Indie developers Gamecan achieved moderate success with their arena shooter Overstep. This humble beginning set them up for a new, far different journey with their latest video game Oh, Hel No!. This brand-new-open-world survival game puts you in the shoes of an adorable demon on a never-ending quest to gather resources to venture back into hell.
Soothing style
Oh, Hel No! takes on a retro arcade-like visual style. Though the graphics could be considered simple it gives the game a lot of charm. The same can be said for the soundtrack of Oh, Hel No!. Many of the tracks in the game are very slow and calm creating a very relaxing experience. The genre ‘survival’ creates certain connotations in a gamer’s mind. Words like ‘challenging’ and ‘grindy’ may crop up when thinking of popular survival games. Oh, Hel No! takes a slightly different but welcomed approach to the genre. It’s a lot more laid back. Players can pick up the game, play for a couple of hours and relax. Though some players may not enjoy this approach to a survival game, to Hel and Back feels right for those gamers who just want to relax while building towards something, similar to games like Minecraft and Stardew Valley.
A peaceful survival experience
As the term ‘survival game’ implies, Oh, Hel No!‘s gameplay revolves around you gathering resources to survive. Players can harvest objects in the environment for materials such as wood, iron, stone and chickens. These materials can then be used to craft in-game items like better crafting stations, tools to harvest with and an even more important tool in your arsenal: Infernal Keys. As the name of the game suggests, surviving in the overworld is far from your only objective in the game. Located in the world is an Infernal Gateway that you must open to venture into hell. The point is to defeat waves of demons and monsters all hellbent on destroying you. Why this is the case isn’t made clear just yet. Perhaps they’re jealous of how adorable you look?
Hellish mechanics
Focusing on the mechanics, Oh, Hel No! tries to do things differently from what people are used to. While there are similarities to other games of the same nature, the beta highlights how Gamecan takes them in a different direction. Mining for resources can be a tiresome process in survival games. It often takes up a large part of the playing experience. Oh, Hel No! streamlines this mechanic by letting you craft tools that do the work for you. You can harvest resources all by yourself, but having magical tools helps speed up the process and lets you enjoy other aspects the game has to offer like the in-game challenges.
Scattered throughout Oh, Hel No! are gauntlets players can run through, and while they are in the early stages they open up many options for Gamecan to take with them. Talents also seem to be a big factor in the gameplay. When completing challenges and destroying waves of demons the player level increases, allowing you to pick new talents. These talents offer the player new things to build and increased stats making time spent in the overworld even easier than it already is. These mechanics are best suited for hell as that is where most of the action takes place.
The potential of Oh, Hel No!
The game will also include a multiplayer feature, allowing players to enjoy the calming highs of collecting resources and the exciting lows of hell amongst friends. Oh, Hel No!’s beta shows much promise and heart from Gamecan. Though the survival game market is a little over-saturated, this game promises to deliver a different and more peaceful experience.
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