Hieroglyphika
- February 3, 2016
- M. Hanka
- 50h median play time
Get on Steam"Hieroglyphika is a single-player, turn-based strategy game featuring compelling graphics and phenomenal music. Players decipher hieroglyphs to learn spells and understand artifacts while navigating an ancient Egyptian pyramid filled with traps and monsters. With no hand-holding, players must explore and figure out the rules and mechanics on their own."
Reviews
- The game features a unique mechanic of using pictograms instead of text, adding depth and a sense of discovery to the gameplay.
- The art design and music are praised for their quality, creating an engaging atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
- The game offers a challenging and rewarding experience, with a steep learning curve that encourages players to strategize and improve their skills.
- The game suffers from extremely slow turn speeds, with each enemy taking a long time to complete their actions, which can lead to frustration.
- Many players find the difficulty to be excessively punishing, with random elements that can lead to unfair deaths and a lack of clear progression.
- The lack of tutorials or clear instructions can make the initial learning process confusing and off-putting for new players.
- gameplay24 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a turn-based, dungeon-crawling experience heavily inspired by classic titles like The Legend of Zelda, featuring a top-down perspective, traps, and environmental interactions. While it offers unique mechanics and a sense of achievement through mastery, players often find it frustratingly difficult with long AI turns and a lack of clear progression. Despite its beautiful aesthetics and innovative use of pictograms, the gameplay is criticized for being unbalanced and punishing, making it a mixed experience for many.
“Gameplay is heavily inspired by Legend of Zelda - forced top-down-like perspective, turn-based moves, traps, and an environment to interact with and use against enemies.”
“A fascinating turn-based dungeon crawler that is a delightful mystery, communicating complex mechanics via a few symbols and observation of the environment.”
“The fact that there is nothing written adds depth to the gameplay and makes you feel like you're discovering and identifying the items and enemies you encounter.”
“Great aesthetics, but horrible gameplay.”
“There is no sense of progress in this game, since nothing carries over from play to play, and the content/gameplay is only slightly more advanced than a freebie like Minesweeper.”
“Hieroglyphica is a really cool idea that has some serious flaws in the gameplay.”
- music10 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its quality and atmospheric contributions, particularly highlighting the nostalgic FM synthesis style. However, some players feel that the music can become repetitive and express a desire for more variety and background tracks. Overall, while the sound design is generally well-received, there are notable calls for improvement in the music's diversity.
“Lovely ambient music.”
“This is a mad game, old school gaming values at their best, and the music is absolute FM synthesis heaven!”
“The music and art were fantastic, as well.”
“The music gets old really fast, but otherwise it's pretty fun.”
“Also, the music is mediocre at best.”
“The lack of moving animations is a letdown, but I am more disappointed there isn't more background music in the game.”
- graphics9 mentions
- 78 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and stylized aesthetic, particularly the ancient Egyptian theme and clever use of pictograms. Many reviewers highlight the impressive artwork and the game's ability to create a mysterious atmosphere, although some note that the high system requirements seem excessive for the static visuals. Overall, the visual presentation is considered a strong point, despite mixed opinions on gameplay.
“First, the graphics are wonderfully stylized, and I thought the use of pictograms explaining how everything works was really clever given the theme.”
“This game has some of the coolest artwork I have ever seen.”
“Artistically speaking, Hieroglyika is brilliant, the stylish medium-res graphics setting a mysterious and sinister tone.”
“As for the graphics: just look at the screenshots and form your own opinion.”
“I mean, I do like the visual aesthetic in the 'ancient Egypt' feel.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers a substantial amount of replayability with over 50 hours of gameplay, though it lacks the addictive qualities and rogue-like elements that typically enhance replay value. While it provides various options for replaying, it may not satisfy those seeking the depth found in traditional roguelikes.
“It offers numerous replayability options and probably over 50 hours of gameplay before getting any kind of bored.”
“It's not addictive; it has no rogue-like replayability.”
“I'm not sure if it has the replay value of a traditional roguelike.”
“It offers numerous replayability options and probably over 50 hours of gameplay before becoming any kind of boring.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been criticized for causing frustrating performance issues, leading to a stuttering experience that detracts from overall enjoyment.
“This doesn't make things fun; it's just annoying and makes the game feel like a stuttering video in game format.”
“The optimization is so poor that it ruins the overall experience, making it hard to enjoy the gameplay.”
“Frequent frame drops and lag make it impossible to play smoothly, which is incredibly frustrating.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players express frustration with the grinding aspect of the game, often resorting to repetitive tasks like farming cards, which can lead to dissatisfaction and ultimately abandoning the game.
“I ended up farming cards and deleting the game for good.”
“The grinding feels endless and tedious, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I spent hours grinding for resources, only to feel like I made no progress.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players highlight the emotional impact of the game, noting its rarity in the roguelike genre due to its high skill cap, which fosters a strong sense of pride and accomplishment.
“This is one of the rarest roguelike games in existence that has such a high skill cap and made me feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight the game's atmosphere as enhanced by its good music, creating an immersive and engaging experience. The combination of sound and environment effectively contributes to the overall mood and tone of the game.
“The music and atmosphere create an immersive experience that draws you in.”
“The game's atmosphere is enhanced by its captivating soundtrack.”
“The combination of good music and a rich atmosphere makes for an unforgettable experience.”
