Info about Heroes of Hammerwatch:

Official game description:
Heroes of Hammerwatch is a rogue-lite action-adventure game set in the same universe as Hammerwatch. Encounter endless hordes of enemies, traps, puzzles, secrets and lots of loot, as you battle your way through procedurally generated levels to reach the top of the Forsaken Spire.  
A rogue-lite with a lot of persistent progression. You will start each run in Outlook, a town which you can upgrade to grant your heroes with various enhancements that will further help you in your quest. The heroes themselves will also remain persistent, you can even bring your own heroes to your friends game!
Features:
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*   Procedurally generated content: Random generated levels offers a high replay value and will bring you a new challenge with each run.  
*   Persistant progression: Your heroes will retain the experience gained from a run, and will become more powerful as they level up.  
*   Town upgrades: Construct/Upgrade 10 different buildings that will help your heroes in various ways.  
*   Classes: Choose from 7 different classes, all with unique stats, abilities and playstyles.  
*   Items: Find or buy over 100 unique items of various rarity.  
*   Co-op: Play with up to 3 friends in co-op.  
*   New Game+: Heroes of Hammerwatch will be a real challenge, and even if you beat it, the challenge never ends!

Release date: 1 Mar, 2018

Categories: Roguelike, Action-Adventure, Cooperative Multiplayer, Character Progression, Resource Management, Base Building, Dungeon Crawler, Procedural Generation


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Deep, rewarding progression system (weight 0.95): The game features a satisfying and deep progression system. This includes permanent account-wide upgrades, character leveling, town development, and a New Game+ mode with scaling difficulty, providing a sense of continuous improvement and long-term goals.
- Engaging, addictive core gameplay (weight 0.91): The game offers engaging and addictive gameplay, whether playing solo or with friends. It combines simple mechanics with challenging content, a well-balanced difficulty curve, and tight controls, resulting in a fun and satisfying experience that keeps players coming back for more.
- Varied, unique character classes (weight 0.27): The game features multiple classes that offer unique and enjoyable gameplay experiences. Each class feels distinct, with varied attacks and playstyles, encouraging players to experiment and find their preferred character.
- Great solo player experience (weight 0.17): The game is a fantastic solo player experience, enjoyable and addictive. It's considered one of the best roguelikes available, providing a chill experience and good gameplay.
- Meaningful town upgrade system (weight 0.16): The town upgrade system adds depth to the gameplay, providing a satisfying sense of progression. Players can send resources back to town during runs to unlock permanent upgrades, making each run more productive and the game easier over time.
- Risk/reward drink buffs (weight 0.12): The game features rare drinks that provide powerful buffs but also come with significant drawbacks. These trade-offs add a layer of strategic decision-making to the gameplay, forcing players to carefully consider the risks and rewards.
- Faithful to Hammerwatch style (weight 0.12): The game retains the style and quality of the original Hammerwatch, expanding on the formula with roguelite elements. Mouse aiming is easier than keyboard aiming in the previous game.
- Well-made, RPG-like roguelite (weight 0.11): The game is a well-made roguelite with interesting abilities and characters. It feels more like an RPG than a typical roguelite, with progress protected in ways that other roguelikes fail to do.
- Combines Diablo, Gauntlet elements (weight 0.11): The game combines elements from Diablo, Gauntlet, and other games, offering a unique and enjoyable experience. The resurrection system is strategic and punishing, and the leveling system hits a sweet spot.

Common complaints:
- High early-game difficulty (weight 0.31): The game's early stages are considered too difficult, with enemies dealing high damage and limited player invincibility. This, combined with a steep learning curve and a lack of guidance, can lead to frustration and a reliance on external resources. Some reviewers noted class imbalances that exacerbate early-game difficulty.
- Frustrating and punishing mechanics (weight 0.14): Some reviewers expressed frustration with the game's difficulty and punishing mechanics, leading to a feeling of wasted time and unfairness. The heavy meta-progression layer and reliance on RNG in boss fights further detract from the experience. These points are somewhat vague and lack specific details.
- Crashes, corruption, lost progress (weight 0.13): Several reviewers reported crashes, save corruption, and lost progress, leading to significant frustration. Some reviewers expressed disappointment with the developers due to unresolved issues and a perceived lack of commitment to the game. These issues significantly impacted the overall experience and led to negative recommendations.
- Frustrating hidden button mechanic (weight 0.12): Hidden buttons are used to gate progression, often blending in with the environment and becoming frustrating to find. This mechanic is seen as a poor design choice that disrupts the flow of gameplay and adds unnecessary tedium. The combination of hidden buttons and timed threats exacerbates the frustration.
- Overly deadly and unavoidable traps (weight 0.1): Traps are considered overly deadly and unavoidable, often leading to instant deaths and frustration. The focus on traps sometimes overshadows the combat, demanding more precision and attention than engaging with enemies. Some reviewers found trap rooms to be unfun and detrimental to the overall experience.
- Repetitive level design (weight 0.09): The game's level design is criticized for lacking variety and relying on repetitive layouts, despite being randomly generated. Some puzzles are tedious and time-consuming, further contributing to the monotony. The game also punishes strategic play by incentivizing speed over careful planning.
- Poor balance for solo play (weight 0.08): The game is not well-balanced for solo play, leading to frequent deaths and a grindy experience. Some reviewers found the game unenjoyable without friends to play with. The lack of local multiplayer further limits the options for cooperative play.
- Inferior to Heroes of Hammerwatch 2 (weight 0.07): Some reviewers felt that certain design choices were mistakes and that Heroes of Hammerwatch 2 is a better alternative. These reviewers suggest skipping this game in favor of the sequel, which offers a more balanced and modern gameplay experience.
- Inconsistent class balance (weight 0.07): Class balance is inconsistent, with some classes requiring significant upgrades to become viable. Some reviewers noted that the game's difficulty is heavily influenced by the class composition of the party. Changes to class abilities in updates have also been met with criticism.
- Tedious leveling process (weight 0.06): Leveling up becomes increasingly difficult and unenjoyable after a certain point. The level cap is considered too low to create meaningful builds, and leveling alternative classes is a grind. The endgame is repetitive, requiring multiple runs to level up classes.
- Punishing tax system (weight 0.06): The tax system is viewed as overly punishing, especially in the later stages of the game. High tax rates encourage constant spending to avoid penalties, leading to a perpetual state of being broke and hindering upgrades. Some reviewers recommend modding the tax system out of the game entirely.
- Unbalanced and repetitive DLC (weight 0.06): The 'Moon Temple' DLC is criticized for its extreme difficulty, balance issues, and repetitive dungeons. The mercenary mode, while offering a unique permadeath experience, suffers from limited skill build freedom and high barriers to entry. Some reviewers found the DLC dungeons less enjoyable than the original content.

Gameplay feedback:
- Dungeon crawl, upgrade, repeat. (weight 0.56): The core gameplay loop involves dungeon crawling to collect gold and ore, which are used to upgrade the town and character.  Progression is tied to replaying dungeons, upgrading, and tackling increasingly difficult New Game Plus cycles.  This loop can become repetitive, requiring optimization and grinding.
- Gauntlet-like roguelite dungeon crawler. (weight 0.48): The game combines roguelite elements with Gauntlet-style arcade gameplay, featuring procedurally generated dungeons, fast-paced combat, and meta-progression.  The top-down perspective and monster generators are reminiscent of classic arcade dungeon crawlers.
- Resource transport incurs interest charges. (weight 0.37): The game features a system to send resources (gold and ore) to town for character and building upgrades. Transporting gold to the main city via minecarts or level completion incurs interest charges.
- Act-based structure, increasing difficulty. (weight 0.12): The game is structured into acts or zones, each consisting of multiple floors and culminating in a boss fight.  Completing a zone unlocks shortcuts to later levels in subsequent runs.  New Game Plus modes increase the difficulty and introduce new enemy attack patterns.
- Puzzles, traps, and hidden secrets. (weight 0.08): Dungeons contain puzzles, traps, and hidden secrets that require strategy and quick reactions.  These elements provide a break from combat and reward exploration.
- Average grind, minimal story. (weight 0.06): Some reviewers found the game to have an average level of grind, while others found the leveling process to be slow. The story is minimal.
- Top-down view, retro feel. (weight 0.04): The game retains the top-down view and arcade combat from Hammerwatch, giving it a retro feel.
- Villagers impose taxes on resources. (weight 0.04): The game features a tax system where villagers impose taxes on resources sent back to town. This mechanic adds a layer of resource management, as players must consider the cost of upgrading their town.
- No backtracking, unlike first game. (weight 0.03): The game's plot is related to the first game, with the first level taking place on the first game's map. However, unlike the first game, backtracking to previous maps is not allowed, which some reviewers found detrimental, especially for multiplayer.
- Prioritize dodge/defense items, keys. (weight 0.03): The items available for purchase in the store are randomized, but reviewers recommend prioritizing dodge or defense items and keys for unlocking chests in dungeons.
- 'Great threats' punish slow players. (weight 0.03): Some regions have 'great threats' that spawn enemies to punish players for spending time on the floor; these enemies don't drop anything or give XP.
- Console command for >4 players. (weight 0.02): The game allows creating lobbies with more than 4 players by using the console command 'g_multiplayer_limit NUMBER_OF_PEOPLE'.

Performance notes:
- Stability issues during extended play (weight 0.03): The game exhibits stability issues, particularly crashing, when running for extended periods or when console commands are used to increase player counts. This suggests potential memory leaks or networking bottlenecks that need optimization.
- Unstable netcode in certain setups (weight 0.02): The netcode can be unstable depending on the network setup. This can lead to lag and desynchronization issues, negatively impacting the multiplayer experience.
- Smooth performance, except large battles (weight 0.02): The game generally runs smoothly with responsive controls, except when dealing with a large number of enemies. This indicates that the game's performance is well-optimized under normal circumstances, but may struggle with particularly demanding scenarios.

Recommendations:
- Highly recommended roguelite experience (weight 0.91): The game is highly recommended, especially for fans of the roguelite genre or those who enjoyed previous Hammerwatch titles. Reviewers consistently praise its engaging gameplay, depth, and overall value, often highlighting it as a hidden gem or a must-buy.
- Best enjoyed in co-op (weight 0.72): Many reviewers emphasize that the game is significantly more enjoyable and rewarding when played with friends. The co-op experience enhances the fun, facilitates faster leveling, and helps overcome challenges, although some mention multiplayer issues.
- DLC value is mixed (weight 0.28): Some reviewers find the base game worth the full price, while opinions on the DLCs are mixed, with some recommending them and others suggesting waiting for a sale. A few reviewers felt the game wasn't worth the money even on sale.
- Mods may improve experience (weight 0.11): Some reviewers suggest using mods to address flaws like excessive grind or broken multiplayer, while others caution against mods that disrupt game balance. The need for mods to fix core issues is a significant concern.
- Consult guides, optimize leveling (weight 0.05): Some reviewers recommend consulting guides to avoid common pitfalls and suggest specific strategies for faster leveling and earning, such as upgrading the fountain and adjusting negative effects.
- Epilepsy/photosensitivity warning (weight 0.03): One reviewer specifically warns that the game's flashing lights and strobe effects can trigger seizures in individuals with epilepsy or photosensitive epilepsy. They request a toggle to disable these effects.
- Recommend specific starting classes (weight 0.03): Some reviewers recommend specific classes, such as the Warlock or Ice Mage, for the initial playthrough due to their effectiveness.
- Old Map, Mercenary recommendations (weight 0.03): Purchasing an Old Map is recommended before starting the Moon Temple campaign, and the Mercenary mode is the main reason to buy the Moon Temple DLC.

Other player notes:
- Extensive modding and language support (weight 0.11): The game has strong modding support, including Steam Workshop integration and bundled modding tools. However, enabling mods often disables achievements. Community-created language packs are available, including Japanese and French.
- Detailed pixel art and atmosphere (weight 0.09): The game features a distinct old-school aesthetic with detailed pixel art, contributing to its immersive atmosphere and indie feel. The pixel graphics also allow the game to run smoothly on low-spec hardware like iGPU laptops and the Steam Deck.
- Mod management and save backups (weight 0.04): The game provides tools for modding and allows players to manage mods through profiles to avoid save corruption. It's recommended to back up save files before applying patches.
- Roguelike with scaling difficulty (weight 0.04): The game is a roguelike with procedural level generation and permadeath. New Game Plus modes primarily increase monster stats, but also enhance boss skills and add new enemy behaviors.
- Endless content and flexible saves (weight 0.04): The game allows players to save progress at any time and offers a substantial amount of content, with playthroughs potentially lasting 50-100 hours or more. The game has no upper limit to the number of playthroughs.
- P2P multiplayer and community (weight 0.04): The game is designed for peer-to-peer (P2P) LAN multiplayer, with RadminVPN recommended for easy and low-latency connections. There is also a Korean Discord server available for players.
- In-game explanations are lacking (weight 0.03): The game lacks clear in-game explanations for certain mechanics, such as the differences between classes. Players may need to consult external resources like wikis to fully understand these aspects of the game.
- Multiplayer server and dungeon labels (weight 0.03): The reviewer provides instructions on how to create a large multiplayer server by using the console command "g_multiplayer_limit" followed by the desired number of players. The reviewer suggests labeling dungeons with "NO NG+" to indicate if it's not for New Game Plus players.
- Active developer engagement (weight 0.02): The developers are actively engaged with the community and consistently release patches to improve the game. This suggests a commitment to ongoing support and addressing player feedback.
- Account-wide unlock progression (weight 0.02): Unlock statuses in the town are saved to the Steam account, so there is no need to unlock facilities or grades again with other characters.
- Tavern drinks have buffs/debuffs (weight 0.02): The effects of different tiers of drinks in the tavern are listed, with each drink providing a buff and a debuff.

Emotions:
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