Hob

My first encounter with Hob was at PAX West 2015 and I was enchanted from that first moment. The artwork and how every ability in game seemed to be used in both mundane and creative ways was really intriguing. Two years later Hob has been released and though the game has clearly changed from what Runic planned back in 2015, it’s still enchanting and fun. This is our Hob review.

Originally I was going to criticise the combat for similar issues, but the longer I played the game the more responsive I realised the combat was. Dodging will always give you invincibility frames, and clicking in the left stick will lock on to the nearest enemy. Also, the charged punch can knock off enemies’ armour. These last two bits of info were not conveyed in the game and I found both out fa...

Hob is a beautiful Zelda-like puzzler with fun combat elements that takes place on an enchanting world where nature and machinery alter the landscape as easily as a twist of a Rubik's cube. The wordless approach to the story creates some confusion and the fix camera sometimes results in unnecessary deaths, but never does the time spent with Hob feel wasted.

Puzzling, platforming, and punching.

There is something about Hob that I really enjoy. I'm not quite sure if it's the cartoonish art style, clever puzzles, or an amalgamation of the two, but my overall experience was quite pleasant. However, frequent frame rate drops, mindless combat, and its open-world facade hindered my amusement and often relinquished any feeling of consequence while exploring the game's dangerously portrayed worl...

Hob is like a beautiful example of how to make a third-person action game. Like a filmmaker who has learned every detail of cinematography, direction, lighting and set dressing, but never thought to care about the script. In that, I found it impossible to escape the sense of lack that pervades its beauty, both in an overall motivation (beyond "because it's there"), and in the "why?" of everything ...

A beautiful world scattered and scared by ruins, a silent protagonist, and a vague quest. Hob, on paper, might sound like a very familiar formula, but its nuance and art design really push it apart from the rest of the adventure games.

Ultimately though there is little that Hob does wrong. While combat is hardly a challenge and the puzzles are straightforward there is an obvious reason for that. The narrative is very implicit in Hob, but again this simply encourages you to enjoy the world as you explore it. Hob never loses momentum as you dive deeper and deeper into the game. It constantly rewards you by making the game easy to ...

Hob is a game that feels like it could be much more than it is. It's a game that draws inspiration from the best in the business. It's a game that looks and sounds great. And it's a game that offers something unique for players. Yet it falls short of the heights that it could have reached due to a few key failings.

Runic Game's Legend of Zelda inspired adventure takes players on a mundane journey through an extraordinary world.

Hob tries to do a lot of things within its beautiful world but never does any of them very well. The platforming feels janky and slow, combat is basic and meaningless, and the puzzles will make you wish you were back in 10th grade listening to your Geometry teacher explain proofs for the millionth time. A great game was not too far away from what eventually was delivered, but outside of the stunni...

Runic fans waiting on Torchlight III may be feeling sore, but the developer’s decision to take a gamble on something new has certainly paid off. Hob demonstrates just how well this team can create a world and stitch it together with intuitive level design. Although some parts are clearly stronger than others, as a whole Hob is easily one of the best indie games of 2017.