[h1] In A Nutshell [/h1]
🔵 [b] Pros [/b]
+ Decent progression system, rewarding perfect level clears with unique items and more skill points for heroes. Also, free unlimited stat respec.
+ Decent amount of content (9-12 hours, plus eventually replaying everything on Hard) for the price proposed.
🔴 [b] Cons [/b]
- Serious balance issues both on player and enemy sides, most notably in late-game acts.
- Friendly unit stats such as Damage, Health, RoF etc. are not visible anywhere in-game (!).
- Enemy scaling penalizes solo players, effectively making the game, even on normal, almost impossible to complete in Solo.
- Incredibly dated, generally low-quality graphics and animations, even on maximum quality.
- Limited player control over units: absence of target priority selection and similar functions common in tower defense.
- Half of the total unit roster is basically useless, only a few units are really useful and effective compared to the others.
- Uninspired, mediocre Bosses, either too easy, huge but harmless HP sponges, or tied to bad mechanics for defeating them.
[b]Hell Warders[/b] is a third-person action and Tower Defense blend, with a gameplay formula very similar to the one made popular by the Orcs Must Die! series, and partially Sanctum as well. In this sub-genre of tower defense, the main differences are that, for once, units can be destroyed by enemies, and also the player can directly fight alongside them, controlling a powerful Hero, armed with special abilities.
The positive sides about Hell Warders are few and far between. [u]The progression system is quite good[/u], rewarding players with powerful Artifacts, to equip in one of three slots, granting specific units special advantages, such as more range, damage, or chance of double shots. Aiming to clear a level with 100% Core Health becomes a priority, also because it means getting 5/5 skill points to upgrade either the Hero or Towers, whatever play-style is preferred. [u]Content amount, for this price range, is respectable[/u] especially if players intend to clear the whole game twice on Hard, only unlocked after Normal completion.
On the other hand, the negatives are as plentiful as the demon hordes faced by our heroes. First of all, there is no stat caps to Heroes or Towers, meaning [u]min-maxing to achieve insane stats such as +100% Hero damage as example, is not only possible but even mandatory[/u] to overcome some levels. The fact the only worth upgrade is Hero damage, for the scaling % it has per-point compared to anything else, cripples balance and makes careful builds meaningless. [u]If Solo, completing the game will prove excruciating[/u]: from a certain point onward, the quantity and scaling of enemies becomes so unbalanced that not even the most min-maxed builds will cut it.
In addition to this, [u]there is no target control / priority assignment on units[/u], meaning for example, Snipers that should kill air units will shoot some enemy immune to physical damage, wasting their whole time instead of doing their supposed role.
[u]In the end, [b]Hell Warders[/b] is a game with a decent base concept, even if already seen before, but has too many other flaws that put together, make the experience mediocre at the best of times, and just terrible in the worst. There are many other similar games for this same price range that offer the same, but arguably better, gameplay experience.[/u]
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[h1] In-depth Feature Analysis [/h1]
🎮 [b] Gameplay [/b]
The gameplay of [b]Hell Warders[/b] is divided into Preparation, Building Phase and Combat Phase.
[u]Preparation[/u] allows players to distribute the insofar gained Skill Points, called Beacons either into their Hero of choice (points are shared, so no grinding three heroes separately) or into Tower global stats, to upgrade them for the next battle. Selecting the correct units and Artifacts is, or at least should be important, but in the end players will resort always to the same 3-4 unit combos for 90% of all levels, since many units are just direct upgrades to older ones with no drawbacks of note. Once ready, the level begins.
The [u]Building Phase [/u] has unlimited time on the first wave, and allows players to summon their units around the map. Making precise formations, knowing where melee units will run to aggro enemies, while staying in the range of healers and ranged DPS, is important but is something that needs to be "guessed" as no interface helps out in this. Defeated enemies drop orbs of light (currency), used to upgrade or summon other units until the unit cap is reached. Of course, the goal is to protect the Core. Units will refund their whole value in-between waves but just half if recycled mid-fight.
👊 [b] Combat System [/b]
Combat is a mix of tower defense and third person action game. When a wave starts, players will be able to control their Hero and mow down enemies trying to reach the core, aided by their fellow units. The ranged option character is by far the best combat approach, as melee often results in Heroes being bludgeoned at alarming speeds. Apart from hero special abilities with a cool-down required, there is little else to the combat mechanics, resulting in a fairly simple system. In theory, enemies have specific damage resistances and weaknesses... but they cannot be seen anywhere.
💰 [b] Content & Pricing [/b]
Priced at 14.99 Euros or Dollars, and offering about 9-12 hours of honestly not very good quality content, I advise against buying this title, as there are other games for the same, or less price, offering a better experience in almost all aspects.
🔗 [b] Balance & Challenge [/b]
Serious problems here. For starters, enemy scaling strongly penalizes solo players: even with just one co-op buddy the game is substantially easier just for the sheer DPS of two heroes versus one alone. This fact becomes so bad in late-game that even the best tactics and min-maxed builds simply won't be enough. Second, some enemies are very overpowered and have no real counter (Shieldbearers, Alpha Flamespitters...), wrecking havoc to any defense unless the Hero intervenes against them: but even he cannot be everywhere at the same time.
[h1] Technical Analysis [/h1]
🎥 [b] Graphics [/b]
Terrible. Even ten years ago the graphics of this title would have been mediocre, but now, especially regarding model complexity, textures, effects, and graphical polishing, they are borderline unacceptable levels for a 2019 release.
🔊 [b] Sound [/b]
Decent soundtrack, but mediocre voice acting / narration and just average effects. Nothing shines in particular in this compartment.
🔩 [b] Performance & Stability [/b]
The game runs without issues maxed out in 1440p. [GTX1080, i7 4820K, 16GB RAM]
💻 [b] Artificial Intelligence [/b]
N/A
🏠 [b] Quality of Life [/b]
The UI is clearly ported from console and even obstructs multiplayer chat at times. The controls overall work decently with mouse and keyboard, though. The absence of any unit stat display except for Health Bar is a huge flaw in a tower defense: players CANNOT know unit stats, resistances, DPS and the likes!
🐛 [b] Bugs & Issues [/b]
Some graphical glitches with reflections and enemy ragdolls bugging out at times with physics glitches. Nothing too serious though.
[h1] Conclusion [/h1]
Hell Warders is, in the end, a mediocre title for the genre, with too many flaws and design mishaps to be recommended, even to fans of the genre (as myself).
This product was reviewed using a free key provided by the Developers.
