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Hob

Hob is an action adventure with a stunning visual style, engrossing world and enjoyable combat. It is a standard bearer for what the genre can achieve at this level.
Hob Game Cover
80%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
stability, optimization
89% User Score Based on 3,530 reviews
Critic Score 68%Based on 34 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchPCPlaystation 5Playstation 4Steam DeckWindowsPlayStation
Hob Game Cover

About

Hob is a single player open world action adventure game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Runic Games and was released on September 26, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

# WORDLESS NARRATIVE Presented without text or dialogue, Hob’s story is revealed as you explore the planet and interact with the strange lifeforms that inhabit it. # TRANSFORM THE WORLD Solve puzzles and repair the planet. The landscape will change before your eyes, opening new areas to uncover and explore. # GRAPPLE, PUNCH, and WARP Use your mechanical glove-arm abilities for traversal as we…

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89%
Audience ScoreBased on 3,530 reviews
story297 positive mentions
stability138 negative mentions

  • Beautiful visuals and art style that create an immersive atmosphere.
  • Engaging exploration and puzzle-solving mechanics that reward curiosity.
  • Unique storytelling approach that conveys the narrative without dialogue.
  • Fixed camera angles can lead to frustrating platforming and navigation issues.
  • Occasional bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay and cause soft locks.
  • Lack of clear direction and guidance can leave players feeling lost at times.
  • story
    1,087 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in "Hob" is primarily conveyed through environmental storytelling and non-verbal cues, allowing players to piece together the narrative as they explore the game world. While some players appreciate the minimalist approach and find the story intriguing, others feel it lacks clarity and depth, often leaving them confused about the plot and character motivations. Overall, the game offers a unique experience that emphasizes exploration and interpretation, but may not satisfy those seeking a more traditional, dialogue-driven narrative.

    • “The silent narrative makes the plot captivating; there is much that remains unexplained that makes you wonder about what exactly happened before the events of the game start.”
    • “The game tells an amazing story with great world building and not a single word needed to be spoken.”
    • “Amazed by how such a touching story can be told without a single word.”
    • “Without any kind of story or comprehensible level design, I felt like I was in a skinner box where I was pushing whatever buttons someone had put in front of me.”
    • “But the complete lack of a story or any sense of direction really keeps this game from being good.”
    • “If storytelling weighs heavily on your purchase decision, maybe give this one a skip.”
  • graphics
    994 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of "Hob" are widely praised for their stunning art style, vibrant colors, and immersive world design, which many players find reminiscent of classic titles like "Zelda." The game features smooth animations and a unique aesthetic that enhances the overall experience, although some users report occasional graphical glitches and performance issues. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout aspect, contributing significantly to the game's charm and appeal.

    • “The graphics are beautiful, the combat is engaging and fun, and the level designs are unique.”
    • “The visuals are colorful and beautiful, the layout of the world and how you merge the land masses together is creative and well done.”
    • “The art style is breathtaking.”
    • “Also, the game is very un-optimized without any settings to lower the graphic settings etc to at least reduce the lag.”
    • “The game suffers from some graphical problems where sometimes textures disappear or flicker.”
    • “To top it all off, the graphics are pretty bad and the art is extremely mediocre.”
  • gameplay
    804 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Hob" is characterized by exploration, puzzle-solving, and platforming, drawing comparisons to classic titles like "The Legend of Zelda." While many players appreciate the beautiful art style and engaging mechanics, some express frustration with control issues, camera angles, and a lack of clear direction, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the game is generally regarded as enjoyable, with a unique world that evolves as players progress, offering a mix of fun and challenging gameplay.

    • “The gameplay is centered around exploration and observational puzzles.”
    • “The amazing gameplay mechanics, fun/intuitive/not-too-hard puzzles, cool aesthetics, great story, and incredible music make it a relaxing escape from reality.”
    • “The central core of gameplay is solving puzzles.”
    • “The gameplay is not that different from top-down Zelda games with puzzles and similar combat systems.”
    • “It's repetitive, stale due to the lack of enemies [and only one boss at the very end], it has unfair puzzles, some not so great camera angles mixed into its platforming, and some gameplay/graphical bugs.”
    • “But the gameplay isn't engaging, the camera is terrible and frankly it's not fun.”
  • music
    418 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally described as atmospheric, soothing, and complementary to the visuals, enhancing the immersive experience of the alien world. While many players appreciate the ambient soundscapes and the calming nature of the soundtrack, some feel it lacks memorability and could benefit from more pronounced musical elements during gameplay, particularly in action sequences. Overall, the music is seen as a strong point that contributes positively to the game's aesthetic, though opinions vary on its impact and engagement level.

    • “The music is soothing, haunting, and melancholy all at once.”
    • “The amazing gameplay mechanics, fun/intuitive/not-too-hard puzzles, cool aesthetics, great story, and incredible music make it a relaxing escape from reality.”
    • “The music is ambient and soothing for the most part and adds to the beautiful and fantastic atmosphere of an alien world.”
    • “It really lacks any musical interest, especially during fight scenes or action moments; there's just ambient sounds which makes it feel really uneventful.”
    • “But in this, I could be fighting enemies or bosses and there's no music at all, so it really just feels boring to play.”
    • “The music is unnoticeable, not intriguing nor engaging.”
  • atmosphere
    230 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning visuals, immersive sound design, and unique art style, creating a captivating and serene environment that enhances exploration and puzzle-solving. Many reviewers highlight the ambient music and atmospheric sounds that contribute to a relaxing yet mysterious experience, making it a standout feature of the game. Overall, players find the atmosphere to be enchanting and engaging, drawing them into the game's world and encouraging exploration.

    • “The atmosphere is just immersive and wants you to explore every single part of the free movement map.”
    • “This is such a fantastic adventure right from the get-go; the whole atmosphere just draws you into this immersive experience.”
    • “Incredible world design and atmosphere, outstanding soundtrack from Matt Uelmen, and fun mechanics all result in a fairly laid-back and constantly enjoyable experience overall.”
    • “I absolutely love this game for its atmosphere, though it could use some polish.”
    • “The back story and characters don't really have a lot of emotional depth; however, it's really the place with all its charm which provides the depth atmosphere.”
    • “One of the best aspects of the game, I think, is to let the player play the game. There is no tutorial in this game; it doesn't hold your hand, it makes you connect the dots with unique flowing level design that 'builds' the player quite literally into the atmosphere.”
  • stability
    146 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely reported to be quite buggy, with numerous glitches affecting gameplay, such as characters getting stuck, falling through the world, and issues with hit detection. While some players found these bugs manageable thanks to a respawn feature, many expressed frustration with the frequency and severity of the technical problems, which detracted from their overall enjoyment. Despite these issues, some players still appreciated the game's design and gameplay, suggesting it may be worth trying for those who can tolerate its instability.

    • “It's a very enjoyable game, it runs great on Deck, pick it up next sales.”
    • “Amazing indie game, runs great on ROG Ally.”
    • “Hob is not completely bug free, but most aren’t game breaking.”
    • “I dealt with a lot of late game bugs and glitches where my character got stuck while platforming or fell through the world.”
    • “Very buggy at times, so much so that the game gives you a 'respawn' option when you press start because they know you can get stuck very easily and instead of fixing it somehow they just gave you this option which is not that bad but also not good from a game design standpoint.”
    • “That said, the amount of bugs and glitches completely ruined the experience for me.”
  • optimization
    121 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many players reporting severe performance issues such as frequent frame rate drops, stuttering, and high GPU usage regardless of hardware specifications. Despite some players finding enjoyment in the game, the lack of effective graphical settings and persistent bugs detract significantly from the overall experience, leading to a general consensus that the game is poorly optimized and in need of substantial improvements.

    • “Lastly, performance is great with steady frames; however, there are a few minor bugs every now and then.”
    • “It's well optimized, and has well thought-out level design.”
    • “I've had a great deal of fun with the game so far and hope that sooner rather than later the performance issues will be ironed out.”
    • “The game is very unoptimized without any settings to lower the graphic settings, etc., to at least reduce the lag.”
    • “The engine, the same they always used, is also not handling the game very well. I've had performance issues (from inconsistent frames to horrid performance in parts for a game that is far too visually simple for this to be reasonable) to two full game crashes.”
    • “The one thing I hate about this game is how bad the optimization is.”
  • replayability
    54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed, with many players expressing satisfaction after their initial playthrough but noting limited incentives to return. While some appreciate the challenge of achieving 100% completion or tackling harder modes, others feel the lack of variety and meaningful content diminishes replay value. Consequently, it seems best suited for those who enjoy puzzles and visuals rather than extensive replay experiences.

    • “It's got a lot of replay value with the achievements.”
    • “Other than that, this is an amazing game with a very high replay value.”
    • “Lots of replay value and has hard mode and a speed run achievement.”
    • “I greatly enjoyed this short yet engaging game and felt like wanting to come for more every time, although replayability is limited and I found myself satisfied upon reaching the endings (did not feel like going for the remaining achievements).”
    • “We're talking about a game that doesn't offer very much in replayability; you can find all the collectibles or replay the game on a harder difficulty, but there's no variety to it in that sense.”
    • “One last con would be that there's very little replay value, just 'collect-a-thon' achievements and some 'garbs' for different play styles.”
  • grinding
    36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience, often describing it as tedious due to repetitive puzzles, slow traversal, and fixed camera angles that complicate navigation. While some interactions and combat can feel satisfying, the overall gameplay can become monotonous, especially in the later stages where enemy encounters and puzzle-solving require excessive precision. Despite the engaging visuals and mechanics, many reviewers noted that the grind can wear on players, leading to a diminished interest over time.

    • “Falling to death at the same platform many times makes re-spawning and traveling tedious.”
    • “It gets incredibly tedious, and really starts wearing on you after you catch onto the fact that there is no more substance to the game.”
    • “In the back half of the game, enemies take enough hits, and give so little reward for beating them, that combat becomes tedious and usually just best avoided.”
  • emotional
    31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game evokes a range of emotions through its wordless storytelling, charming world design, and heartwarming interactions, such as petting animals, which enhance player investment. While the minimalist approach creates touching moments and a beautiful atmosphere, some players feel the lack of a deeper narrative and emotional stakes for the characters. Overall, it successfully delivers an emotional experience, though it may not satisfy those seeking a profound story.

    • “Amazed by how such a touching story can be told without a single word.”
    • “I've hugged, patted, nuzzled, and belly-rubbed my way through this amazing world and it made me feel so much more invested in it than I might have been otherwise.”
    • “To be sure, the wordless approach allows for touching moments, as when your golem buddy releases a butterfly while our hero looks on in admiration.”
  • character development
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is highlighted by its stunning character designs and animations, which are praised for their uniqueness and personality. While the story may not be the main focus, the vibrant art style and expansive world contribute to an engaging experience, encouraging players to explore and connect with the characters. Overall, the character design is consistently rated highly, serving as a significant draw for players.

    • “Unique world and character designs, smooth motions, open world, good story and you can even choose your ending.”
    • “Beautiful character design, an open expanding world to explore, numerous enemies to defeat and different strategies for different play styles.”
    • “I don't expect too much from this story, but because I like the character designs so much, I would love to see a continuation.”
    • “Character design and animation is also top-notch and full of personality.”
    • “Art style is unique and gorgeous and will stun you with the beauty of the landscape and character designs.”
  • humor
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely regarded as funny and entertaining, with players appreciating its humor, including unintentional glitches that add to the comedic experience. However, some critiques highlight that the humor can be overshadowed by frustrating gameplay elements, such as poor controls and repetitive tasks. Overall, while the humor is a strong point, it exists alongside some significant gameplay drawbacks.

    • “Anyway, a very funny and entertaining game and definitely not a bad investment.”
    • “A bug or a glitch is unintentional, and they can even be funny, like the invisible guy.”
    • “After all the energy spent on crafting Hob's world - and the world is very pretty - I can sympathize with Runic's solution to the bug, even if as cynical patches go, it's a devilishly funny one.”
  • monetization
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization approach of the game is praised for being refreshing, as it avoids the common pitfalls of microtransactions and loot boxes often found in $60 titles. Instead, it focuses on delivering a complete experience without additional financial burdens on players.

    • “There are narrative elements the development team thought were important to convey when advertising the product, but not in the product itself.”
    • “This game is a breath of fresh air in a time where $60 games are filled with microtransactions, loot boxes, and other ways to drain money from players.”
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8h Median play time
9h Average play time
10h Main story
16h Completionist
5-12h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 56 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Hob is a open world action adventure game with fantasy theme.

Hob is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and others.

The main story can be completed in around 10 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 16 hours to finish. On average players spend around 9 hours playing Hob.

Hob was released on September 26, 2017.

Hob was developed by Runic Games.

Hob has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Hob is a single player game.

Similar games include Hyper Light Drifter, Owlboy, RiME, Narita Boy, Valley and others.