Top down adventures that offer both engaging combat and fun couch co-op are my bread and butter when it comes to gaming. I fully enjoy being able to sit down with some friends to spend hours trying to get through dungeons or to beat up enemies from one side of the screen to the next. Unfortunately, Hammerwatch 2 is not a title that I could see myself sitting down and enjoying with friends due to some issues with the combat as well as unfortunate flagging when it comes down to the quests.
From a presentation standpoint, we get to experience a colorful adventure in a classical art style reminiscent of old SNES titles. The starting dungeon really captured my attention due to the fact that it succeeded in giving off a creepy and eerie vibe within the first few hours of the game. When I finally stepped foot outside of the dreary castle, I was given a colorful and vibrant world to explore. While this art style is pleasing to look at, especially on the OLED screen of the steam deck, there were some issues that I couldn’t pass up. For example, I spent well over 30 minutes backtracking through the dungeon because I could not figure out how to progress any further. I finally stumbled upon some crates that needed to be destroyed. This would have been fine if not for the fact the crates were located under some trees and there was no real indication that they were even there. I stumbled upon them by just attacking at random as I walked around the area. This left a bad taste in my mouth and made me feel as if I was being set up for failure down the road.
The story revolves around your character, or characters if you have some friends that are willing to engage in the multiplayer, acting alongside the King’s resistant movement. You have been tasked with slaying the terrifying Blight dragon that has plagued the land. This is a very simple set up and doesn’t stand out too much from other fantasy titles but it is enough to get us started. When it comes to Action-adventure games, I don’t need an in depth reason to want to swing my swords. A lengthy intro also provides a lot of background information from both the first game and the set up for the sequel so there is no need to have played the first title before jumping into here. This is a feature I fully enjoy since it allows for all players to be on an even playing field when it comes to understanding the story.
Once you start up a new save, you will be presented with the character creation screen. You are able to select the class of your character and these include the Paladin, Ranger, Warlock, Wizard, and Rogue. These are yet again very simple fantasy classes but it makes the customization relatively easy since I had a general idea of what it was I was getting myself into. For this play through, I picked the rogue due to the dual blades and cool cloak but thankfully it feels as if all of the classes are suitable for single player enjoyment. Along with deciding your characters class, you are able to custimize both the look of the sprite as well as the portrait of your character. While these customizations are minor and you won’t be looking at a high-res image of your character, it was nice to have the option to make the character fit my personal tastes.
After the initial customization and story intro, you are thrown into the world and are left to figure things out on your own from there and this is where my enjoyment started to stop. You see, there is a quest log that does a goods job of updating itself you keep you aware of your journey but there are no way points or arrows to help guide you to where you need to be. Within the first few moments of the game, I had upwards to four different quests but no way to set them one as the quest I was actively tracking. This meant that it was up to me to not only find out what the quest needed but to also navigate the map with no guidance on where I needed to go. While this might be fine for some, for others this is a headache in the making. Throwing in the fact that you can play this with others means that it will be up to more than one person to figure out where the next step could potentially be for a simple side quest. I personally enjoy having some kind of arrow or indicator to tell me where I should be heading but this is just a personal preference.
Combat is relatively simple with you controlling your characters movement and aiming indipendently. I played using a gamepad so the left stick moved my rogue around while the right stick aimed the attacks and while this was a little off putting at first, I slowly adjusted to the control scheme and found myself hacking away at wolves and bandits with ease. I wish there was a lock on feature to keep your character facing the enemy until they are defeated so that there is less chances of you missing your attacks but once again, this is a minor complaint that not all will have.
Hammerwatch 2 is a fun little adventure that has a ton of potential but has a lot of minor issues that may be off putting for some. For those looking for a simple way to pass the time with some friends, this is definetly worth checking out but I hope you have someone ready to keep track of where you need to be going or else you will be pulling up the quest menu every other second. Combat is fun but the scenery can make it hectic to keep track of everything. Overall, Hammerwatch 2 does a wonderful job of being a mediocre adventure with promise.
