Heroes of Hammerwatch II - Celestial Ruins Review Summary

The well-received priest class and affordable DLC enrich the experience, but the DLC is too limited, pets are nearly useless, and visual clarity is poor.

Priest class is well-received: The new Priest class is consistently praised as solid, enjoyable, and worth the money. Many players find the class and its subclasses fun and powerful, adding significant replay value.

New content enriches the experience: The DLC adds new classes, bosses, equipment, pets, and missions, providing fresh content for players. This expansion is seen as a meaningful addition to the base game.

DLC is affordable and worthwhile: Multiple reviewers highlight that the DLC is fairly priced, costing around 3-4 dollars and offering good value. The low cost combined with the content provided makes it a worthwhile purchase.

New trinkets are interesting additions: The DLC brings new trinkets that players find fun and interesting, enhancing build variety. These items contribute positively to the gameplay experience.

Developer support is commendable: Players appreciate that developers continue to support the game with updates and new content. This ongoing effort is recognized and encourages further support.

DLC content is too limited: Many players feel the DLC offers very little content for its price and long wait. It is described as lacking meaningful playtime and feeling like a free update rather than a paid expansion.

Pets are nearly useless: Pets are widely considered useless, with poor AI, slow looting, and a tendency to get stuck in walls. They fail to effectively collect items, making them feel purely cosmetic.

Visual clarity is poor: The new area is described as too colorful and oversaturated, making it difficult to distinguish enemies, chests, walls, and other important elements. This causes eye strain and gameplay frustration.

Buffs and boons are unbalanced: Players find that the spirit boons and statue buffs are poorly balanced, with one option being clearly superior and others too niche or weak. The system feels poorly designed.

Repetitive content and bosses: Players report that the DLC's content quickly becomes repetitive, especially the five bosses which share similar movesets and are fought on the same map. The lack of variety leads to boredom.

Priest class with subclasses: The game or DLC features a priest class with multiple subclasses, including a Crusader summoner variant. This class is a notable addition.

DLC expands core gameplay: The DLC expands on the core gameplay loop with instance-based gameplay, boss fights, and challenge content like an arena. This provides additional content.

Survival mission mode: The DLC adds a survival mission where players fight enemies until a boss spawns. This is a core addition to the game.

Pet system for looting: The game includes a pet system that picks up materials and gold, though the pet's looting behavior can be inconsistent. This is a key quality-of-life feature.

New trinkets and items: The DLC adds new trinkets and items, including a trinket system that activates on mana use. This expands build options.

Portal sound spam issue: Players report that portals generate excessive or glitched sound effects, which can be annoying or immersion-breaking. This may indicate an audio bug or unintended behavior in the game's portal mechanics.

DLC is worth buying: Multiple reviewers recommend purchasing the DLC, citing it as a worthwhile addition that supports the developer. The positive sentiment is reinforced by several clusters highlighting the value and enjoyment.

Deceptive marketing and lack content: A few reviewers criticize the DLC for deceptive marketing practices and insufficient content, leading to a negative recommendation. This sentiment is echoed in clusters that express disappointment with the overall value.

Not worth for returning players: Some reviewers advise that the DLC offers little value for players who already have significant experience with the base game. The content may not provide enough novelty or depth to justify the purchase for veterans.

Priest class is a key draw: The DLC introduces the Priest class, which appeals to players interested in Holy DPS, Laser Mage, or Summoner roles. However, it may disappoint those seeking a dedicated healer or top-tier co-op support.

Ideal for grinding and looting fans: Players who enjoy grinding and looting mechanics are likely to appreciate the DLC, as it adds more content for these playstyles. The recommendation is targeted at a specific audience.

Community fair range: $2.00 - $7.00.

Session length: 7.5h.

Player reviews consistently report the DLC as tedious, repetitive, and visually poor from the beginning, with no indicated point where enjoyment improves. The new priest class is the only sparingly liked element, but it does not rescue the overall experience.

Friction: repetitive gameplay; tedious grinding; poor camera control (camera ripped away); getting stuck on environment geometry; hard-to-see visuals and color coding; small and uninspired maps.

Value-Conscious Veteran: Long-term, high playtime; appreciates low-cost content and supports continued development. Motivation: Supporting developers for the value delivered over many hours. Stance: buy.

Grind-Seeking Completionist: Grinding and optimizing character builds; seeks efficient, profile-wide progression. Motivation: Min-maxing and completing all grindable content. Stance: sale.

Casual Newcomer: Casual, not deeply invested in endgame grinding; enjoys fresh content at low cost. Motivation: Getting a fresh, affordable experience without prior heavy investment. Stance: buy.

Monetization: User feedback focuses on dissatisfaction with the DLC's content-to-price ratio, but consistently confirms the absence of microtransactions, battle passes, or pay-to-win mechanics. The game monetizes solely through a traditional optional DLC, with no predatory elements.

Comparison to Heroes of Hammerwatch 1: Reviewers compare this DLC unfavorably to the first game's DLC, such as the Pyramids expansion. They note that the first game's DLC included a campaign and an arena at the same price.

DLC less content than expected: Some reviewers feel the DLC contains less content than previous DLCs or updates from the same developer. It is considered less content-rich than past expansions.

DLC adds new class and missions: The DLC introduces a new class, multiple missions, and various equipment. Players report that it includes survival challenges, pets, and spirit blessings as well.

DLC is a small expansion: The DLC is described as a small expansion pack to the base game. It is advertised as an expansion but priced low and is an optional purchase.

DLC should add campaign or paths: Players expected the DLC to add new campaign areas or branching paths, similar to Bandit Keep. Instead, it adds a survival scenario as indicated by the roadmap.