Before I say anything about HellSlave 2: Judgment of the Archon, you need to know one thing: this game is made entirely by one developer, Baptiste Miny (under the name Ars Goetia). That alone is a great accomplishment, and I'm even more amazed because everything you see in the game is hand-drawn. It's an astounding feat to do everything by yourself, but is HellSlave II worth playing? If you're a dungeon crawler and dark fantasy fan, the answer is yes, as long as you keep your expectations realistic.
What is HellSlave 2 About?
HellSlave 2 is a dungeon crawler where you combine travel across the map and turn-based-like combat. You'll have a sense of freedom to explore the world in the order you want, but by doing that, you can easily die if you enter a region with enemies above your current level. This reminds me of the Might & Magic RPG series, where you could wander around, but if an enemy gets you, it's game over. That makes the game more interesting, while also making sure you don't stray too far off the main story.
I was a bit disappointed when I realized that you'll only fight, as there are no puzzles or mini-games to make the adventure more interesting. All quests are of the fetch/kill type, which is fine, but I expected more. Also, you don't have options to influence the story with your actions. This is not Baldur's Gate. But that's not why you're here, as HellSlave 2 is all about combat and tinkering with your stats, abilities, and gear.
Combat & Character Building
The tactical combat is the crown jewel of the game, as everything revolves around your ability to destroy enemies. The moment you get into a fight, the game switches from a top-down view to first-person. The combat is turn-based, but there are no turns. Instead, everything is defined by time, as almost every action requires seconds to perform.
For example, your enemy will attack in five seconds - and swinging your sword requires, for example, 7 seconds. That's fatigue, meaning you'll attack again in seven seconds. But if you can cast multiple spells that require no time before that, or you can simply choose a defensive action so you receive less damage from enemies.
What you need here is to buff the head start of the fight to at least 10 seconds (via Powers, Talents, and gear), so you're able to deal multiple attacks before the enemy. That's especially true if you're focused on bleeding or poison damage, where you want to inflict as much debuff as possible. In that case, a fast dagger is better than a slow two-handed weapon (look at the Fatigue weapon stat).
This brings us to your character. In HellSlave 2, you get skill points every time you level up, complete a quest, or clean the area. You start with four key stats (Strength, Health, Magic Power, and Mysticism) and get five more later (Hate, Mastery, Dodging, Defense, Survival).
I tried experimenting with them, but after a while I came to the conclusion that the bonuses you get are so small (compared to what you get from equipment) that you only need to invest in one stat! So invest all in Strength if you're a fighter, or in Magic Power if you're a spell user. Everything else is not worth it, even after the developer buffed the bonuses.
Best Powers & Talents in HellSlave 2
The best part of the game is definitely combat and preparation, as you can make multiple builds, since you can always reset stats and powers without any penalty. That's especially important on greater difficulty, as even on Normal, enemies can take you down fast if you're not prepared for their attack and defense abilities.
Not all Powers and Talents are worth your time. In fact, you have a limited amount of points to spend on these skill trees, forcing you to pick ones you need the most. As I played with the fighter, I found bleeding + rage to be the most effective build. Look for the item stat "Bleeding during melee" and combine it with Broad Hit and Blood Spear powers. As for Rage, having a nice starting Rage pool is a great starting action, as powers like Bestial Possession, Enraged Strike (the deadliest single-hit melee power in the game), and Frenetic Incantation buff your attacks depending on how much rage you have.
What I didn't like is the criminally low sale price of items. You'll earn infinitely more money by exploring the map than by selling items. Some of the best items in the game don't go over 78 gold, and you need a lot more to buy items or upgrade them. Even items of unique rarity aren't worth much, forcing you to grind to get some money to upgrade equipment. And by the time you're strong enough to defeat most enemies, combat gets really tedious.
Story and Worldbuilding
While the story progression is very straightforward (kill six demons to save the world), it's the worldbuilding I enjoyed the most, apart from the combat. HellSlave II has a very dark world where "humans" are actually descendants of demons, which is why everyone has demon horns. Everything is hand-drawn, which makes it look even better. I enjoyed exploring this world where it seems like everyone is evil, and it's just a matter of how much, and who is worse. You'll meet memorable characters you'll root for, while really despising those demons for the truly evil things they do.
Should You Play HellSlave 2?
If you're a fan of dungeon crawlers and a dark atmosphere like in Darkest Dungeon or Diablo games, you should definitely give HellSlave 2 a chance. More content like puzzles, mini-games, and random events on the map would definitely be a huge quality improvement, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a really good game made by one guy.
Disclosure: A free copy of the game was provided to PGG by the publisher for review purposes.
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