Hard Reset

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 372 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 211 out of 372
  2. Mixed: 116 out of 372
  3. Negative: 45 out of 372

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  1. lock3r
    Dec 28, 2013
    10
    GOOD: Nice video, good audio, WOW gameplay
    BAD: short campaign
    Hard Reset is probably the best "classic" FPS i played in the last 9 years (I say 9 to avoid a conflict with HL2): it combines 90s FPS tipical gameplay with modern elements. Its core is the interaction with the enviornment, that one can (in practice must) use to kill enemies. There are 2 weapons that can fire each in 5    GOOD: Nice video, good audio, WOW gameplay
    BAD: short campaign
    Hard Reset is probably the best "classic" FPS i played in the last 9 years (I say 9 to avoid a conflict with HL2): it combines 90s FPS tipical gameplay with modern elements. Its core is the interaction with the enviornment, that one can (in practice must) use to kill enemies. There are 2 weapons that can fire each in 5 different modes with different effects.    … Expand
  2. Homerlvsbeer
    Jan 11, 2016
    10
    I truly believe back in 2011 2012. game development was in competition with other games developers. and there was a growth in games graphics. and its games like this one hard reset that make me feel like that interest in making great quality games that work on release that interest has gone. the interest to build and create amazing games seems to have died a death. this is truly a marvel.I truly believe back in 2011 2012. game development was in competition with other games developers. and there was a growth in games graphics. and its games like this one hard reset that make me feel like that interest in making great quality games that work on release that interest has gone. the interest to build and create amazing games seems to have died a death. this is truly a marvel. if you have never played this game on high settings you need to. there are games out today in 2016 that dont look as good as hard reset. or feel as good and as well put together. the weapons are amazing. the light shines all around and when you run you see camera blur that was done very very well. this game has alot to offer. and has to be one of the greatest designed games ive ever seen. its beautiful. its like doom 3 but it kicks ass. its a sci fi shooter. and i really love it. and i really mean it when i say there is not alot out today that looks this good. so what happened. ?… Expand
  3. Hack
    Jul 18, 2016
    6
    Played on: i5 3570k @ 4.3GHz, GTX 970 @ +100/+300, 8GB DDR3 @ 1600MHz, Samsung 850 Evo, Windows 10 64
    Price paid: 99p
    Time to finish: 5 hours 50 minutes Recommended?: Yes, only when on sale though Yeah, not bad overall. The gunplay was satisfying, the weapon upgrades were a lot of fun to use, the enemies were fairly varied and the final area was really well done and enjoyable. They    Played on: i5 3570k @ 4.3GHz, GTX 970 @ +100/+300, 8GB DDR3 @ 1600MHz, Samsung 850 Evo, Windows 10 64
    Price paid: 99p
    Time to finish: 5 hours 50 minutes
    Recommended?: Yes, only when on sale though

    Yeah, not bad overall. The gunplay was satisfying, the weapon upgrades were a lot of fun to use, the enemies were fairly varied and the final area was really well done and enjoyable. They didn't reinvent the wheel but the game is fun to play for the most part and it's not too long either which to me is a plus, a lot of games these days tend to overstay their welcome. I also enjoyed their comic book style cut-scenes.

    Hard Reset does have some major flaws though, the first is the voice acting and dialog, it's best described as cringe-worthy and amateur, there was only one major character that wasn't laughable, and sadly it wasn't the main one. I can't tell you just how bad it was, you need to experience it for yourselves. Another big problem was a surprising one, performance, I couldn't maintain 60fps on any visual preset, drops into the 40s were common on the major boss battles and even some smaller events, I can only imagine how poorly this ran on 2012 hardware. The final complaint was the constant micro-freezing whenever the game autosaved which was often enough to annoy me. So there you have it, Hard Reset is an OK shooter that does have some fun moments but suffers with performance issues and comically bad voice work, for 99p I'd say it's well worth a shot if you're bored and have run out of better games to play.    … Expand
  4. RumThief
    Jul 24, 2015
    9
    A beautiful game and terrific throwback to fps roots. Only two weapon systems in the game but with a nice triple-tree upgrade system your two weapons morph into a great many more giving a satisfying array of combat options. There are a lot of old design mechanics at play in this game which I loved: static health with pickups to replenish instead of regen, large ammo pools with noA beautiful game and terrific throwback to fps roots. Only two weapon systems in the game but with a nice triple-tree upgrade system your two weapons morph into a great many more giving a satisfying array of combat options. There are a lot of old design mechanics at play in this game which I loved: static health with pickups to replenish instead of regen, large ammo pools with no reloading, no crouching, very fast movement, and expansive levels with minor puzzles to unlock new areas. All in all an enjoyable find. Help support this developer if you're a fan of these style games.… Expand
  5. Nevermore-0
    Sep 25, 2014
    10
    Hard Reset
    Too good to miss!
    No this is nothing like those old games. It's 2014 and I play 30+ games in rotation, including the GoG Doom 3, and this gem shines above them all as a vacation from the typical... Have you ever kicked a vending machine? Knocked over a newspaper dispenser. Smacked an ATM? Tisk-tisk. The machines fight back in this one. Hard Reset is one of the unsung triumphs    Hard Reset
    Too good to miss!
    No this is nothing like those old games. It's 2014 and I play 30+ games in rotation, including the GoG Doom 3, and this gem shines above them all as a vacation from the typical...
    Have you ever kicked a vending machine? Knocked over a newspaper dispenser. Smacked an ATM? Tisk-tisk. The machines fight back in this one. Hard Reset is one of the unsung triumphs of its time. It's a wonder this isn't an episodic franchise. The greats do slip past us. Get ready to be hit hard by this Monster-sized madness as you hit back with its unequaled weaponry set in a desolate dystopic future.
    If nothing else it has the greatest upgrade station in gaming.    … Expand
  6. SuperkenGaming
    Jun 13, 2016
    6
    Hard Reset Redux
    Decently Fun, but super repetitive
    Hard Reset Redux is the extended version to Hard Reset released in 2011 nearly doubling this games length and of course extending the story... that is if you can actually follow what’s going on… Something about AI gone wrong and you have to save the city they occupy... I’m not even sure... If you’re playing Hard Reset you’re playing    Hard Reset Redux
    Decently Fun, but super repetitive
    Hard Reset Redux is the extended version to Hard Reset released in 2011 nearly doubling this games length and of course extending the story...
    that is if you can actually follow what’s going on…
    Something about AI gone wrong and you have to save the city they occupy...
    I’m not even sure...
    If you’re playing Hard Reset you’re playing for the gameplay…
    And this game can be great fun at times…
    You get 3 weapons in this game... a rifle...a plasma gun, and later a katana…
    But both the rifle and the plasma gun all have 5 variations that you can unlock as you collect xp from secrets or just by killing enemies...
    As you progress through the game your meter will fill up and give you a skill point to spend on either a new weapon, a weapon upgrade, or gear upgrade…
    And these weapon upgrades are really all there is to keep the game feeling fresh and ultimately what keeps it even the slightest bit engaging…
    There are a few enemy variants that you can take down with any weapon, but you’ll clearly fall in love with one weapon type to deal with a certain enemy over another, for example I like using the shotgun on explosive enemies.. And I loved using the katana on pretty much everything else.
    I easily had the most fun with the katana... but the fact that I had a favorite weapon for every enemy type tells you a lot about how much weapon variety actually matters in this game…
    That is such a refreshing feeling, where I feel like in most first person shooters I can get away with anything and it doesn’t matter… but here it does
    unfortunately after you’ve played with all of the variants for a while, the game really starts to get boring and feels like it drags out way too long…
    Hard Resets biggest issue is hands down the level design…
    Every levels is activating switches while you kill everything between you and the switch…
    And every level really looks nearly identical…
    and honestly without having known that the game would be the same throughout, I was already unimpressed the moment the game started, as It looked like a dated bargain bin game
    Its gray and boring, but there are some cool nail-biting sections towards the end of the game if you can manage to drag yourself through 7 hours of the same thing to get there…
    You practically see all there is to see in level 1, minus a few boss fights thrown in there…
    Hard Reset Redux offers a great deal of fun with its weapon variety,
    But if you don’t like feeling like you’re stuck in a demo level for 8 hours, you’re better off looking for your fun elsewhere
    I give Hard Reset Redux a
    6/10    … Expand
  7. urielejh
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    Hard Reset [Extended Edition]

    When I first heard about the game in question, I was a bit doubtful. A sci-fi themed game in an action-oriented/arcade style gameplay. It would have seemed to put together all of the stereotypes but, after sometime from its debut, I decided to try and play it; found on some sale for a very few bucks. The graphic and the art style are sleek and polished; the    Hard Reset [Extended Edition]

    When I first heard about the game in question, I was a bit doubtful. A sci-fi themed game in an action-oriented/arcade style gameplay. It would have seemed to put together all of the stereotypes but, after sometime from its debut, I decided to try and play it; found on some sale for a very few bucks. The graphic and the art style are sleek and polished; the cyber-filled world quite unique and well made; the sound compartment surprisingly well done. So, you're gonna ask "what about the downsides"? 'cause I can say, they're there.

    The game's self-professed "old school" (and I shall open a discussion topic about that, perhaps) mechanics are just dull and flat as you basically run through a mega-hallway - that is the world it-self - divided into chunks of areas, that I'm gonna call "arenas", where you are flooded by hordes of enemies and you don't have an "escape route": the door/passage/you-say-it that you've just passed through will suddenly close/crumble/whatever and you'll have to figure out how to kill'em all without dying. That's wouldn't be of any concern if played at low-level but, if like me, you play through a hard difficulty level.. prepare to die and suffer a lot: enemies will just take forever to die, literally; even the smaller-cuty ones, will lasts for too much what you'd expect. Boss fights? Repetitive - as every other fights - and frustrating.

    Luckily, here comes the last aspect of the game and a positive one. "Customization". Yes, you can upgrade yourself and your arsenal by using exp points you'll earn killing enemies and picking up special bonuses, let's call'em that way, and spending them at some "upgrade-machine vendor" integrated in the world. You basically starts (and finish) with two weapons, one for each kind like "standard" ammo and power energy; each of them can be upgraded into 4 more weapons for a total of 5 per kind. Every weapon has a primary and secondary mode as well an upgrade. So, you'll have plenty of variety to experiment with though you'll end up using the same two model that best suites you. You can also upgrade your armor/health/utilities, like more health, more resistance to damage, and on..

    So, by the end what happens? Well, later on - and not too late - in the game there were times in which I just wanted it to be over; too repetitive in the mechanics and playing it on hard's just too hard: it is not the smart hard, at all, it is the frustrating one that ruin it all. The world itself is well presented; quite varied plus the good points I've already explained.. but the negatives' quite ruined the feast as the game ain't balanced at all. At all. Summing it all up:

    Graphic: 8*
    Art: 8
    Sound: 8
    Music: 6**
    Gameplay: 6
    Uniqueness: 8

    Partial: 7.3

    F.F.: 75%***

    *not latest gen but still very appealing
    **bland, uninspired and repetitive music score
    ***Frustration Factor: game's far too unbalanced on higher difficulty levels but some situations give relief upon completion    … Expand
  8. marcins
    Jan 16, 2015
    7
    advantages:
    + amazing graphics
    + cool sound
    + futuristic climate
    + fast and dynamic

    disadvatages:
    - no multiplayer
    - too short (about 7 hours main game + 4 hours Exile DLC)
    - only automatic save game, no manual

    mark: 7/10
  9. KARF4GEN
    May 10, 2018
    8
    Хороший, годный шутер "старой школы".
    Было очень интересно бегать, прыгать и стрелять. Больше Хард ресет вам предложить и не сможет.
    А оно нужно? Это игра для ненапряжного времяпрепровождения.
  10. FrostormNidhegg
    Oct 31, 2019
    6
    Просто шутер. да, мясной, но дизайн врагов убогий - какие-то боевые пылесосы невнятные. Большие роботы просто уроды невнятные. Самые крутые - мелкие шары на рожках с большой дисковой пилой в корпусе - но это слизано с Крикунов, кто смотрел фильм тот поймет о чем речь. А так - два оружия, одно баллистическое второе энергетическое, выглядят оба как говно. В общем, стрельбы и мяса много, ноПросто шутер. да, мясной, но дизайн врагов убогий - какие-то боевые пылесосы невнятные. Большие роботы просто уроды невнятные. Самые крутые - мелкие шары на рожках с большой дисковой пилой в корпусе - но это слизано с Крикунов, кто смотрел фильм тот поймет о чем речь. А так - два оружия, одно баллистическое второе энергетическое, выглядят оба как говно. В общем, стрельбы и мяса много, но выглядит все убого. Причем сама графика неплохая, даже очень неплохая, но визуальный дизайн никакущий.… Expand
  11. Shimmeywill
    Mar 26, 2020
    6
    A mediocre FPS experience with a novel weapon system and decent visuals. Not much else.
  12. kimi1775
    Nov 9, 2020
    8
    ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎
  13. Tabbou
    Jan 25, 2022
    5
    Un bon fps à l'ancienne ?

    NON, malgré une histoire intéressante, on est face à un fps avec : -peu de diversité d'ennemis -pas de possibilité de viser -on ne peut pas s'accroupir -un level design pas top ( chemin principal bloqué -> faire un détour pour pouvoir passer etc...) et des maps qui se ressemblent toutes -pas de mini map -marqueurs de quête trop rares -des explosifs et    Un bon fps à l'ancienne ?

    NON, malgré une histoire intéressante, on est face à un fps avec :
    -peu de diversité d'ennemis
    -pas de possibilité de viser
    -on ne peut pas s'accroupir
    -un level design pas top ( chemin principal bloqué -> faire un détour pour pouvoir passer etc...) et des maps qui se ressemblent toutes
    -pas de mini map
    -marqueurs de quête trop rares
    -des explosifs et autre joyeusetés un peut partout, chouette, mais la moitié du temps on se mange des dégats collatéraux    … Expand
  14. The_D4RknesS
    Jul 16, 2023
    8
    In love with the game! It's amazing, it has an immersive soundtrack, great scenery destruction, perfect physics, "blood" when you kill the robots and the best... What I liked the most when you kill a robot EVERY PIECE SPREAD STAYS ON THE GROUND AND DOESN'T disappear from nowhere. If this game has a little problem, it's the amount of robots that appear at once in a way that there are soIn love with the game! It's amazing, it has an immersive soundtrack, great scenery destruction, perfect physics, "blood" when you kill the robots and the best... What I liked the most when you kill a robot EVERY PIECE SPREAD STAYS ON THE GROUND AND DOESN'T disappear from nowhere. If this game has a little problem, it's the amount of robots that appear at once in a way that there are so many and you don't know what to do… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

99
#99 Best PC Game of 2011
52
#52 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
35
#35 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 49 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 49
  3. Negative: 1 out of 49
  1. Armchair Empire
    Apr 27, 2012
    65
    Hard Reset isn't a bad game, but it's rote old school sensibility has passed me by. I don't have the same kind of reflexes I did 5 or 10 years ago to properly appreciate the twitch elements, so maybe I have to take some responsibility on that front. For me, Hard Reset is unremarkable because it seems about 5 years too late for me.
    Read full review
  2. Gaming Age
    Nov 17, 2011
    75
    Hard Reset also does a lot of cool things in games that I wish we'd see more of, and it does them well. Interfacing with fictional computer terminals is fun, and scoping the strong art direction does a lot to set the game in a fairly original virtual setting.
    Read full review
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Nov 15, 2011
    70
    Short life span but budget price – this science-fiction inspired first person shooter has a lot to offer with stunning visuals and perfect old-school playability. Pity there's not a multiplayer option. [Nov 2011]
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