Developer – Hyperstrange

Publisher – Kwalee

Platforms – PC (previewed)

Review copy given by publisher

NOTE:

The following game is being reviewed in an Early Access State, the game may change after the release of this review, this review reflects the game at the time of publishing. 

When the land has fallen to a curse, it falls to one woman to fight back. The Beast is a dangerous being who emerged from an unknown location and cursed the local area. Many have fallen but Mirah, a resident of the local village, resolves to fight back. Thanks to her father’s sacrifice that allows her to evade death, she continually battles against the Beast’s forces without fear. With the help of some allies, she may regain some of what she has lost.

You fight in large arenas like a town square, a cathedral, or a forest that give you lots of area to move. Mirah gets a random set of objectives that she must complete, whether it’s fighting off enemies or protecting targets. As Mirah completes objectives, the number of enemies and their strength begins to increase. Thankfully, Mirah gains levels after defeating enemies, helping her grow and defeat bigger threats.

Hordes of Hunger eases you into combat by only giving you a few enemies at first. It’s easy to fight off single enemies but the numbers start to grow. More powerful enemies appear and you must have the right skills to fend them off. Not every skill is a benefit and you must decide whether the investment is worthwhile in the long run. It’s not different from other roguelites in that regard.

Every time you level up, you gain three skills. These are chosen at random and offer a physical, elemental, or magical benefit. This lets you modify your playstyle to fit strategies that work for you. Right now there is a great incentive to obtain elemental skills since they take out enemies without you having to do anything. However, every skill can work in your favor if you know how to utilize it in combat. Despite that, the lack of balance or variety does make it hard to justify non-elemental builds.

What helps Hordes of Hunger stand out is the ability to retreat between waves in case you aren’t confident in your skills. Maybe you had a bad roll or are overwhelmed by enemies and need to retreat. You can always return to Sanctuary (your home base) to recover and try again. While you start from the beginning, it’s helpful to accumulate resources while you are learning how to play.

As Mirah completes objectives and areas, she meets new characters who add to the existing cast. Each character teaches you more about what happened and are vital to understanding the story. Some of your objectives also reference the past and show you just how the Beast rapidly changed the land. This also incentivizes you to return to previously completed areas as there is something new to learn or someone to find.

Hordes of Hunger still feels like other action roguelites at the moment but it does have a good foundation. If you need a dark fantasy action game that lets you develop your character, this will fill that niche. The story has room to grow, more skills to add or balance, and new enemy types to engage you in combat. Even though the game isn’t complete yet, there’s still enough to let you have a solid roguelite experience.