Hellsweeper VR Review: An Infernal Descent that Fails to Ignite Passion

Stepping into Hellsweeper VR, I anticipated a gritty confrontation with the underworld’s minions. However, the deeper I ventured, the more the controls began to work against me. Instead of acting as natural extensions of my actions, they often presented obstacles in their own right. The game had its moments where everything felt intuitive, allowing me to transition effortlessly from one enemy to the next. Unfortunately, these instances were frequently interrupted by disruptions that shattered my sense of immersion.

Mechanics and Controls: Complexities of Hell’s Arsenal

Navigating Hellsweeper VR often felt like deciphering the devil’s own bureaucracy. The game’s upgrade system, although deep in potential, came across as cumbersome. Holding down buttons for extended periods became tedious, and some upgrades seemed to merely reintroduce basic features previously stripped away. The lack of an intuitive control reference further hampered the experience, making me fumble during intense battles. And when it came to survival, the health system, especially during boss fights, didn’t offer much leeway, often leaving me feeling blindsided by unexpected defeats.

Combat: A Duel with Demons

Combat in Hellsweeper VR promised a blend of melee prowess, ranged precision, and arcane mastery. But this promise was often marred by the game’s inconsistencies. The weight of bullets and blades lacked the impact one would expect in such a visceral setting. Instead of the thrill of dual-wielding, the necessity to use both hands on a single weapon to penetrate demonic defenses felt restraining. While the variety of enemies began with promise, the horror of facing the denizens of hell soon faded into a repetitive loop, dulling the initial excitement.

Advanced movement mechanics, though innovative, were a double-edged sword. Wall-running, mid-air flips, and power sliding brought the adrenaline rush, but they also beckoned motion sickness. Toning down these features felt like limiting the game’s full potential. Moreover, the reliance on bullet-time during high-intensity encounters, especially boss battles, often felt like a crutch rather than an empowering tool.

Descent into Monotony: An Underworld Lacking Depth

As I traversed the landscapes of Hellsweeper VR, the initial awe inspired by the sprawling hellfire and the towering structures of brimstone began to wane. The roguelike nature of the game, which often promises a fresh, unpredictable challenge with every playthrough, here seemed to betray its essence. Each foray into the depths felt eerily familiar, not due to a sense of mastery, but because the game seemed to recycle its challenges, objectives, and locales.

The levels, while draped in the rich lore of hell, lacked substantial variety in design. Environments and textures became indistinguishable as I progressed, with the same eerie chambers and burning corridors reappearing frequently. This repetitiveness extended to objectives as well, often boiling down to slaying a set of demons or collecting a certain in-game currency. The game’s portrayal of hell felt less like the vast, unpredictable abyss of lore and more like a series of repeating motifs.

Furthermore, the progression system didn’t offer the rewarding experience one would expect from a roguelike. Despite facing the rigors of hell, the rewards often felt inconsequential. Cosmetic rewards, though visually appealing, lacked the depth to incentivize repeated descents into the inferno. The promise of defining one’s combat style and facing ever-evolving challenges seemed lost in a maze of redundant encounters and objectives.

Echoes of Missed Opportunities

In a setting as dramatic as Hell, where every corner hides a lurking menace and every step could be accompanied by the haunting whispers of lost souls, one would expect an immersive soundscape. It should resonate with every demonic roar, every bullet fired, and the intricate nuances of spellcasting. Yet, the auditory journey of Hellsweeper VR felt more like a distant echo than an engulfing roar. The game’s soundtrack, which could have been the haunting score to this infernal ballet, was noticeably absent, leaving vast portions of the experience eerily silent.

Sound effects, crucial in grounding the player and anchoring actions with weight and consequence, often felt like they were coming from a distance, muted and lacking clarity. Classic games, even with their limitations, often turned them into stylistic choices, crafting unique auditory identities. Here, though, it felt like opportunities were lost, swallowed by the echoing abyss of missed potential.

Bright Spots Amidst the Shadows

Despite its overarching challenges, Hellsweeper VR did have its moments of brilliance. The revolver emerged as a beacon of the game’s potential. Its tactile reloading mechanism, which combines both the immersion of VR with a nod to classic FPS mechanics, stood out as a testament to what the game could achieve when it struck the right chord. Engaging with it, mastering its rhythm, and feeling its weight in virtual hands brought fleeting moments of genuine gratification—a brief, yet memorable respite from the surrounding chaos.

When played in a shooting gallery style, akin to old-school arcade shooters, lining up shots, rhythmically reloading, and dispatching wave after wave of demons, was where Hellsweeper VR was its most enjoyable. Yet, these moments, where the game momentarily reached its peak, only served to make the surrounding inconsistencies even more palpable, casting longer shadows over the experience.

Final Judgment

Hellsweeper VR, with its ambitious design and promise of an intense, infernal combat experience, positions itself as a potential standout in the VR space. It teases players with the allure of an underworld filled with challenges, unique mechanics, and the thrill of mastering both melee and magic in tandem. But more often than not, its execution stumbles, falling short of the high bar it sets for itself. While it showed glimpses of being a genre-defining title, the overall experience felt fragmented. Moments of brilliance were overshadowed by missed beats and incongruities. It aspired to blend the detailed immersion of Blade and Sorcery with the unpredictable challenges of Risk of Rain. Yet, the final product often felt like it was caught in limbo between these inspirations, not quite reaching the heights of either. Despite its flashes of potential, Hellsweeper VR left a lingering feeling of wanting more, a deeper dive into the descent that it promised.

Final Verdict: 2.5/5

Available on: PCVR (Reviewed), PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest; Publisher: Vertigo Games; Developer: Mixed Realms; Players: 1-2; Released: September 21, 2023; MSRP: $29.99

Full disclosure: This review is based on a copy of Hellsweeper VR provided by the publisher.