Wow… this is going to be a hard review. Late last week I was given an opportunity to review Hammefight by KranX Productions, an indie game developer in Russia. The game looked genuinely interesting and I really hate not giving a review for any game that seems deserving of such so I decided to give it a go. What I experienced was far and beyond one of the most unique games I’ve ever had the pleasure to play, but also one of the most frustrating.

Hammerfight takes place in a sort of steampunk universe where the main method of offense and defense are flying contraptions swinging absurdly large boulders, hammers, and blades. You are but a humble soldier who commands one of these vehicles in the name of your nation and her defense. Suffice it to say, it won’t be long after you start the game that you’ll be swinging your own “hammer” to smash the crap out of enemies trying to invade.

Gameplay

Hammerfight does not control like a typical game. There is very little, if any, keyboard interactions — I think I may have pressed a button here or there. Basically everything is controlled with your mouse. Seeing as how you are a flying gyrocopter-thing with a boulder hanging off it you’ll actually have to swing that around in order to hit your enemies. It’s a very unique way to do battle and it’s certainly not realistic at all, but it’s different and a lot of fun. What more could we ask for?

Physics are king in Hammerfight. Despite being 2D, the game boasts remarkable physics. As you wield your gyrocopter and boulder you’ll notice it’s giving significant tugs in specific directions. It almost feels like it’s actually pulling your mouse/arm in one direction when you really give it a go. It’s really refreshing to see physics like this so accurately portrayed as, without it, the game would have felt fake and generic.

This game is hard… very hard. There’s no other way to say it other than that. Gamers looking for a casual romp should look elsewhere as there are about a dozen games I can recommend. However, for those who want a challenge and who really know how to command their mouse, Hammerfight may be just the game your looking for.

There are a couple squibbling issues I had a problem with in Hammerfight. For one, I could never really tell how much health I had left before I blew up. Sure my gyrocopter would start smoking, but beyond that I never really knew if I had opne, two or three hits left. Additionally, the game doesn’t lay out your level objectives. Usually it’s just kill this or that, but only sometimes does it actually tell you how many or what you need to kill. It can be very frustrating.

Style

Graphically, Hammerfight looks beautiful. The game is a 2D steampunk world and everything looks and feels exactly like what you’d expect. The only complaint I have is with the people. Other than their portraits, which are only sometimes shown when they speak, you can only see tiny little pixel representations of them. In fact, they are so small that you are sometimes left wondering just where this person is that is speaking.

The music and sound effects in Hammerfight are pleasing enough. Each time your boulder smashes into somebody it comes with a delightful thud. Additionally, the music feels very culturally relevant to the game. That’s not to say it feels Russian. It actually sounds more Arabic than anything else. Regardless it was, overall, pleasing.

Story

Hammerfight does not skimp on the story. In this game lies a world that is intricate and expansive. The game may not cover every aspect of it, but you can tell that there’s a lot more behind this story than just what the game wants to explore. There’s enough here to easily fill out a sequel or other games that take place within the same world.

Everything Else

There’s only one more thing that I can honestly say bugged me. The game’s UI was constantly getting in my way. Sometimes an enemy would fly upward or downward and then they would pass conveniently behind my UI which would give them perfect cover for when I went trailing after them in an attempt to smoosh them underneath my big boulder. It could get very frustrating and caused me to die more than once.

There are a lot of reasons to play Hammerfight. It has a good story, unique gameplay and it provides a good challenge. Plus for only $9.99 there’s not a lot to complain about money-wise.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game and am actually considering a second go-around just to experience the physics once more. Is it frustratingly challenging? At times, yes, but I tend to enjoy those types of games and, for me, Hammerfight fit that mold perfectly.