Cortyn has fallen in love with a short but quite crisp game. There are demon girls, tough puzzles, and witty dialogues.
You surely know this too. You look at your own Steam library of games, which has grown so long that you want to sink into the ground out of shame. So you muster the resolve to play at least one of these games – that’s exactly what I did, and I did not regret it. But that’s hardly surprising, as “Helltaker” is about “Demon Girls”, challenging puzzles, and a touch of visual novel – and it’s free too. What better combination could there be?
What is Helltaker about? The “story” of Helltaker is simple and quickly explained. The protagonist wakes up one morning filled with a dream. He has one goal: a harem full of “Demon Girls”. While that is not an easy goal, what is easy in life? So he sets off into hell to collect the demon girls and turn the dream into reality. Yes, that’s the plot. Really.
What does the gameplay look like? The actual game consists of several puzzles. Each level is its own puzzle, in which you have only a limited number of moves to reach the respective demon girl. Barriers like rocks, skeleton warriors, or the need to pick up a key first create quite challenging brain teasers.
Once you have finally solved the puzzle, a small dialogue with the respective demon lady of the corresponding level follows. This somewhat resembles visual novels or Japanese dating games. The ladies usually do not join the “Helltaker” to please him, but because they want to see how he later fails with his plans or pursue their own goals.
The dialogues are quite humorously written, but they also have a nasty game mechanic. If you do not convince the hellish women with the right answers, you will be killed by them. This means that you have to repeat the previous puzzle. This is particularly frustrating when you cracked the puzzle just by “wild guessing” – but hey, no one would do that, right?
At any time, you can also ask the ladies you have collected for “important life tips”. While they only help slightly with solving the puzzles, they provide entertaining additional dialogues between the various characters and give them a bit more personality. When “Modeus, the lustful demon” tells me upon request: “A tip? That’s easy. Skip all the puzzles, collect all the girls and let’s finally move on to real harem activities” – then some may find it disturbing, but I found it immensely funny and fitting.
– Creepy psychological horror in Doki Doki Literature Club
– Crazy point-and-click soul game with Pony Island
– Dramatic storyline (with succubus) in Juniper’s Knot
Why is it free? The developer has made the game available for free on Steam. If you enjoyed the game, you should consider buying the “external bonus content” – these are artworks and a pancake recipe. That’s the only way the game’s developer makes money.
How long does Helltaker take? Helltaker doesn’t actually consume much of your time. My first run took about 90 minutes, during which I did not unlock all the achievements and also missed some of the dialogues. However, I also had the ambition to solve all the puzzles without a guide, which surely gave me a grey hair or two. Those who are more skilled at solving puzzles than I am (or simply skip tough puzzles in the menu) will probably get through even faster.
Do you have 60 minutes to fill with good entertainment? Then download Helltaker on Steam. It’s free and at least gave me the best 60 minutes of this week – but also a catchy tune from the damn great soundtrack that I just can’t shake off …
If you prefer to play cooperatively with a friend, we recommend a few other games.
