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Hob |OT| Hobnobbing with a Hobgoblin

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
You're doing great work making these OT's for indies and smaller games. Quite a few seem to go unnoticed so it's always nice to see an OT and some discussion.

Since there are very few reviews out (got to check the ACG review tonight), for those who have played, what is the gameplay mostly about? Mostly puzzle solving, traversal and exploration or more combat focused? I might purchase it tonight.

Working on a review for Sunday and from what I have played thus far it has the biggest focus on puzzles and exploration. Also it plays like a top-down Zelda game wherein you can jump.
 

dralla

Member
I took the risk and pre-ordered last night. I'll play a couple hours later tonight after work. It's a little surprising to see basically zero buzz or any type of coverage for this game.
 

Oneself

Member
Other than the false publicity and dubious answers from the devs about PS4 Pro (non) support, it's a very nice game so far. I love it.

It feels a bit unpolished though, even after a million years in development.
 
Working on a review for Sunday and from what I have played thus far it has the biggest focus on puzzles and exploration. Also it plays like a top-down Zelda game wherein you can jump.

That sounds kind of awesome. I might have to choose this instead of Steamworld Dig 2.
 

Agent_4Seven

Tears of Nintendo
I'm so ready for this....

37BkEk8.jpg


I took the risk and pre-ordered last night. I'll play a couple hours later tonight after work. It's a little surprising to see basically zero buzz or any type of coverage for this game.
Well... there was a few dev videos... but yeah, other than that - zero hype and coverage, which is a shame.
 

Khoryos

Member
So this *isn't* related to Dresden Codak, it just has a very similarly-designed protagonist with the same name?
 

Wozman23

Member
You're doing great work making these OT's for indies and smaller games. Quite a few seem to go unnoticed so it's always nice to see an OT and some discussion.

Since there are very few reviews out (got to check the ACG review tonight), for those who have played, what is the gameplay mostly about? Mostly puzzle solving, traversal and exploration or more combat focused? I might purchase it tonight.

I'd say it's a good mix of everything. Mostly traversal, exploration, and light puzzle solving, with some combat mixed in. The puzzle solving isn't brain busting or anything - but merely serves as a means to facilitate the transformation of the world via activating levers and switches. There's quite a bit of exploration if you like hunting down collectibles. There's a currency to buy stuff at shops (which I haven't looked into yet), upgrades for your health, upgrades for your power meter (which allows you to use glove abilities), I'm guessing some kind of sword upgrades, and a few others that I'm guessing are just extra collectibles for collectable's sake.
 
Eurogamer review http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-09-26-hob-review

"Intricate and ingenious, Hob is a true spiritual successor to A Link to the Past."

Daaaaamn

Hot damn. There's this out getting mentioned in the same breath as Zelda, and Steamworld Dig 2 having Metroidvania tips-of-the-hat thrown its way, and I don't think I have money for both! I might get this as it's probably not going to sell anywhere near as much.
 

Kadin

Member
What difficulty is everyone starting out with? I'm kinda torn between the default (medium) and hard. Prob gonna go hard since apparently you can change it at any time?
 

Yaster

Member
What difficulty is everyone starting out with? I'm kinda torn between the default (medium) and hard. Prob gonna go hard since apparently you can change it at any time?

I always go as default for action games. Playing on a harder level for me is usually a reason to play a great game a second time.
 

Granjinha

Member
I'm loving the game. The level design is absolutely bonkers with great verticality and controls. It's not only a great puzzle game but a great platformer game, jumping around feels nice. Big fun finding the collectibles thanks to that (and since they really help you out with the enemies). Really chill game, too. Runic Games has another gem with this one.

There aren't many reviews cause they sent the review copies near launch (with no embargo whatsoever). By the weekend i'm sure there will be more.

Hard is pretty difficult but i'm finding it the ideal one. You can get one shotted by some enemies if you don't have any upgrades tho
 

Oneself

Member
Shame. Went with the PC version then. Looks like it'll run fine in 4k at 60fps too.
Yeah, I find it very annoying considering the fact that they've published 60fps trailers targeting, specifically, the PS4 version.
And it's not like it looks technically impossible to do either.

And even more annoying is this, from the PS Blog release date announcement:
LeMatster said:
August 1st, 7:51 am
Finally!! The wait felt like forever :) Can we expect PS4 Pro support?

Wonder Russell said:
August 1st, 10:53 am
Absolutely, it runs amazing on the PS4 Pro


LeMatster said:
August 1st, 11:14 am
I guess my question was badly worded, I meant, can we expect any PS4 Pro **enhancements**?
Then Russell went mute.
That's some Reggie-level type of BS.
 

Lijik

Member
Played for about 30 minutes but Im digging what little Ive played

This, Rime, Yono, and Tunic: good times for Zelda-inspired indie games.

edit: I hadn't been aware of the blood earlier. Not a fan, as I don't think it fits the tone and art direction very well, but I suppose I can live with it.

Theres an option to turn off the gore!
 
The game somehow reminds me of Hyper Light Drifter, with a greater focus on exploration and plattforming instead of fighting. I like it so far.
 

Wozman23

Member
The game somehow reminds me of Hyper Light Drifter, with a greater focus on exploration and plattforming instead of fighting. I like it so far.

The PC Gamer review made that comparison and I think its a fair comparison - maybe the most accurate. The more I play, the more I enjoy just exploring the world, and gathering upgrades. In the same way as HLD, there isn't really any hand holding. You're just thrust into the world and slowly figure things out, whether it be the mechanics or the story.

A bit of stupidity on my part, I purchased one of the early ability upgrades:
teleport behind enemies
but didn't put two and two together on how to use it.
Kept thinking it was linked to the dodge button instead of the teleportation button
. Once I figured that out, and added a few other upgrades, the combat really fleshed itself out.

The frame rate issues are still prevalent and annoying, but almost everything else is fantastic!
 
Game looks beautiful on PC. It runs well for the most part, but there's a little stutter every now and then. :-/

Seems to be related to loading in assets and maybe saving. Turning down the resolution didn't help.

I've got a couple other games to play for now, so I'll get back to it in a few days and hopefully it's been patched. Even now it's not gamebreaking, just a little annoying as it interrupts an otherwise smooth 60FPS.
 

JonnyKong

Member
So erm, I seem to stuck already. I've just
upgraded my glove so I can now heavy punch through walls
, but I don't know where to go after that. It's led me back around in a circle to a glowing red door, but the punch doesn't work on it?

Edit: ffs found another, obvious wall to punch through.
 

Adryuu

Member
Anybody can comment on how it runs on standard ps4?

The focus on exploring and platforming plus finding secrets and comparisons make this really interesting to me. Also had an eye on it since first announced. But my pc probably wouldn't run this acceptably (old E8400), so I need to know if the port is acceptable at launch price.
 

JonnyKong

Member
Yeah unfortunately the frame rate does slow down a fair bit during some combat which is a shame, but it still isn't taking away what has so far been a very enjoyable game for me.
 

Adryuu

Member
Well shit. I've read some review and watched some video and this deserves to be played well... So I'll wait either for patches, price drop or a new pc. :(
 

JonnyKong

Member
Gonna have to stop for the night as it's bedtime, but I'm very glad I took the chance on this. It's essentially a top down version of Rime with some occasional Zelda like combat, delightful.
 

Kadin

Member
Only had time to play for a short bit but I'm very impressed with what I've seen so far. The game does seem to chug at times (on PC) but it's nothing terrible, just noticeable. Also, how do you get fullscreen windowed to work, mine has borders and I don't prefer fullscreen.
 

Oneself

Member
Man, this game is addictive. The last time I had this much fun cutting grass was when I first played Zelda:ALTTP in the 90s. It truly is a great mix of 2D Zelda, Rime/Ico, HLD, Stories mixed with lots of platforming. Everything else revolves around exploration, upgrades and power-ups in a Metroidvania-ish way (you gain new powers/items in order to get to new areas).
 

dralla

Member
The poor performance is a bummer because so far, about 3 hours in, the game has some really great stuff going for it, but man, the game is really choppy/framey on PS4.

Location spoilers:

The second area?
with the lightning, moving that giant power platform thing around the level, soooo good.
 

carlsojo

Member
Man it is something magical when you push all the magic buttons and get all the magic things lined up and boom the entire world shifts all over into place like it's a giant puzzle.

It's a shame nearly every other part of the game is really not great.

- Combat is barebones and dull.

- The camera! The forced perspective makes platforming so much more difficult. In several instances I've been unsure where or which direction I'm even supposed to aim because of the weird perspective. Not to mention when the camera decides it should be behind a tree in the middle of combat.

- The lack of music is such a weird design choice. You have these magnificent vistas and all this cool stuff going on when the world is shifting and there's just ambient noise.

- Performance is terrible. Frequent stuttering and lockups anytime any kind of action is going on. I want to keep playing but at this point I wonder if I should just wait for a patch so my experience isn't totally soured. (I'm on PS4Pro)

PS calling this a successor to Link to the Past is just ridiculous.
 
- The lack of music is such a weird design choice. You have these magnificent vistas and all this cool stuff going on when the world is shifting and there's just ambient noise.


Really? That's disappointing. I mean, Matt Uelmen still does their music right?
 

Adryuu

Member
Really? That's disappointing. I mean, Matt Uelmen still does their music right?

Yeah, and from what I've seen in streams it's mostly ambient but it seems good. But definitely there is music. Also it's more prominent in times when you find something environmental, I think it may be a collectable or just for atmosphere but it's nice and triggers some additional chimes.

Man it's so bad reading about bad performance even on pro, and I have base ps4. If it was just exploration, but I don't think this game can stand bad performance not because of combat but because of platforming that seems so much a focus.
 

wouwie

Member
A bit bummed to read about poor performance on console. Seems a shame, especially for such stylised and clean art direction and visuals.

I think i'll buy anyway tonight, together with Steamworld Dig 2 and maybe Splasher. Might start with the other two games and hope for a performance patch (base PS4). Though one has to wonder if anything can be fixed now that couldn't be fixed during the long development period.
 
Man it is something magical when you push all the magic buttons and get all the magic things lined up and boom the entire world shifts all over into place like it's a giant puzzle.

It's a shame nearly every other part of the game is really not great.

- Combat is barebones and dull.

- The camera! The forced perspective makes platforming so much more difficult. In several instances I've been unsure where or which direction I'm even supposed to aim because of the weird perspective. Not to mention when the camera decides it should be behind a tree in the middle of combat.

- The lack of music is such a weird design choice. You have these magnificent vistas and all this cool stuff going on when the world is shifting and there's just ambient noise.

- Performance is terrible. Frequent stuttering and lockups anytime any kind of action is going on. I want to keep playing but at this point I wonder if I should just wait for a patch so my experience isn't totally soured. (I'm on PS4Pro)

PS calling this a successor to Link to the Past is just ridiculous.
Not sure what you mean by no music? I have played an hour so far and there is always background music. I agree with the camera but it is not terrible. Haven't run into many problems or missed jumps because of the camera yet.

Performance is great for me but I am playing on PC.

I have really enjoyed the first hour so far.
 
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