Hammerwatch 2 Review
With the success of the original Hammerwatch released by Crackshell back in 2013, many fans were excited for the sequel to drop. Even with its remixed version, Heroes of Hammerwatch which was released back in 2018, fans were happy with the updated features especially since it was ported to several platforms. With the release of Hammerwatch 2, there was a major shift in its overall feel and function.
The co-op indie dungeon crawler has RPG elements, a giant open world filled with quests and dungeons, an emphasis on a smaller pool of classes, with a day cycle. But with that being said, the ultimate question is whether the sequel had landed on its bold new direction or did it fail. Is it worth buying? I give the good, the bad and answer these questions in my final verdict.
The Good
The 8-Bit Art Style is Great
The 8-Bit Art Style is honestly so good. The previous Hammerwatch had that same aesthetic, but I felt that the updated colors and new look world in the sequel were just great throughout. It reminded me heavily of the classic Legend of Zelda games of the past. The various areas, terrains and villages really were unique and give the world a lot of life. One of the most important features of Hammerwatch 2 that most RPGs still struggle with is to fully make the world feel alive.
The music also slaps. The many tracks were different depending on the regions you entered and give a unique feel depending on the areas you travel to. Crackshell did a great job in creating an art style that sets itself apart from other RPGs and definitely seen as a positive for me.
RPG Mechanics are Highly Thorough
Hammerwatch 2 also excels at creating a diverse RPG that expands more than what we have seen in the first title in the series.
The five classes–Wizard, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue and Warlock–give the player a decent choice to guide the way they play throughout the narrative. Each class has its unique stat strengths and weaknesses that give an added strategic aspect of the game giving more reason to pick wisely before beginning. Paladins and Rogues are closer to combat in their methods and are more impactful when more direct against enemies, while Wizards and Warlocks use more ranged magic attacks to aid in long-distance confrontations.
Expanded on the skills and basic combat we have a thorough crafting system that expands the replayability. These items expand damage output and enhance skills which give your character more ability. Along with crafting, there are many purchasable items that give you the ability to customize your character as much as possible. The RPG mechanics are fantastic here.
Many Quests to Complete
The map is pretty big overall and the playtime of Hammerwatch 2 can range from 20 to 40 hours which is surprising for an indie title. The massive amount of quests you can find are impressive and for any RPG fan, this will definitely get them excited. These side quests actually have some lore elements that tell small stories but mainly they are done to obtain XP and money that is crucial in this game. I was really impressed with the amount to do in this game and it tells you how much effort Crackshell put into this title.
The Bad
The Story is Sub-Par
The Story of Hammerwatch 2 is pretty sub-par. It is clear as day that the focus of the game is to complete side quests rather than prioritize the main ones. Most of the missions are generally fetching or clearing jobs that sort of feel redundant over time.
I really wanted to enjoy some of the main story plot, especially since the game takes place directly after the first installment. The Dungeons are pretty cool especially when you get to face some boss fights, but, overall, it feels like we don’t have much motivation to continue the main missions. An RPG needs to have an engaging story to keep the player along the path, and unfortunately, Hammerwatch 2’s story seems underwhelming.
Unbalanced Classes
As much as I felt that the classes were very diverse in how they can be customized they honestly are extremely unbalanced.
I played as the paladin for hours and it was one of the most difficult experiences especially while playing solo. The enemies are tough to take down and extremely aggressive when attacking. So for close combat players, you will be destroyed often unless you take your time and chip away at forces. If you chose ranged fighters like Warlock or Wizard, you will have a way easier case for surviving.
There needs to be a lot of balancing done to the classes so that no matter which one you choose you actually have a chance to survive.
Some RPG Elements Hurt the Experience
Unfortunately, as much as I can praise the RPG mechanics of the game, there are some that honestly make the experiences worse. The day and night cycles are a cool added mechanic, but they actually hurt the playthrough.
One of the aspects of the game is to interact with NPCs in villages to either purchase items or find quests. At night, naturally, these NPCs would go to sleep. In most RPGs, you can find ways to get to make it change to the day to talk to these NPCs, but in Hammerwatch 2 there isn’t.
What’s even worse is that there are certain missions that actually will auto-fail if you don’t complete them by a certain amount of in-game days. So if you get stuck trying to travel to an area and it’s night you could lose half of the quests you had completed.
Final Verdict
Hammerwatch 2 has a lot of positives and negatives. The classic art style was phenomenal and the many ways to go about playing the game give this game a great feeling throughout. Plus the added bonus of completing missions in Co-op play was definitely a boost in replayability.
It reminds me of the classic Legend of Zelda games of the past but I feel that there definitely has some major errors that can be annoying. The classes are heavily unbalanced against close combat players and the story is really sub-par to a fault.
Rating
I’d give Hammerwatch 2 a 7.5 out of 10. It has some great areas overall and if you play with a crew this will be an absolute blast. Crackshell continues their last gem in massive fashion. I feel that they need to continue expanding on the game with post-launch content and luckily we have seen this be the case in the previous installment so there is hope. It is fun to explore and hopefully, we get more adjustments to keep the dungeon raiding top tier.
***
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