HopBound
- June 9, 2020
- AppSir Games
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Get on Apple Store"HopBound" is a single-player horror platformer game with a good story, focusing on Mayumi, a recluse who must confront her past by journeying through a disturbing 16-bit retro game filled with nostalgic visuals and unsettling audio. Taking place two years after "DERE EVIL .EXE," "HopBound" serves as a continuation but can be enjoyed without playing the previous game. Players will face evolved enemies from the past, creating a heart-pounding experience.
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique and engaging story that effectively conveys emotional depth and psychological horror.
- The platforming mechanics, while challenging, provide a rewarding experience with frequent checkpoints that help mitigate frustration.
- The atmosphere, music, and visuals create an eerie and immersive experience that enhances the overall gameplay.
- The gameplay can be frustrating due to clunky mechanics and overly twitchy movement, making precise platforming difficult.
- The narrative can feel confusing and jumbled, with too many characters and a lack of clarity in the story.
- Some players may find the game short and wish for more content, as well as experience performance issues like slowdowns during gameplay.
- story23 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mix of bizarre and nonsensical elements, creating an eerie atmosphere that some players find engaging, while others describe it as confusing and unoriginal. Despite its flaws, many appreciate the psychological depth and emotional themes, such as remorse and depression, that enhance the overall experience. While the narrative may not be groundbreaking, it effectively complements the gameplay and aesthetics, providing satisfying moments throughout.
“The story and horror, as always, is incredibly rich in this game, providing an absolutely amazing experience.”
“I felt that everything from play-style to writing made this game a beautiful story that you got to experience with the characters.”
“Overall, I really enjoyed the story; it had some spooky moments and a rather heartwarming ending.”
“The story is very unoriginal, though.”
“Frustrating gameplay that rewards you with more frustrating gameplay and lackluster story.”
“The story isn't anything mindblowing, but it works for the game's purpose.”
- gameplay9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its simplistic mechanics and clunky controls, leading to a frustrating experience for some players. While the game features a unique eerie tone and a bizarre story that adds to its charm, the overall execution can be inconsistent, with minor bugs and a lack of depth in the gameplay. Despite these issues, some players find it enjoyable and worth the price, particularly for its music and atmosphere.
“The game has an eerie tone to it, and the pseudo-Game Boy graphics combined with the simplistic gameplay and bizarre story give it a weird isolating feeling.”
“I think it's worth the $3 for the gameplay and the music.”
“An effective horror game that starts to get under your skin without being overly in your face: it pulls each string rather effectively while sprinkling in the gameplay to keep you distracted.”
“The game has an eerie tone to it and pseudo-Game Boy graphics combined with the simplistic gameplay and bizarre story give it a weird isolating feeling.”
“It's not really a bad game, but the clunky mechanics make some of the game sections much more frustrating than they should be.”
“Frustrating gameplay that rewards you with more frustrating gameplay and lackluster story.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its atmospheric quality and overall contribution to the experience. While some users desire more depth, the soundtrack is considered enjoyable and a worthwhile aspect of the game, enhancing both the gameplay and storytelling.
“The music and atmosphere are spot on.”
“The soundtrack is nice.”
“I highly enjoyed the aesthetics and the music.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report feeling a strong emotional impact by the end of the game, highlighting a combination of spooky moments and a heartwarming conclusion. The storytelling, enhanced by platforming and chat messages, effectively conveys the emotional journey throughout the experience.
“I'll openly admit that by the end of the game, I was emotional.”
“I admit, this game made me emotional at its completion.”
“Overall, I really enjoyed the story; it had some spooky moments and a rather heartwarming ending.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its effective use of music and pacing, which enhances the storytelling and maintains player engagement. Reviewers note that it successfully creates a sense of unease from the outset, drawing players into its immersive world. However, some desire a bit more depth to fully realize its potential.
“The music and atmosphere are spot on, creating an immersive experience.”
“The pace of the game is perfect as it moves you from one challenge to the next, while never overshadowing the atmosphere and the story that's created.”
“An effective atmosphere starts from the first moment as the game lures you in and manipulates your unease.”
“An effective atmosphere starts from the first moment as the game lures you and manipulates your unease.”
“The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players in the game world.”
“Despite some interesting elements, the overall atmosphere fails to engage, leaving players feeling disconnected.”
- graphics3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's graphics feature a unique blend of eerie, pseudo-Game Boy aesthetics that enhance its bizarre narrative and simplistic gameplay, creating an isolating atmosphere. Reviewers appreciate how the visuals effectively support the storytelling, contributing to an overall enjoyable aesthetic experience.
“The game has an eerie tone to it, and the pseudo-Game Boy graphics combined with the simplistic gameplay and bizarre story give it a weird, isolating feeling.”
“I recommend this game because it has a great story, and I highly enjoyed the aesthetics and the music.”
“The visuals actually do a good job of convincing you of the story of this universe.”
“The game has an eerie tone to it, and the pseudo-Game Boy graphics combined with the simplistic gameplay and bizarre story create a weird, isolating feeling.”
“The graphics are outdated and lack detail, making the environments feel lifeless and uninviting.”
“Character models are poorly designed, and the animations are stiff, which detracts from the overall immersion of the game.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -300 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players have noted a peculiar slowdown effect in the game that feels intentional rather than a performance issue, suggesting that the optimization contributes to the immersive environment rather than detracting from it.
“There's a weird slowdown effect that I can't even say is a performance issue: it almost seems purposeful in the world, and the fact that I'm sitting here wondering if it was purposeful means the game was effective in creating its environment.”
“There's a weird slowdown effect that I can't even say is a performance issue; it almost seems purposeful in the world. The fact that I'm sitting here wondering if it was intentional means the game was effective in creating its environment.”
“The optimization is so poor that it feels like I'm playing a beta version of the game. Frequent frame drops and stuttering make it hard to enjoy the experience.”
“I constantly experience lag and long loading times, which really detracts from the overall gameplay. It's frustrating to have such a beautiful game marred by technical issues.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in the game to be a strong point, often laughing throughout their experience, even when facing frustrating platforming challenges.
“While I was frustrated with platforming, I was also laughing almost the whole way.”
