Developer: Lazurite Games
Publisher: Deck13, WhisperGames
Platform: PC
Tested On: PC
To Hell with Hell – Preview
Apocalypse has arrived, again. But this time we enroll the help of stripper Natasia. Developer Lazurite Games and publishers Deck13 and WhisperGames have come together to bring you To Hell with Hell, a brand new bullet hell roguelike. If you are a fan of Enter the Gungeon, this game will be right up your alley. The UI might even seem very familiar.
Story
Meet Natasia, a mortal human being. Now, get ready for the apocalypse, because it has arrived. Natasia has been chosen to help Asmodius, ruler of hell himself. Since he got locked away by his enemies, he needs your help; the help of his last loyal child and last survivor of humanity. Your job is to defeat obstacles and enemies to reach and free him.
This is obviously not the most original story you’ve encountered. However, the story is explained to you by using a comic books interpretation and a small conversation between Natasia and Asmodius. This is a nice touch and gives the basic story a little swirl.
Graphics
To Hell with Hell is a pixilated retro game. It’s not the most colorful and bright game there is; a lot of brown and red is used. This is understandable since you’re in hell fighting demons. Now, your opponents look good. There’s a large variety of enemies and they all have their own look, ranging from a typical devil with horns to little creatures that are on fire and wizard-like types. Natasia herself is dressed in a red bikini when she isn’t wearing any masks, making sense since she is a stripper.
Sound
The music used in the game fits the atmosphere very well. It’s a retro and metal-like sound that integrates perfectly with the gameplay. All tunes are very similar to each other but it doesn’t come off as repetitive since the music manages to empathize you in the gameplay entirely.
Gameplay
To Hell with Hell is a classic bullet hell roguelike crawler. The game features three levels of difficulty. You have no choice but to finish the easy one first before you get to the medium and hard version. Getting familiar with the controls happens by means of a short tutorial. Since this is a very brief tutorial, you have to remember quite some information in a short amount of time; luckily reminders can be looked at throughout the entire game by pressing the escape button.
Before starting a game, you also get a warning saying the game is meant to be hard. Well, the developers are definitely not wrong. Even the easiest version is still immensely difficult. Devils, spiders and various monsters will come after you. Some, like the spiders, run towards you very fast. Others move at a normal rate and some just don’t move at all. The attacks also vary. Some shoot very slow while others shoot multiple bullets at once or make several places explode. One thing is for sure; you die again and again and again.
Now, Natasia is a simple mortal human being. To gain strength she can wear masks in-game. Your first mask is a gift from Asmodius. These are not just masks but give you a special outfit, transforming you into several beings. For example, become a devil yourself or maybe even a clown. Every mask brings along its own special abilities and powers, adapting to the creature you just turned into. You can carry, and thus switch between, up to three masks. This isn’t a lot since you’re extremely vulnerable without a mask. You’ll find these along the way. It’s also possible to combine masks.
Of course besides these masks, you’ll need weapons to defend yourself and attack your opponents. These can be found as loot in chests. Various guns are available, as well as other weapons like a sword, a magic staff, a sledgehammer, a bow, etc. Similar to the masks, you can carry up to three weapons. Again, this isn’t a lot. Switching between them can be done at any point during the game with a simple control. Naturally, guns can run out of ammo. Killing enemies will sometimes yield extra ammo, but just in case it’s probably best if you always carry a melee weapon.
Healing yourself can be done by picking up first aid kits. You can find these by kicking over various things like candles or by killing enemies since some drop kits. Your masks will protect you against some harm and without a mask you are incredibly vulnerable so that’s always your first concern.
After every level you can chose an extra perk which will be added to your list. These can be a range of things including hitting more damage or your enemies’ bullets going slower. You can only activate one perk at a time. Next to this, you also have the possibility to save your game at the end of a level. Be smart about this though; you can only save your game six times and when you die you will restart at your last saved level.
Conclusion
To Hell with Hell is still in Early Access. Even though it’s already a fun game to play, there is still quite some room for improvement. Yes, the game is meant to be hard. But it shouldn’t be so hard that at one point you get frustrated and give up. You keep dying over and over again. The developers could make the first of three versions a little easier. There is also the point of the inventory space for both weapons and masks. Both are limited to three, which is few. The developers have mentioned a local co-op mode possibility in the future, which will definitely be a great addition to the game. So, overall the game is fine and promising but it’s not there yet. With the right modifications and additions, To Hell with Hell could really be something.
To Hell with Hell - Preview,
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