Hellslave

About

Hellslave is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Ars Goetia and was released on May 26, 2022. It received positive reviews from players.

Hellslave is a dark fantasy, single-player turn-based strategy game where you make a pact with the Devil to combat a demonic apocalypse. Customize your character with powerful demonic abilities, face fearsome enemies and bosses, and explore a haunting world filled with danger and secrets. Featuring compelling mechanics, a gripping story, rich atmosphere, and high replayability.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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87%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,143 reviews

story104 positive mentions

grinding68 negative mentions

Incredible art style that immerses players in a dark and gritty world.
Unique turn-based combat mechanics that allow for diverse character builds and strategies.
Engaging atmosphere and sound design that enhance the overall experience.

Repetitive gameplay and combat can become tedious over time.
Crafting system is poorly implemented, with low drop rates for necessary materials.
Some UI elements are clunky and can lead to confusion during gameplay.

story
319 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
61%
6%
The story of the game is generally described as engaging and atmospheric, with a dark and intriguing premise involving demonic pacts and battles against evil forces. However, many players note that the narrative can feel simplistic, linear, and at times lacking depth, with some expressing a desire for more character development and meaningful choices. While the art style and presentation are praised, the overall execution of the story leaves room for improvement, leading to mixed feelings about its impact on the gameplay experience.
- “The story is captivating, the variety of monsters is a delight, and crafting is a particular joy!”
- “The story is pretty straightforward, you are in the shoes of a person who makes a pact with your chosen demon, trading your soul for immense power, in order to slay all the demons taking over the land and hopefully reclaim your soul in the process.”
- “What really impressed me was the story—gritty and mysterious, it slowly unravels as you dive deeper, making every mission feel meaningful and rewarding.”
- “The story is bland and poorly written.”
- “The story is your typical diabloesque 'demons came, kill them', and the writing is really bland.”
- “The story feels like not much care was put into it, sadly.”
graphics
276 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
35%
1%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning, hand-drawn art style that evokes a dark, gothic atmosphere reminiscent of comic books and titles like "Darkest Dungeon." Reviewers highlight the artwork's ability to convey mood and narrative effectively, with many describing it as a standout feature that enhances the overall experience. While some critiques mention inconsistencies in detail and polish, the overall consensus is that the visuals are captivating and contribute significantly to the game's immersive quality.
- “Visually, Hellslave stands out through its hand-drawn art style and strong visual cohesion.”
- “The artwork communicates mood as much as information, often conveying the state of the world more effectively than text alone.”
- “The art style is simply a masterpiece and will leave a mark on my heart for a long time.”
- “The graphics are muddy.”
- “The mechanics are fine, but the visuals can often be fairly hard to read.”
- “Other than that, there is nothing much to the game - its art style might be its second most redeeming quality, but everything else feels a bit cheap.”
gameplay
241 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
64%
4%
The gameplay of Hellslave is characterized by its unique turn-based mechanics and a blend of dungeon-crawling exploration, offering a mix of accessibility and depth that appeals to both casual and hardcore players. While many praise the engaging combat system and character build diversity, some players express frustration with poorly explained mechanics and pacing issues, leading to a sense of repetition in later stages. Overall, the game successfully combines a dark atmosphere with enjoyable gameplay, though it is marred by bugs and a lack of polish in certain areas.
- “This is an amazing turn-based game; the mechanics are easy to understand, and I loved how broken you can make your character.”
- “Hellslave is a grim and oppressive role-playing experience that leans hard into dark fantasy, moral compromise, and deliberate, methodical gameplay.”
- “The gameplay rewards you for repeatedly visiting dungeons to grind experience and loot, in between taking on quests; otherwise, the quest progression and zones will outpace your own level.”
- “The game does not hold the player’s hand, and some mechanics are intentionally opaque, which can initially feel frustrating but ultimately reinforces the sense of surviving in an unforgiving environment.”
- “While it captured me initially, its shallow and repetitive gameplay overstayed its welcome by the end.”
- “I made it to the second dungeon before getting sick of the gameplay.”
music
96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
49%
4%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its ability to enhance the dark atmosphere and complement the gameplay, while others find it repetitive or annoying, particularly in certain areas. Many appreciate the soundtrack's eerie and haunting qualities, which effectively set the tone for the game's themes, though some noted a lack of variety in tracks. Overall, the sound design and music contribute significantly to the immersive experience, despite some criticisms regarding repetitiveness and specific high-pitched elements.
- “Sound design and music complement this approach, favoring unsettling tones and restrained compositions that heighten tension without overwhelming the player.”
- “The text drips with dark poetry, and the music — oh, the music — is a chilling blend of ambient dread and ritualistic percussion that keeps your pulse steady but your soul uneasy.”
- “The grim art style has real personality, and the soundtrack hits the right moody notes to keep you trudging through hellish landscapes.”
- “The music in the first village has an annoying high-pitched part that will make you lower the music volume or turn it off altogether.”
- “The soundtrack isn't memorable.”
- “The game doesn't offer that many music options, which does become a little boring at some point. Next time I boot the game up, I will probably just mute the in-game music and play my own in the background.”
atmosphere
83 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
45%
4%
Hellslave is widely praised for its immersive and oppressive atmosphere, characterized by dark, hand-drawn visuals and a moody soundtrack that enhances the game's grim themes. Players appreciate the game's ability to evoke a sense of dread and unease, with many noting that the atmosphere is a significant driving force behind the gameplay experience. While some critiques mention pacing and repetitive elements, the overall consensus highlights the game's compelling art style and sound design as key components of its captivating atmosphere.
- “Exploration is structured around a network of cursed locations, each steeped in atmosphere and dread.”
- “Hellslave is one of those rare indie RPGs that immediately grabs your attention with its dark, oppressive atmosphere and refuses to let go.”
- “The dark atmosphere, brutal combat, and distinct class styles make every run feel fresh.”
- “The atmosphere holds steady for the most part, but as a localized import, translation glitches crop up sometimes a whole menu goes untouched.”
- “Imho the city and landscape static art works fine, but the dungeons themselves leave a lot to be desired. Even if they were only a bit more detailed and isometric, having the character walk around would have given the game a much deeper atmosphere. As is, the still images and text do all of the heavy lifting, and it's clear where the devs knew they were gonna cut corners.”
- “My one complaint is that the English translations are a bit clunky and don't really add to the atmosphere; definitely needed some more polishing from a native speaker.”
grinding
73 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
6%
93%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the loot and experience farming satisfying initially, but ultimately tedious and frustrating due to low drop rates and excessive repetition. While some enjoy the grind as part of the experience, others feel it detracts from the overall enjoyment, leading to a sense of mindless gameplay and a lack of engaging content. Overall, the game is seen as overly reliant on grinding, which can diminish the fun, especially in mid to late-game stages.
- “I spent over 5 hours farming a single item needed for recipe 15 - the Sceptre of Thermistophles Xenozytarch.”
- “This strongly suggests that the loot algorithm is poorly tuned and overly dependent on luck, forcing excessive grinding and frustration, which is not okay for a game of this length.”
- “The game is let down by its repetitiveness - especially as the enemies become more grindy - and one spell that is bugged and completely breaks the game.”
replayability
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
45%
11%
The game offers a solid foundation for replayability, with various infernal powers, character builds, and playstyles that change each run, enhancing the overall experience. Players appreciate the different pacts, skill trees, and new game plus options, which contribute to replay value, although some feel it may lack depth after a few playthroughs. Overall, while many find replayability enjoyable and engaging, opinions vary on its longevity and content richness.
- “This choice gives the game a strong replayable foundation, as subsequent runs can feel mechanically and tactically different depending on which infernal powers are embraced.”
- “There’s genuine replay value here — each pact you make changes your playstyle and alters the world’s tone, dialogue, and even endings.”
- “The sound is awesome, the artwork is fantastic, the combat system is great, the perk choices and different deities allow for experimentation, min/maxing, and replayability; the storyline is great.”
- “It has a bit of replayability with the different gods (not too much difference though) and a kind of new game plus.”
- “It's not like it's bad, but it lacks content for the price point as well as for its amount of classes since it lacks replay value.”
- “Replayability here exists, but not for me.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is marred by numerous bugs, including UI glitches, inconsistent translations, and controller issues that hinder gameplay. While the atmosphere and graphics are praised, players report frustrating experiences such as lost progress and unresponsive controls, leading to an overall impression of a game that is not fully polished. Despite these issues, there are no game-breaking glitches reported, but the frequent technical problems detract significantly from the experience.
- “The atmosphere holds steady for the most part, but as a localized import, translation glitches crop up sometimes a whole menu goes untouched.”
- “In addition to a number of things that I found a bit sloppy and tasteless, the controller implementation is pretty buggy and jank.”
- “I also lost about an hour of progress because the mid-combat tutorial about the new stance ability at around level 5 bugged on me and the game couldn't accept my controller inputs to complete the tutorial and get it over with so it unfreezes the fight and I can continue combat.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
Overall, the game's optimization is mixed; while it runs smoothly with short load times and minimal performance issues on less demanding systems, some players experience stuttering after interactions and find the dungeon maps poorly suited for smaller screens. Despite these drawbacks, many still find the game enjoyable.
- “Performance-wise, the game runs smoothly, and the developers have done a great job keeping load times short and transitions seamless.”
- “Also, the game's well optimized; I didn't have any problems running it (but it's not a very demanding game).”
- “Performance (no slow down opening menus, etc.)”
- “After every interaction, there's a small stutter as if the game is trying to render things, which is quite annoying and turns the experience into a not-so-smooth gaming experience.”
- “The game is poorly optimized.”
- “For some reason, the dungeon maps don’t seem optimized for anything other than large monitors.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
43%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the quirky charm of the English translation and find the gameplay entertaining, others feel it falls flat and lacks genuine comedic value. Overall, the developer's engagement with the community and humorous interactions contribute positively to the game's appeal, despite some criticisms.
- “The mechanics were a lot of fun to work with, and while the English translation can be a bit funny at times, I felt that it added to the overall charm of a game made entirely by one person.”
- “It’s funny, well-made, and definitely keeps you entertained.”
- “Why not, you can hilariously completely respec whenever you want, balance be damned.”
- “I cannot recommend this game; it's a little terrible and not funny.”
- “The humor falls flat and feels forced throughout the game.”
- “I expected a lot of laughs, but the jokes just didn't land.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
Character development in the game is praised for its extensive selection of development trees, skills, and items that enable players to create effective synergies and builds. While the character design and art style are visually appealing, some reviewers noted that the animation could be lacking due to the complexity of the realistic comic style. Overall, the character design aspect is well-received, though it doesn't introduce groundbreaking innovations.
- “Doesn't really do anything new, but the character development allows for good synergies and builds.”
- “You start off with your character design and the most important decision in the game.”
- “There's a wide selection of character development trees, skills, and items you can acquire to improve your character.”
- “Part of character design is also their movement; I feel like they didn't animate as much because doing so in their realistic comic style would take too much time.”
monetization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The monetization aspect of the game primarily revolves around microtransactions and in-game purchases, which some players find acceptable, especially given the game's initial free availability on Steam. This strategy appears to have successfully piqued interest in potential sequels among players.
- “Microtransactions are well-balanced and don't feel intrusive.”
- “The in-game purchases enhance the experience without being necessary to enjoy the game.”
- “I appreciate that the monetization model is fair and allows players to progress without spending money.”
- “Microtransactions - in-game purchases.”
- “Steam was advertising this for free, and so I saved it with the rest of my 'rainy day' catalog of games.”
- “Based on this game, I'd be interested in checking out the sequel, so the free giveaway advertising may have worked on this player.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is polarizing; while some players feel it lacks challenge and creativity, others are deeply affected by its dark and morbid scenarios, which evoke strong feelings of disturbance, enhanced by the game's atmospheric art and sound design.
- “This game has some really morbid and dark scenarios, truly the most disturbed a game has made me feel in a long time. You definitely don’t want to be an NPC in this game, and it helps that the art and sound match the atmosphere so well.”