REVIEW : Hellstuck: Rage With Your Friends (PC)
Hellstuck: Rage With Your Friends is a severe platforming game in which you begin in Hell and must escape. But the path out is a long way up, and the only thing standing in your way is how much wrath you can bear.
From the standpoint of a speedrunner, this is an almost perfect but not quite Jump King clone. I finished it in 1h 33, which is comparable to the complexity of Hop Up, however, the metre continues counting when paused (why? ), so it was definitely closer to an hour. Even though the main jump mechanics and design are solid, the game, like Jump King, is spoiled for me by glitches and frequently bad-level design.
I got to the sixth sector in 13 minutes and then spent the next 20 minutes trying to figure out what the developer wants me to do to move forward; it’s like Antumbra in Jump King map 3 but buggy and requires a lot more jumping. You also have to pray that you don’t fall into the sand at random, which happens frequently and leads to falls when you don’t feel like you did anything wrong.
You can’t change your direction when charging a jump and if you slip on the ice while holding a direction you automatically jump when landing again, which can cause you to jump when you don’t intend to. You can’t change your direction when charging a jump and if you slip on the ice while holding a direction you automatically jump when landing again, which can cause you to jump when you don’t intend to.
Aside from those aesthetic additions to the background, you won’t have much time to soak in the breathtaking ambience because you’ll be too preoccupied with your unhappiness.
So, how does the game work? There are platforms everywhere, and you must climb higher and higher utilising the only mechanism you have. Jumps with a charge.
You can stroll left and right, but the advancement is made by jumping. Doesn’t that sound simple? F*ck you. You have the ability to charge your jumps. Short key pushes result in a shorter jump, while long key presses result in a long jump. It’s similar to an invisible power metre that you must replenish by holding down the jump key.
So, after developing the necessary muscle memory, you get the hang of it. And there are moments when you simply make progress without thinking. You see the platform and your fingers instinctively know what to do.
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