Helheim

About

Helheim is a single player arcade hack and slash game with anime and science fiction themes. It was developed by Not a Number and was released on February 1, 2019. It received neutral reviews from players.

As the goddess of death, Hella, reconquer your reign by defeating an entire army. Brand your sword to kill enemies with their own projectiles and unleash ancient powers to annihilate them.

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50%

Audience ScoreBased on 20 reviews

graphics3 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Fast-paced and challenging combat with deep gameplay mechanics involving dodging, parrying bullets, and using runes for strategic variety.
Unique Norse mythology-inspired setting and story with decent lore and atmospheric environmental design.
Smooth and satisfying movement mechanics, especially dashing, combined with quick loading times and a good indie vibe.

Repetitive and linear arena combat with limited enemy variety and sometimes inconsistent gameplay mechanics.
Stiff and limited animations, clunky controls, lack of key remapping and mouse support, leading to frustrating player experience.
Sound design issues such as generic music, abrupt music transitions, and occasional technical problems like stuttering and large installation size.

gameplay
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The gameplay offers a mix of well-executed dodging mechanics and bullethell-style combat with parrying and rune-based abilities, providing depth and variety. While some find it captivating and strategically engaging, others consider it somewhat forgettable despite the interesting features. Overall, the gameplay balances thoughtful mechanics with enjoyable action elements.
- “It's all about finding the right approach and perfecting the mechanics.”
- “Game is pretty fun, has bullethell-like mechanics where you can either dodge or use your sword to attempt to parry the bullets away. You can find runes as you progress that are active abilities like slow time, reflect bubble, etc.”
- “Being able to deflect bullets by attacking them is a nice feature, and unlocking new runes is supposed to keep the gameplay fresh.”
- “Helheim's story is basic stuff and serves only as window dressing for the gameplay.”
- “There is thinking and depth to the gameplay here, which makes Helheim a winner.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game is generally seen as generic and monotonous, with many players finding it uninspired and low quality. Combat music, in particular, is criticized for its abrupt start and stop without smooth transitions. Overall, while not a major highlight, the music is considered acceptable given the game's price.
- “I just went with the music and played through it in an hour and some change.”
- “The fights are fluid and the ambientation are well made, maybe just the music is a little bit too monotony but for a 10€ game is totally ok.”
- “Music and animation are absolutely on the lower end of quality however but I quickly forgot about it.”
- “Music is a bit disappointingly generic, mostly orchestral.”
- “Way too generic music and level design; overall, the game feels unfinished.”
- “The combat music is annoying and starts and stops abruptly when you start and leave combat; there is no fade in and fade out, which is silly.”
graphics
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The graphics feature a cool art style with well-textured surfaces, but some users find the visuals over-saturated or generic, and the large, sparsely detailed arenas diminish the overall impact.
- “It's got a nice art style with greatly textured surfaces.”
- “The aesthetic is cool but often wasted on huge arenas with very little of note in them.”
- “Visuals are good, but gameplay is impressively forgettable.”
- “Got bored after 15 minutes; the oversaturated visuals didn't help.”
- “However, the graphics feel very stock image.”
story
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The story is a Norse mythology-inspired revenge tale with a strong female lead, offering decent lore and ties to Ragnarok events. However, some find it minimal and primarily serves as a backdrop to the gameplay rather than a deeply developed narrative.
- “It's got a Hyper Light Drifter and Furi feel to it, with a decent story, great main character, and legitimate lore that sticks true to the tales of Norse mythology, taking place supposedly after the events of Ragnarok and Thor Odinson's death at the hands of Jormungandr the world serpent.”
- “It's a Norse revenge story with a female character.”
- “Minimal story.”
- “Helheim's story is basic stuff and window decoration for the gameplay.”
- “Enough with the story though, it's really only a backdrop.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences occasional stuttering and requires optimization to improve performance and provide a smoother gameplay experience.
- “The game will also stutter sometimes, and needs optimization.”