You’ve probably heard of Hammerwatch from developer Crackshell and publisher Blitworks before. It’s been out since 2013 and it made more than a few waves when it came out. Some of us old fuddy duddy players had been longing for a good Gauntlet-like game for some time and honestly, Hammerwatch scratches that itch! Heck , there’s even some straight-up Gauntlet bonus levels!
Basically, you’re inside a giant castle, trapped with hordes of monsters and a few vendors that will help you upgrade your character. Why the vendors are hanging out and charging gold for stuff trapped in a castle full of monsters is a whole different question of course. Regardless of the greed of merchants, you’ll still have to survive a gauntlet (it had to be done) of monsters of various types and attacks. That’s a bit challenging at first since all you have is a weak sword and a dash that runs out of magical energy after you use it a few times, but don’t worry, you’ll get there!
Hammerwatch is an interesting game because it can absolutely be played entirely solo but works even better as a couch co-op game. The Switch version has both local co-op and online co-op built in and you can work your way through campaign mode with up to four friends. You can also go online and host a public or private game. While the servers are somewhat of a ghost town since the game is older, meeting up with friends is certainly a snap if you want to get together and bash some monsters!
As you slowly upgrade in Hammerwatch, you’ll find hidden rooms, traps, simple puzzles, and a few other goodies that keep things interesting. The great thing about the game is that it’s simple and fun to play. There’s not a whole lot going on here other than slash, kill, explore, repeat, but the formula works because the levels are complex enough and the creatures are varied enough that you’ll look up at the clock and abruptly realize that hours have passed by without you even realizing it. This is definitely one of those “a few more minutes, I just have to…” games that keeps you constantly wanting to get a bit further.
There’s something about pixel art games that pull you in in a way that some of the fanciest looking games out there don’t. The simplicity forces a focus on gameplay that makes this style of game more fun somehow. Maybe it’s the devs worrying more about how a game controls rather than how it looks or maybe it’s just that we need to take a step back from flashy graphics to remember what gameplay feels like. Simple and repetitive isn’t always bad and Hammerwatch definitely harnesses that energy in a way that makes you keep coming back over and over.
The fun and clunky pixels of the game are a bit more detailed than you might think at first glance as well. Worms and other creatures have clever complexity and larger monsters are surprisingly well-designed. When you finally get to the first boss, you’re in for a real treat as well! The music is also quite good in Hammerwatch, accompanying the abandoned castle full of monsters and merchants vibe pretty well. Occasionally the tracks fade into the background but as they change, the music pulls you back in again. It’s nothing fancy, but that’s kind of the trademark of the game in general too.
Playing alone, you’ll find that Hammerwatch really forces you to carefully sneak around the edges of enemy hordes if you want to survive. This is a game that’s designed for groups and single player turns you into some sort of Solid Snake stealth knight, hiding behind pillars to ambush the monsters trailing you, running past enemies to get their attention, and generally creeping about. It’s a challenging design that forces you to consider how best to attack, at least until you’ve upgraded enough to start slaughtering enemies wholesale and wading right into the thick of the horde dealing death with every swing.
Ultimately, if you like pixel art, Gauntlet-style aesthetics, and a hint of progression with your modernized hack and slash, Hammerwatch is worth your time. At only $10, it’s not very expensive and it frequently goes on sale for anywhere from $3-7 depending on how long you’re willing to wait. This is a no-brainer purchase of a game that’s pure fun and should be in every Switch library, so go check out Hammerwatch! Just don’t blame us when you get hooked!
This review is based on a digital copy of Hammerwatch. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and played equally well in both! Hammerwatch is also available for Xbox, PS4, and PC on Steam and GOG.