[EGD 9] Hekla Good RPG?

Hekla is a game created by robygamesro

What up, it's ya boy Troyio here for another review this week. As you can tell it is for a game entered into EGD. The game is an RPG platformer called Hekla by robygamesro.

Intro

As I've stated, EGD 9 is already climbing the history books and surmounting itself as one of the most productive and solid competitions ever. One of the more hyped games, Hekla, came across very promising with fascinating screenshots and the guarantee that we would go on a legendary adventure. Not being familiar with Roby, I couldn't guarantee anything.

Review

To start off, nothing really drew me into the game. I am not it labeling negative; I am simply stating that nothing within the storyline or thumbnail stood out. However, many games flourish without a Pulitzer Prize plot or a Picasso painted thumbnail. My expectations remained ground level.

With such a deep and detailed plot, I assumed there would be much of the same through the introduction and stages throughout Hekla's course. Strange enough, Roby threw the player straight into battle with little interactions afterwards. This caused a seemingly decent storyline to become extremely stale and uninteresting.

So, how was the gameplay? It was slightly above average in my opinion. I'm not going to lie, I had my fun playing the game during some levels. As the ole saying goes though, you remember the bad more than the good. Nothing in Hekla was bad, let me get that straight before I continue. There was just quite a few occurrences that almost ruined the game.

Continuing, I'm not sure whether to distinguish them as puzzles or gameplay so I'll just discuss it all as one. Very tedious mechanisms clawed at my psyche such as the elevating green circle keys that would push you off the side which would lead to waiting half a minute to try again. Also, enemies and hazards were not poorly placed really but more like just put their to get on the player's nerves. Maybe Roby intended it to be like this, I don't know.

Next, I took an honest look at the RPG factors of Hekla, since of course, that is its main goal. Part of which is the world that Roby wants to put our minds into. He does an impressive job of that. I quite enjoyed the scenery every level. He never added too much or left it too bland. There was never scenes 'too creative' or 'too unoriginal'. I think Roby excelled in this department.

Sadly, I believe Roby neglected an essential part of an RPG. This was a trend I saw in several EGD 9 RPG's. RPG's are supposed to be adventures we set forth on. We click play once and then spend hours discovering the world. Hekla does have the ability to be played for hours but you won't discover much unless you are heavily talented. Roby makes his game difficult, but in a grueling way. Placing death inducing lava four levels into a RPG with no aid of extra lives is blasphemous. This, this right here, did Hekla in.

I did not hate Hekla; I had joys playing and discovering. Roby has clear skill in constructing what he envisions in his mind into a physical world for us to witness. He gave excellent effort in creating a story and deep world with decent gameplay. However, his placements of hazards and lack of health made this adventure into a tedious challenge.

Rating

Creativity: 7 (Decent story; interesting world)

Effort: 7.5 (Many hours put into this)

Gameplay: 4.5 (Decent sequences killed by dumb hazards)

Scenery: 8.5 (Looked very nice)

Fun: 6.5 (A good amount of enjoyment)

Overall: x2 70/100

Conclusion

You may have been surprised by the score. It did seem like I bashed many aspects of Hekla, but I assure, it is a good game. It just doesn't deliver on the level I know it can. I have faith that Roby is on the edge of being very good, that is the reasoning of my harshness. Yet, at the end of the day, effort and looks cannot overcome basic principles.