfinished product.”
“Technically, Hardland needs a lot of work (lagging, freezes, and crashes on my rig), but early access and all that.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating due to a tedious combat system and cumbersome armor management, which detracts from the overall exploration experience. The need to frequently change armor during battles adds to the annoyance, making the gameplay feel more laborious than enjoyable.
“A seemingly interesting exploration game completely ruined by bugs and a tedious combat system.”
“I found managing my armor really tedious, and I disliked having to change my armor in the middle of a fight through the menu, as it left me vulnerable to serious damage.”
- character development2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is largely linear and automatic, with health and stamina increasing upon leveling up without player input, while equipment is restricted by level requirements. This approach contributes to a static experience, making character design the primary differentiator among similar RPGs.
“Character development is linear and automatic, with health and stamina increasing on level up without any additional input from the player, and equipment having level requirements.”
“Character development is linear and automatic; health points and stamina increase on level up without any additional input from the player, and equipment has level requirements.”
“Static world RPGs are a dime a dozen; at this point, all that differentiates them is the character design.”
“The lack of meaningful choices in character development makes the experience feel shallow and unengaging.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with users expressing concerns about its abandonment and the presence of potentially fake reviews.
“Dead game... abandoned and turned into a cash grab!”
“It seems to me to smell of a cash grab and get a lot of fake reviews posted.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users highlight the emotional impact of the developers' heartfelt apology and recent update to a game previously considered abandoned, indicating a strong connection and renewed hope for the game's future.
“The developers have given a heartfelt apology and an update to a game that most of us had written off as abandonware.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviewers note that while the game features appealing graphics and visual effects, it lacks depth and replay value, resulting in an experience that feels average and may not encourage multiple playthroughs.
“The focus on prettier graphics and visual effects over replay value and depth will ultimately lead to just another average mid-tier indie RPG.”
“Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to dive back in; the lack of meaningful side quests makes replaying feel tedious.”
“The game offers a linear experience with minimal choices, which severely limits its replayability and makes it hard to justify multiple playthroughs.”
