Hellscreen

You know those games that are good on paper but suck in execution? This is the exact opposite. The idea of having a rear-view mirror in shooters sounds a tad silly, but in this game it works like a charm and smoothly blends in into the gameplay. Once you get the hang of keep on moving and continue fire using your rear-view mirror, the games feels like something you've never played, and enjoyed, before!

I actually didn’t want to leave a negative review, but since I found out that the game didn’t sell well, which led the developer to eventually abandon the project, I felt I should share my thoughts. First, the innovative aspect of the game is the rearview mirror shooting mechanic, which clearly draws inspiration from reversing a car. But to be honest, it overly challenges players’ operational habits. Combined with the game’s visual style, it feels quite uncomfortable to play. Second, the levels within the maps lack distinct identification. Due to the excessive pursuit of stylization and monotony in many scenes of the same level, average players find it difficult to form a mental map of the routes and locations. Lastly, the rearview mirror in the game has a blur filter applied, which causes nausea after prolonged use. I suggest removing this blur filter from the rearview mirror and allowing players to switch screens. What do I mean? The full version should allow players to use the entire screen to display either the front view or the rear view, switching by pressing Shift. Personally, I think for the game to sell well, it must first feel comfortable for players to move around and look at. Unfortunately, the game in its current state doesn’t achieve that. At its core, the front and rearview mirrors are designed to allow players to see two different visual perspectives fused within the same space—somewhat akin to the thrill of exploring both the real world and the spirit world simultaneously, much like what was done in The Medium. This was a well-intentioned concept from the start.However, in execution, it feels awkward for players to learn. If players are unwilling to learn, there’s nothing you can do. So, it’s crucial to lower the operational barrier and optimize the visual presentation. Even adding a visual options menu would help. Some of the game’s shortcomings, in my opinion, stem from the developer’s pursuit of stylistic expression, which is why I didn’t want to leave a negative review a long time ago. I simply refunded the game and let it sit on my wishlist. But now that the project has truly been abandoned due to poor sales, I felt I had to speak up. Finally, whether the developer continues making games or not, I wish them all the best on their journey ahead. I used a translator to leave this comment, hope this helps.

Great game, gives me Quake 1 vibes. The graphics are low key, but they fit with this style of game. Currently the game is in Early Access, so hopefully there will be more to come. Plus there is the rear view mirror, something I not seen in other games I have played. This is used to kill enemies that are immune to damage if you shoot them from the front. It's fast based, fluid, and a lot of fun. Can't wait to see how this game progresses in EA. Awesome game.

ITS FINALLY ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ OPTIMIZED, I REALLY REALLY LOVE THIS GAME IT WAS WORTH WAITING FOR A PERFOMANCE UPDATE

Awesome gameplay concept with the rearview mirror in an FPS! The game plays just like the fast action classics of the 90s, with quick movement speed and satisfying gunplay. Love the high contrast graphic style. The gritty retro inspired look is something different from other games in the genre, lending Hellscreen a unique atmosphere. Looking forward to seeing it develop further! :D

This game truly deserv praise for being as bold as it is and standing out from all the other games! Check out all the details and my full review here: https://youtu.be/uE1eYrrpLK8

Great throwback action FPS with a twist to keep things fresh in the rear-view mirror. Love the open ended design of the levels encouraging exploration and the secrets that need the rear-view to find and explore really feed back into the combat and help to use that view to do extra damage. Looking forward to finding all of the soul-cores and seeing what comes next!

I was very excited for this game and I adore the art style, but the main gimmick just feels like a pain to work around for not much reward (I get x2 damage by moving forward but only x4 damage by moving forward and shooting behind me while fighting reversed controls). The game is also pretty poorly optimized, it drops frames badly when theres explosions on screen. That being said, the gunplay is still great and feels like an evolved take on classic Doom thanks to the animations and hitscan, the high-contrast colors make it easy to see enemies at any distance, and it's really cool how they incorporate the weapons into the level progression and obstacles.

The exploration is quite fun. I'm a bit confused as to what some things do or how to activate them, but nothing a good old exploration won't fix. The combat is amazing. Gets some time to get used to, but it just shines during huge arenas, where you can simply run around and shoot behind yourself. The rear-view mirror is great, and used not as a gimmick, but as a proper gameplay feature (it also helps with exploration, by hinting at secrets). The game has some early-access weirdness (I just can't get it to work above 60 fps during gameplay on RTX3060), but that's expected and not at all ruins the experience. Definitely looking forward to more episodes to come.

I recommend for anyone looking for a unique retro shooter experience Pros: - Unique stylised visuals - Guns feel punchy, enemies explode in reaction to shooting them - Design helps promote fast movement and decision making - Developer has a clear love of the retro shooter genre Cons: -Could have more music variety -Rear view mirror, while an interesting concept, felt disorientating mid fight