When the world is overrun by demons, will you pick up a gun and fight? That’s the premise of Hellbreach: Vegas, an upcoming multiplayer PvE where you fight against demonic hordes. Every horde is stronger than the last but you have various boons available to you. Practice on your own or cooperate with a team to survive as long as possible. If that’s not your preference, you can also play timed matches where you survive for set periods of time.
Hellbreach: Vegas paces you slowly and it’s not difficult to learn if you have experience with shooters. By opening up new areas in a location, you get new weapons and perks to experiment with. Special slot machines also give unique bonuses that can help you survive if you take risks. There’s not much variety in the missions and it doesn’t stand out from other shooters yet. But with some additional variety and improvements, this could be great fun with a group of friends.
Hellbreach: Vegas will be available on PC on August 14th 2024.
Slot machines give you amazing benefits if you are lucky.
Story – Demonic Invasion Near You
There isn’t an actual narrative for Hellbreach: Vegas, similar to games such as Weyrdlets. You are doing everything you can to survive a demonic invasion at certain locations. This may be a solo adventure or there are other companions with you. Each companion does have some backstory but it doesn’t affect anything other than personal preference. All you do is survive against demons in an endurance match or for a certain period of time.
Like other multiplayer games, the lack of a story isn’t a bad thing. The goal isn’t to tell a stirring story about fighting demons but to have fun surviving against waves. Hellbreach: Vegas is always about surviving against demons and thriving in the action. There may be some slight plot developments as you learn about a character but at its core, the game doesn’t need a meaningful story. Any backstory about a character just makes you keen to use them in combat.
Why are you in Area 51? Not important, there are demons to fight.
Gameplay – Survival of the Fittest
Playing from a first person perspective just like Jack Holmes: Master of Puppets, you fight against demons that spawn from portals. Different weapons are on the ground and several perks are scattered around in the form of floating cards. You must defeat enemies for money and spend that on ammo refills, new weapons, or special slot machines. Unlocking new areas requires Skull Chips, a rare currency that is sparsely dropped every round.
Demons spawn from white portals that appear near your current location. As time goes by, more portals spawn further away and more powerful demons appear. A variety of weapons let you choose your own playstyle, from fast assault rifles to slow shotguns. You are encouraged to open up areas and pick up items quickly as the costs grow with each wave.
The demons aren’t dangerous at first, but slowly get worse.
When playing by yourself, it’s a great way to practice and get used to different weapons. You also learn the locations of perks and try out the special slot machines. Joining a team with other players helps you cope against the waves and strategise for high scores. There’s a lot to learn despite the simple gameplay because you must learn what works for you. However, you must be willing to practice because there’s not much else to do.
Survival – The Only Activity
The main downside of Hellbreach: Vegas is that it can be repetitive as there is only one activity. While there are several locations you can visit, they all share similar structures and have the same weapons. Even the perks begin to blend together after a while. The demons don’t have much variation either and you fight the same enemies repeatedly.
All you do is shoot & survive with no other options.
This is definitely a game that you play in short bursts instead of long sessions unless you are with friends. A lack of variety means even if you switch characters or modify equipment, there’s not much to do. You can mitigate this by practicing with friends but even that gets repetitive after a while. Without much variation or battle modes, this game becomes stale quickly and it’s easy to move on.
It is possible that online competition or extra battle modes can spice things up. However, all you have is the typical survival game which doesn’t provide much variety. Without other activities, it’s hard to recommend unless you have other friends to play with. That doesn’t mean the game isn’t entertaining by default, but only self-motivation for higher score keeps you playing.
Audio & Visual – Everything is Normal
The locations you fight in have bright lights and a normal design. They don’t look out of the ordinary, making it feel like the demon invasion is happening out of the blue. Graphics aren’t special but they let you identify the demons and any available items. Some areas are darker than you expect due to shading but that isn’t unusual.
The audio is somewhat muted in comparison. It gets loud when you fire weapons or when demons get close. When you are between waves or looking around, there isn’t much sound. This does make the demon appearances more surprising since you can’t rely on loud noises as a signal.
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- Perks make you stronger but require lots of money to purchase.
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- Every location is similar even though they have different appearances.
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- Dark environments are perfect for ambushing demons.
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- There are several demons that have different ways of hurting you.
Hellbreach: Vegas was previewed on Steam with a code provided by Iceberg Interactive.
