Hammer of Pain

Nice pixel art and mature story are hampered by design choices, unresponsive controls, and a significant lack of polish. Only recommended at a heavy discount. Gameplay is pretty standard for a 2D adventure game. You travel the land, complete quests, defeat enemies, and collect loot. You don’t have any map, but the game is mostly linear so you don’t really need it. You play two characters: the main character, blacksmith Silver, and her hunter daughter, Nora, available only at various points in the game. While Nora is swift with her bow and can knock out enemies from a distance, Silver is slow and cannot attack quickly. In fact, pressing the button will not provide any results. Attacking is mainly about rhythm because you need to wait a little before each attack to connect them into a three-hit combo. Your combat is also assisted by a single heavy attack that takes a second to recharge and is pitifully weak, as well as a roll to avoid danger. Combat in general isn’t that fun, partially because you will have the same strength and weapon from start to finish, and fight against same enemies. There’s contact damage, and you can only hit one enemy even when they’re right on top of each other. Also, there is a double-jump that is not as satisfying and platforming enthusiasts may dislike it because you can not jump immediately after landing. This is noticeable during jumps over many hazards, as you will want to jump yet fall right over the edge. The stages are simple, and all you have to do is move right to reach the end. However, the game throws in the occasional puzzle to keep you from completing stages too quickly. All of them involve stacking boxes on top of one other to form steps to a higher ground or placing them on switches. This involves a lot of backtracking because you have to swap boxes on switches with barrels. The irritating thing is that you can not jump on top of barrels and can carry only three items. Quests are received from people, so most are optional. You can talk to everyone, but only a few will have something meaningful to say or offer you a quest. There are no decisions and the story is set. The logbook displays all obtained quests, both optional and main, as well as completed quests and remarks. Due to the linear structure, quests might be easily missed, because you can’t go back. However, you do not get anything meaningful other than money. Money is spent to improve your health, speed, and intelligence. This can be accomplished using the wizard that appears in each level. However, after purchasing upgrades, you must reach the next checkpoint and save because dying will result in the loss of both the purchased upgrades and your money. Another criticism is that some upgrades don’t make any difference. Agility, for instance, is supposed to increase dodge speed and cooldown, but you still have to wait a second or two before you can dodge again. Unfortunately, the loot system is tied to an odd design choice. This excludes Nora's stages and chests, which function as intended; you interact with them, and loot falls out for you to collect. When controlling Silver, the issue arises from breakable jars, barrels, and enemies. When you smash objects or kill enemies, you will not see the loot until you use the so-called "Blacksmith intuition". In practice, this means you have to hit two extra buttons every time you destroy something: first for intuition, and then to open the loot bag, which contains money and occasionally a health potion. What’s more, you have to wait a second after killing an enemy to wait for the loot to spawn, otherwise you’ll have to press intuition again. Money is collected automatically, but it must fall to the ground. In rare situations, it may drop a health potion, which you will be unable to retrieve even if you are standing right there. So you have to waste a potion to pick up the other one and then let the coin fall to the ground to collect it. There are other issues with interactions. For example, when a character requests coins after speaking with them, you must move away from them and return for the button to become active. Some goes for when you have to interaction points on top of each other. Some troubles stem from a lack of tutorials. Although you see them once, you cannot review them. For instance, you can easily forget that items can be placed in your inventory if you hold the button long enough. This was the case with exploding barrels, where I fought to move them over a hole rather than just collecting them. I have also discovered inconsistencies in jumping when carrying objects in your hand; sometimes you can jump normally, but other times you can not even hop over a step. Bosses are interesting but can be problematic because they lack balance and are all linked to puzzles and item management. Woodman, for example, throws objects and leaves one safe area. However, this area could be on the opposite side of the screen, making it hard to reach without being hit. Fortunately, bosses do not exhibit soul-like behavior, so you only need to whack them a few times. But on the other hand, the last boss is an unplayable mess and an insult to everyone who stuck with the game until the end.

Я был приятно удивлен проходя эту игру: средневековая атмосфера антиутопической истории отца и его дочери. + потрясающий дизайн уровней: бекграунды, окружение, эффекты потрясающие. Невольно забываешь что ты играешь в пиксельную игру + завораживающая музыка, просто бесподобна, я бы просто отсосал композитору + интересная история повествования и как она сделала (тут без споллеров, хотя хотелось бы рассказать, но лучше это самому ощутить) + дизайн боссов - это наверно любимая часть, они все настолько разнообразны, что их сложно всех забыть, к каждому боссу нужен особый подход и метод борьбы с ними, кароч супер + интересная боевка, заставляющая тебя драться не как в слешере, что делает этот процесс куда интереснее ИЗ МИНУСОВ. - это наверно единственный минус, неоднозначное решение в управлении интерфейсом, но в целом, мало влияющая на геймплей ИТОГ: отличная игра, за которую не жалко отдать пару деревянных и оставляющая приятное впечатление как еще одна замечательная и атмосферная пиксельная игра этого жанра

An interesting game. Cool story. I like the atmosphere. The developer can improve the controls a bit.

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Hammer of Pain is a grim, emotionally heavy, and surprisingly ambitious 2D action-adventure that combines dark fantasy storytelling, Souls-like combat philosophy, atmospheric exploration, and pixel-art worldbuilding into a bleak medieval journey driven as much by emotional desperation as by violence and survival. Developed by SleepingFrog and published by Baked Games S.A., the game immediately distinguishes itself through its oppressive atmosphere and melancholic tone, presenting a world that feels exhausted, broken, and permanently scarred by suffering. Rather than focusing purely on heroic fantasy or fast-paced combat spectacle, Hammer of Pain builds its identity around themes of loss, family, endurance, and the emotional cost of surviving inside a collapsing civilization. While the project undeniably struggles with technical roughness and uneven gameplay execution at times, it still succeeds because of the sincerity behind its artistic vision and the emotional weight carried by its dark fantasy world. The story centers around Silver, an aging blacksmith who becomes trapped within a brutal journey across ruined kingdoms alongside his daughter Nora. The world surrounding them is consumed by decay, violence, corruption, and supernatural horror. Entire settlements lie abandoned or destroyed, ancient ruins hide forgotten horrors beneath their foundations, and surviving people cling desperately to existence in lands where hope itself feels almost extinct. Unlike many fantasy games where the protagonist exists as a legendary hero destined to save the world, Silver feels painfully human. He is tired, emotionally burdened, and clearly shaped by years of hardship long before the adventure even begins. That grounded characterization becomes one of the game’s strongest narrative qualities because it gives emotional weight to the journey beyond simple monster-slaying and exploration. The relationship between Silver and Nora serves as the emotional heart of the entire experience. Much of the narrative tension emerges not from grand political conspiracies or world-ending threats, but from the desperate need to protect loved ones within a merciless world where survival itself becomes uncertain. The game consistently emphasizes emotional vulnerability and personal sacrifice, which helps distinguish it from many other dark fantasy adventures focused primarily on lore and large-scale mythology. Silver’s exhaustion and determination create a surprisingly intimate emotional atmosphere even during larger combat encounters and exploration sequences. The story often feels less like a heroic quest and more like an emotionally painful attempt to endure a world that has already begun collapsing long before the player arrives. One of the most impressive aspects of Hammer of Pain is its atmosphere. The game constantly surrounds players with feelings of despair, loneliness, and quiet tragedy. Ruined villages, abandoned dungeons, dead forests, and collapsing castles all feel soaked in forgotten history and emotional exhaustion. The environments rarely appear vibrant or hopeful. Instead, nearly every location feels like a remnant of something already lost. This bleakness becomes incredibly immersive because the game avoids excessive exposition and instead allows environmental storytelling to carry much of the emotional tone. Broken structures, abandoned camps, scattered corpses, and subtle visual details quietly communicate the suffering that shaped the world long before the player began exploring it. Visually, Hammer of Pain uses a highly detailed pixel-art style that often looks genuinely beautiful despite the project’s indie limitations. The environments are layered with atmospheric lighting, detailed backgrounds, and carefully animated visual effects that create a surprisingly rich dark fantasy aesthetic. Torchlight flickers across ruined stone walls, rain falls over abandoned roads, and distant structures loom through fog-covered landscapes in ways that constantly reinforce the game’s oppressive mood. Character sprites are expressive enough to communicate emotion effectively during dialogue scenes, while enemy designs blend grotesque fantasy horror with traditional medieval imagery. The visual direction clearly represents one of the game’s strongest accomplishments because the world consistently feels handcrafted with artistic passion and emotional intent. The combat system is where Hammer of Pain attempts to separate itself most strongly from other indie action-platformers. Rather than relying on fast hack-and-slash mechanics or endless button-mashing, the game introduces a deliberate “Click-and-Hold” attack system centered around timing, patience, and controlled aggression. Players must charge attacks carefully before releasing them, creating combat encounters where commitment and timing matter significantly more than speed alone. This system immediately changes the pace of battles because every attack feels weighty and intentional rather than disposable. Silver’s hammer strikes land with physical force, and successful combat often requires carefully studying enemy behavior rather than rushing into encounters recklessly. This slower and more methodical combat design gives the game a strong Souls-like influence. Enemies hit hard, mistakes are punished harshly, and careless aggression frequently results in death. Players must learn enemy attack patterns, understand positioning, and manage stamina and movement carefully during difficult encounters. Certain bosses and elite enemies become genuinely tense because victory depends on patience and mechanical discipline rather than pure reflex speed. The game clearly wants players to feel vulnerable rather than overpowered, which helps reinforce the emotional tone of the world itself. Enemy variety contributes positively to the experience as well. Throughout the journey, players face undead warriors, corrupted beasts, monstrous creatures, hostile mercenaries, and strange supernatural entities inhabiting the ruins of the fallen kingdoms. Different enemy types force players to constantly adapt their strategies, especially during later sections where combat encounters become more mechanically demanding. Some enemies attack aggressively with fast melee strikes, while others force careful positioning through ranged attacks or environmental hazards. The game generally does a good job of keeping combat encounters varied enough to prevent complete repetition over the course of the adventure. For players who enjoy dark fantasy storytelling, atmospheric pixel-art adventures, methodical combat systems, melancholic worlds, and indie games built around emotional weight rather than mainstream polish, Hammer of Pain offers a surprisingly immersive and emotionally resonant experience filled with tragedy, violence, ruined kingdoms, and difficult survival. Its uneven combat mechanics, technical roughness, and inconsistent pacing prevent it from reaching the heights of the genre’s finest indie action adventures, but the strength of its atmosphere, storytelling, and artistic identity still make it a worthwhile journey for fans of grim fantasy experiences. The game ultimately succeeds because it feels like a deeply personal medieval tragedy shaped by developers who genuinely cared about every broken castle, every exhausted survivor, and every painful step through their dying world. Rating: 7/10

Прекрасно

AbobA

Indyczek dwuosobowego studia SleepingFrog, wspomaganego przez Baked Games i PlayWay, będzie miał premierę na Steam za dwa dni. Hammer of Pain, stworzony przez Polaków, jest w klimatach soulslikeowych. Pixel-artowa platformówka 2D poświęcona jest kowalowi Silverowi oraz jego córce Norze, którzy żyją w średniowiecznych czasach. Do Arkonu, w którym mieszkają, dociera zaraza z sąsiedniego królestwa, które izoluje się od świata, i popada w ciemność. W wyniku tego Silver porzuca kuźnię, a Nora gdzieś przepada. Ojciec musi się dowiedzieć co się stało z córką. Sterujemy zarówno nim jak i nią. Gra jest bardzo wymagająca. Pewne kroki nie są wytłumaczone i trzeba samemu znaleźć rozwiązanie. Skojarzyłam też kilka nawiązań do Wiedźmina np. gra w kości, nawiązywanie dialogów z niemal każdym, no i muzyczka w tym klimacie. Spodobała mi się również ręcznie układana, pikselowa grafika. Szkoda tylko, że nie można zapisywać postępu samemu, bo jak przerwiemy rozgrywkę w którymś momencie poziomu, to trzeba później zaczynać go od nowa.

стрімер не тупий

(Positive review because I think it's just not for me.) Right from the start the game seems to be broken. You have a cursor but the mouse does pretty much nothing, even in menus. All of the UI is a bit of a pain to navigate, it's not fun at all. I didn't really play enough of the game to properly review the gameplay but the combat was iffy and I did not care to continue after that tutorial. Could be a fun game, I just don't think it's for me.