Should you beam yourself up for this Sci-fi Souls-like game?
Hellpoint is a dark and challenging action RPG set in a heavily atmospheric sci-fi universe where the line between science and occult is blurred. Once a glorious pinnacle of human achievement, the Irid Novo station is now devastated, completely overrun by evil interdimensional entities and dominated by the will of malevolent Cosmic Gods. You are a creation of the cryptic Author, crafted and sent to investigate Irid Novo in an attempt to figure out the unholy series of events that led to the strange incident known as The Merge.
Hellpoint came out for PC and consoles back in 2020 but now the game has received next-gen versions for PS5 and Xbox Series X. I actually missed out on the original game so going through it with all improved visuals and performance should be impressive, right?
I was impressed with how the game handled and Souls fans will feel right at home with its controls and interface. Mixing that with a sci-fi horror premise sounds like a great idea and it works for the most part, though it definitely isn’t quite as polished as a Souls game. Platforming sections are nightmarish and while it handles like you would expect, it is a bit janky at times.
If there’s a major criticism to be had, it’s that the game can be incredibly vague for what to do next and while that is part and parcel of what Souls games do, Hellpoint seems to double down with it, leaving very little in terms of hints on how to progress and it just has pacing issues as a result. There is a story DLC add-on that also released alongside the PS5 upgrade, but I wasn’t able to access it due to issues with the PlayStation Store, but if I ever do then I’ll be sure to add it to this review at a later date.
The visuals themselves are impressive and the sci-fi horror art style works well here with some well-designed enemies and Irid Novo looks nice overall. The framerate was solid, and the load times were short so there’s not really a lot to complain about there. The soundtrack is also decent with some great atmospheric tunes that add to the sci-fi horror style.
The Verdict
While not as polished as a traditional Souls game, Hellpoint does well with its sci-fi horror combination. It has some issues with janky platforming and pacing issues mixed with being overly intentionally vague at times. But overall if you are looking for a Souls game set in space then look no further.