Hell Clock

Hell Clock’s isometric view might make it appear like a twin-stick roguelite, but the game is all crunchy numbers under the hood. You start off with ten available skills, which can be configured into any of up to five active slots. Mixing these abilities soon reveals synergies, along with accumulated gear, perks, and various buffs. Relics can increase damage and transform skills further and, later on, a vast constellation mechanic utilizes a rare currency to further expand build potential. Trinkets picked up mid-run also produce temporary buffs, but they're always lost upon death.

Hell Clock is one of those games that cherry picks so many ideas from so many different sources that it manages to feel original when taken as a whole.

But there is a contagious fury in Hell Clock's bones, louder than its flaws or features list. Pajeú staggers, weakened, through a razed village in a storm. When he returns, he is the storm. Still spinning, still winning, made of wrath and gunsmoke and a circle of blades and lightning that just keeps expanding with every suspiciously perfect upgrade. I am certain there are numbers under the hood, stewing like the spirits of avenging dead, nudging the RNG just so. Much obliged, furious ghosts....

I really enjoyed my time with Hell Clock. It balances all its aspects just right: narrative, gameplay, progression, and difficulty. Just watch the clock, you might lose yourself down in Hell.

Hell Clock has some blemishes but its core gameplay and narrative experience are compelling. The story of the Canudos people is heartbreaking and galvanizing, constantly encouraging the player to rain righteous vengeance upon their enemies. Thanks to the game's flexible combat sandbox, this process is as intellectually stimulating as it is emotionally invigorating, and will have players itching for one more run. For a roguelike, it's hard to offer higher praise than that.

Sometimes you can tell how a game will play at a first glance, with the huge explosion of Hades clones generally easy to recognise. I went into my first experience with Hell Clock fully expecting a take on Supergiant’s classic but what I found was actually something far more original and interesting, albeit not without some issues and flaws. While it shares the general rogue-like approach of Zagreus’ adventures, the actual gameplay is far more in keeping with classic Diablo, and scratched a nostalgic itch I didn’t realise I had.