By PATRICK CAVASOS
Staff Writer
Quick Note: The version discussed is the definitive version, on Switch, this adds minor additions like HD Rumble support but the major changes are the easier to navigate streamlined menus, better control of the camera, and the largest difference is heavily decreased loading times between different areas.
Hob is an odd game, I had heard of it years ago and thought it seemed interesting but only ever heard it was an alright game with lots of good ideas. I ended up coming to the same conclusion throughout my run too although a little better with the faster loading times. Hob’s gameplay is heavily similar to that of a 2D overhead Zelda in which you have basic combo attacks with a major focus on large puzzling structures and stories. The storyline is meant to be drip-fed to the player slowly but I honestly couldn’t pick up on much of it at all as it felt like everything was far too loosely connected to be that interesting, this definitely harmed the ending of the game as it felt rushed and quite unrewarding as a whole.
The basic combat wasn’t very interesting either as weapon unlocks take forever to start unlocking so you’ll typically only do minor chip damage to even the most basic enemies, with most even one hit killing your character with no effort. Of course, this is all heavily annoying so having enough I went off to get the best weapon… which sadly makes these annoying experiences only slightly easier, it still feels as though your combo is against a brick wall with a mere stick as your only weapon. Upgrades are usually bought with green orbs found in hidden chests but even then they only add new moves that since they are optional are rarely if ever used in actual combat. Besides the combat, there remain your health and magic stats, they are scattered and hidden quite well but as mentioned before combat is typically something you’ll try your best to avoid causing these elements of gameplay to serve no real purpose in the full experience.
The environments seen in this game are at their best, good-looking shadowy-ridden forest and at their worst or 80% of the map, flat green grass-ridden plains covered with hundreds of bushes and trees that all look the same. The most enjoyable set of scenarios was the flooded dungeon which was filled with tons of fun puzzles but sadly is the most ridden of lag and crashes in the game, as some minor mistakes can lead to whole 20 minute chunks of data just being lost, it’s a rough patch in the game’s world that contained the most opportunity.
Overall I really don’t think I could recommend this game, even at the price I bought it for (3.99) it’s just too large a time sink at around 10-12 hours to really enjoy. Only buy if you’re just looking for a solid short adventure game or an interesting look at indie development as it contains many interesting behind-the-scenes art and videos with some hidden secrets. Again, it’s just a solid adventure like all the ones you’ve seen before, at least this can be a perfect experience for the team to better themselves and make something far greater and impactful.