Hammerwatch

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 114 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 64 out of 114
  2. Mixed: 37 out of 114
  3. Negative: 13 out of 114

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  1. ImJustaGlitch
    Oct 21, 2013
    7
    Hammerwatch is a blast from the past and brings back the retro feel of Gauntlet. The game comes with it's own editor which is a bit rough around the edges but is fun once you get the hang of it. The online features could use some work like including resuming games and allowing new players to join once others leave. The campaign takes about 3-4 hours to complete on medium so for the price IHammerwatch is a blast from the past and brings back the retro feel of Gauntlet. The game comes with it's own editor which is a bit rough around the edges but is fun once you get the hang of it. The online features could use some work like including resuming games and allowing new players to join once others leave. The campaign takes about 3-4 hours to complete on medium so for the price I would have to say it's worth giving it a try especially if you have friends with you.

    Hammerwatch supports Windows, Mac, and Linux    … Expand
  2. Supagoat
    Dec 31, 2013
    5
    When you look at it you think to yourself, "Wow! Cool! This is like Gauntlet!" But it's not. The dungeon is the same every time, there's no urgency/hunger clock, and the enemies are incredibly repetitive. OK, well Gauntlet has repetitive enemies, too.

    But without the hunger clock the player is free to sit around and let their mana restore, which is boring but advantageous, which is    When you look at it you think to yourself, "Wow! Cool! This is like Gauntlet!" But it's not. The dungeon is the same every time, there's no urgency/hunger clock, and the enemies are incredibly repetitive. OK, well Gauntlet has repetitive enemies, too.

    But without the hunger clock the player is free to sit around and let their mana restore, which is boring but advantageous, which is bad game design.

    The levels are too big. They try to have some puzzles but they end up feeling tedious.

    2 of the classes have ranged attacks and most of the enemies do. The game is balanced towards ranged combat, with the 2 melee classes at significant disadvantages in several ways. Though the melee classes have more HP, they don't have enough that they can charge into combat blindly so they need to hang back dodge the enemy shots then charge in and try to kill the enemies quickly. That'd be OK but there are monster generators pumping out these bad guys, so in the time the player needs to spend dodging, more enemies spawn The ranged classes don't have this issue. The melee class warlock is particularly bad since his attack is very short range and has a very small swing arc, so you really have to run into enemies to hit them and then they hit back.    … Expand
  3. Cloud73
    Aug 15, 2013
    7
    I saw this game being advertised on Steam, and decided that I liked the immediate aesthetic vibe I got from it. The sprite work and gameplay video impressed me. Therefore, I went ahead and purchased it.

    My only experience so far in this game is with the singleplayer mode, but I've come to the conclusion that this is not the optimum method of playing the game. I say this because    I saw this game being advertised on Steam, and decided that I liked the immediate aesthetic vibe I got from it. The sprite work and gameplay video impressed me. Therefore, I went ahead and purchased it.

    My only experience so far in this game is with the singleplayer mode, but I've come to the conclusion that this is not the optimum method of playing the game. I say this because progression in this game is largely dependent upon slaying enemies who come in massive droves, and upon the time-tested "find the key" method of exploration. The second problem actually would not be a problem for singleplayer, if only the keys weren't made of buttons placed at opposite ends of the absurdly large maps. Normally, every door needs four buttons to be pushed, and guess what? This game supports four player coop!

    Now, that's not to say that the movement speed was an issue. In fact, I found the general control of the game to be rather smooth and enjoyable. Controls are mappable to keyboard or controller, and I would personally recommend a controller to get the most from it. Keyboard is certainly functional, but this is almost certainly a game for abnegating and relaxing with, at least until you reach a boss. I'll talk about the first boss I fought in a moment.

    When choosing a character, I played a paladin, one of four classes that can be selected and the only one that appeared to be a melee user. The game is not particularly suited to melee users, or at least it wasn't in my limited experience. Many enemies I confronted either charged immediately onto my sword or shot so many projectiles that I might have just as well been holding a stick. Your shield is supposed to protect you from "most" projectile attacks, but I found myself hurting for a health snack every time one of their particular spawn points needed destroying. I would suggest for you to use another character, but I don't know for certain how the other characters are balanced out, so go with what you think you'd prefer.

    The weaknesses of the character I chose were also apparent after the first boss I fought. Without giving too much away, the fight largely consists of running behind pillars every time the boss uses his own attack, but since I had a melee character, I had to watch carefully for the boss to give his "I'm about to really hurt you" tell. If I missed the tell, there wasn't nearly enough time for me to run away. Again, I'm led to believe that a different character would have been more fortunate in this fight, but so would having three other team members been to help me blast his face in. I actually think that the boss fight was rather fun, despite how my description might paint it, but if I haven't made this completely clear yet... THE GAME... IS... MULTIPLAYER. Grab your friends, family, or even the dog, but don't play this game alone!

    I actually think this game does not deserve any of the bad ratings it's getting. The game's options are available and comprehensive enough for what the game demands, and the gameplay is well made. The graphics are nicely done, though I hope you have other people to help you speed through the levels because they are slightly repetitive for the size of each map. There's a level editor for people who like that sort of thing, and the leveling options are each useful in their way. You have my sincerest recommendations.

    Grab this game to enjoy with friends and for the last time, I'm serious. Play it with friends.    … Expand
  4. Dziver
    Oct 15, 2014
    6
    If you buy the game I recommend playing the second campaign(Sun Temple) first as it's way better than the main campaign. If you play the main campaign first the second campaign won't feel as fresh since it reuses some enemies. There is no story connection between the two. Actually, you might as well skip the main campaign entirely. It's godf***ingawful, just a collection of "activate allIf you buy the game I recommend playing the second campaign(Sun Temple) first as it's way better than the main campaign. If you play the main campaign first the second campaign won't feel as fresh since it reuses some enemies. There is no story connection between the two. Actually, you might as well skip the main campaign entirely. It's godf***ingawful, just a collection of "activate all thingys to get to boss" labyrinths filled with infinite enemy spawns. If you still crave more after Sun Temple the best option is to check Steam workshop for mod campaigns. The best of them are on par with or even better than Sun Temple and have new enemies too.… Expand
  5. Noqrax
    Aug 21, 2013
    6
    I think it is a good time killer and it has a Linux compatibility.
    But after one hour game usually became boring and monotone. Nothing new and creative in the game. Only four classes, massive time of the game you have only one ability, boring puzzles, easy-to-find secrets, and annoying challenges. Nothing creative.
    Game is hard, really hard, and it makes game a little more interesting    I think it is a good time killer and it has a Linux compatibility.
    But after one hour game usually became boring and monotone. Nothing new and creative in the game. Only four classes, massive time of the game you have only one ability, boring puzzles, easy-to-find secrets, and annoying challenges. Nothing creative.
    Game is hard, really hard, and it makes game a little more interesting for single, but in multiplayer your team will quickly spend all lives.
    And at last too many for these game. Hope this game will become better and developers continue to work.    … Expand
  6. 123456
    Mar 10, 2016
    7
    A really fun multiplayer game.

    Graphically lofi but excellent at what it does.

    Punishingly difficult with the default settings unless you have the time/skill to put into it.

    Playing with a novice gamer we eventually played it with some cheat modes on just to see it all, and it was still great fun. Would like to play it again properly.
  7. HELLruler
    Jan 2, 2014
    7
    The game is fairly good. It has that retro style and even though it seems simple, playing well takes some practice. A lot of stuff is hidden, so you have to pay attention to find nice things
    Playing alone is ok, but with more people it gets a lot better. So if you plan to buy this game, get some friends to buy the 4-pack
  8. SebboBastian
    Dec 24, 2018
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Lovely co-op for four players, but dont forgett the planks!!!! Messy, chaotic and fun. Hate the planks thou.… Expand
  9. raiokincaris
    Dec 9, 2013
    7
    An interesting game for what is on the surface. Exploration seems fun, and sometimes it leaves you sweating through a level if you aggro too many things at once. The only time I stop playing is when I've used up my lives!
  10. cwepahguy225
    Jul 5, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I liked the 8 bit feel and the general gameplay. I enjoyed killing larvae and knights, but I felt the later parts were very over-complicated. The multiplayer doesn't even work… Expand
  11. aditya1101
    Oct 5, 2017
    6
    Its been done a million times before, but nobody can deny that it's fun! And hammerwatch is definitely one of the better iterations of this cliched formula.
  12. TheLinkgirl
    Jul 16, 2023
    6
    Metacritic refuses to allow me to put a decimal, and if I could I would give this game a 6.5 instead.
    Hammerwatch is a decently enjoyable retro dungeon crawler, with a simple yet effective premise and cast of characters. The gameplay is quite shallow and repetitive, but it doesn't take long to go through a full campaign so it doesn't quite have the time to get dull. That being said, some    Metacritic refuses to allow me to put a decimal, and if I could I would give this game a 6.5 instead.
    Hammerwatch is a decently enjoyable retro dungeon crawler, with a simple yet effective premise and cast of characters. The gameplay is quite shallow and repetitive, but it doesn't take long to go through a full campaign so it doesn't quite have the time to get dull. That being said, some design decisions in this game really bring it down, most egregious for me being the strange planks. While I won't spoil it for people that don't know, I feel this system ruins the main campaign for me. Hammerwatch is fun, and definitely a good time with friends, but I feel little desire to go back to it often when Heroes of Hammerwatch is a far better game in every regard.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. PC Gamer UK
    Nov 6, 2013
    70
    It's great to revisit the dungeon crawler genre's crude beginnings, but don't go alone. [Dec 2013, p.89]
  2. Eurogamer
    Sep 24, 2013
    70
    There's precious little depth lurking in Hammerwatch, then, but if you've got a few friends handy or are willing to wait around online for the worryingly small community to make itself known, this is genuine old-fashioned skeleton-bashing with a gloriously tidal approach to chucking in the enemies.
    Read full review
  3. Games Master UK
    Sep 18, 2013
    77
    Exploring dungeons, gathering loot and puzzling your way through the provided arenas is banter baiting fun, however. [Nov 2013, p.75]
See all critic reviews »