Hell Hunt <demo>
- May 29, 2020
- T19Games
- 7h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Hell Hunt is a retro-style First Person Shooter that draws inspiration from 90s classics, putting you in the role of a demon hunter seeking revenge in hell. The game features classic elements like key cards and secret areas, along with modern mechanics such as bullet time, special abilities, and upgradable weapon systems. With over 10 weapons, abilities, and levels with key cards and secret areas, this demo offers a taste of the thrilling action to come."
Reviews
- Fast-paced gameplay with smooth movement and responsive controls.
- Variety of weapons and upgrades that allow for different playstyles.
- Great soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- Level design can be bland and repetitive, especially in later episodes.
- Some bosses feel unbalanced and can be frustrating to defeat.
- The music can become repetitive and lacks dynamic variation.
- music478 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in "Dread Templar" has received mixed reviews, with many praising its heavy metal soundtrack as energetic and fitting for the fast-paced gameplay. However, several players noted the excessive repetition of tracks across levels, which can detract from the overall experience. While some find the soundtrack to be a standout feature that enhances the game's atmosphere, others feel it lacks variety and dynamic changes to match gameplay situations.
“Dread Templar is an old-school shooter elevated by an incredible soundtrack.”
“The music is probably my favorite aspect of the game as it is a blasting metal OST with different themes for each episode that melds well with the atmosphere of each level.”
“The soundtrack is killer; crunchy and motivating.”
“The music is okay, but there aren't enough tracks for each stage yet so you will be hearing some of the same tracks over and over.”
“Then there's the music, oh god it is so repetitive and generic that it killed any enjoyment of a level after a single listen.”
“The same 30 second soundtrack played over and over ad infinitum.”
- gameplay280 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Dread Templar" is characterized by fast-paced, fluid movement and satisfying shooting mechanics, reminiscent of classic boomer shooters like Quake and Doom. While the game features a variety of weapons and an engaging soundtrack, some players find the level design lacking and the upgrade mechanics underwhelming, leading to frustrations with enemy balance and boss encounters. Overall, the game offers a fun and challenging experience, particularly for fans of the genre, but it struggles with pacing and consistency in its gameplay loop.
“The gameplay is fast paced and fun, and I bought it on sale for like $5.”
“Fast, fluid, and challenging gameplay with a good variety of enemies and tons of secrets to find.”
“Dread Templar is a very competently made boomer shooter with fantastic moment-to-moment gameplay that will keep you entertained for 10 to 15 hours depending on your difficulty of choice.”
“The visuals are polished, the weapons are good, soundtracks are amazing but the level design is poor, the game design is extremely flawed because rather than naturally rewarding you upgrades for completing side quests the game forces you to sidetrack from the main quest and gameplay loop to find highly obscure secrets that normal players who just want to enjoy the game don't have the patience or time for.”
“So many enemies in later levels are just not fun or fair on a mechanical level.”
“However the moment that the gameplay flow gets interrupted be it due to looking for secrets, not figuring out how to advance in the map or even using the manual save points (more auto-saves or a quick-save function would do so much for maintaining the pace) - it can become repetitive, as your attention gets more directed to the music while the gameplay is not keeping you fully engaged.”
- graphics144 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the retro-style visuals and polished aesthetics reminiscent of classic shooters like Quake, while others criticize the level design as uninspired and the overall visual experience as bland and generic. Many players appreciate the vibrant color choices and the nostalgic feel, but note inconsistencies in art style and a lack of deeper graphical customization options. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered enjoyable and fitting for a retro shooter, they fall short of standing out in a crowded genre.
“On the positive side of things, I really like the aesthetic of the game.”
“The graphics here are excellent and the replication of the old school shooter is tasteful and effective.”
“Killer soundtrack, awesome retro style graphics, guns that feel amazing to use, great atmosphere for the game's setting... this is a retro shooter done right.”
“The visuals are also fairly bland and generic.”
“There seems to be no real consistency between art style and graphics themselves, something that is very present in the aforementioned boomer shooters.”
“The game looks great but never really grabs and holds my interest, which I think is down to an underdeveloped art style to the world.”
- story100 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The story in "Dread Templar" is generally considered weak and poorly executed, with many reviewers noting its lack of depth and coherence, often describing it as "edgy" or "cringe." While some appreciate the environmental storytelling and the basic premise of a revenge-driven quest against demons, most agree that the narrative is not the game's focus, serving primarily as a backdrop to the gameplay. Overall, players seem to prioritize the action and mechanics over the story, which they find to be a hindrance rather than an enhancement.
“The environmental storytelling is pretty solid though, and there are lots of secrets to find, so it pays to search each level thoroughly.”
“There's a decent plot and some interesting puzzles, all handled in a way that doesn't slow the pace of the combat or disconnect you from the game.”
“From the start, the mechanics hint at what's going to come, what interesting tools you'll have and what interesting enemies you'll face; the first steps of the plot suggest that some very cool stuff is going to happen later.”
“The story is garbage, every line of dialogue is boring.”
“The story was pretty non-existent and the world felt really flat.”
“The game's cutscenes, which seem to be under the false impression that they're telling some kind of story, are a clear indication as to why it is a bad idea to hire voice actors from Fiverr.”
- atmosphere42 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a dark, grungy aesthetic that evokes feelings of dampness and decay, reminiscent of gothic and eldritch horror themes. Players appreciate the combination of retro graphics, a killer synth metal soundtrack, and immersive environmental details that enhance the overall experience, although some note inconsistencies in the soundtrack's atmospheric impact during quieter moments. Overall, the game successfully creates a compelling atmosphere that complements its fast-paced gameplay and level design.
“Brilliant synth metal soundtrack and gothic/eldritch horror atmosphere.”
“Atmosphere is dark, grungy, and I feel like I can smell the dampness of the prison as I am moving through blowing demons away.”
“Killer soundtrack, awesome retro style graphics, guns that feel amazing to use, great atmosphere for the game's setting... this is a retro shooter done right.”
“There is no real sense of atmosphere within the soundtrack and with moments that are sometimes more quiet, it would have been good to have several layers of music move in and out to accommodate the current situation.”
“If your game does not absolutely excel at a mechanic, or is not original in some other way (level design, enemy design, presentation, atmosphere, music), it comes off as an overwhelming 'meh'.”
“These could still be cool, but they need a writing facelift (at least if the game plans on not having cutscenes), getting all D&D with it and writing some atmosphere into these texts can still give the game some excitement between levels.”
- replayability18 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability due to its challenging secrets, unique upgrade system, and customizable character builds, allowing players to tailor their experience to their playstyle. Many users appreciate the potential for community-created maps, which could further enhance replay value. Overall, players find the game engaging enough to warrant multiple playthroughs.
“Really fun and generally great boomer shooter, its upgrade system adds an insane amount of replayability and it's one of the few retro shooters where you can make your own full unique builds.”
“You can tailor your character to your playstyle and this also leads to good replayability; I've completed the entire game as of now and I find its art style and tight controls so gripping.”
“The secrets are actually pretty challenging to find, so you are not always able to find every upgrade the first time you go through a level, so there is replay value there to try to figure that out.”
“Or open it up for community-created maps, which will inevitably add a lot of replay value.”
- optimization18 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is highly praised, with many users noting its impressive performance even on low-end hardware. The smoothness of gameplay is a standout feature, although some players experienced performance drops during specific effects like bullet time. There are requests for deeper graphic customization options to further enhance performance and mitigate distractions from certain visual effects.
“The performance/optimization is off the charts.”
“+ Optimization and smoothness across the levels is the only positive thing I have to say about this game; it plays very smoothly.”
“I was very impressed with how good performance was, considering how often my laptop gets brought to its knees by even the least graphically potent games.”
“However, bullet time did consistently tank my performance, so that remains to be addressed.”
“I would personally really like those deeper graphic customization options to be added, mainly to boost performance and to turn off the graphic effects of the slow motion power.”
“The warping blur of this effect is quite neat stylistically, but it is a distraction and tends to cause some performance hiccups (talking from a rather low-end laptop).”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of "Dread Templar" enjoyable, as it involves engaging gameplay and secret hunting, contrasting sharply with the tediousness experienced in other games like "Dusk." The level design is praised for its complexity, which helps maintain interest and avoids the monotony of repetitive enemy encounters.
“Shooting 10 enemies, one shot each = fun; shooting one enemy 10 times = tedious.”
“The level design is sufficiently complex without ever feeling tedious.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is often derived from the ironic simplicity of its upgrade system, which players find amusingly inadequate despite being labeled as "builds." This juxtaposition of nostalgia and frustration, particularly regarding the save system, adds a layer of comedic commentary that resonates with long-time fans of the genre. Overall, while the humor may not be the game's strongest aspect, it provides a light-hearted perspective on its shortcomings.
“I've seen mentions of 'builds' and I cannot think of a more hilarious way to describe what is an incredibly bare-bones system.”
“There are a few interesting upgrades in gold tier, but the rest is just 'more ammo', 'more damage', etc. and the funny thing is - I would still recommend this game if not for the worst save system I have ever encountered in a boomer shooter.”
“It's funny, because I grew up with these kinds of games too, being born in 1987 and growing up in the 90s.”
- stability4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game runs smoothly, but there are notable glitches that detract from the overall stability experience.
“Runs great.”
“Runs great.”
“Runs great.”
“And that's not getting to the glitches.”
