HellClock is a gorgeous dark fantasy retelling of the late 19th century War of Canudos brought to life by Brazillian dev team Rogue Snail.  Dive into the depths of Purgatory, and take a glimpse into the demons of Brazil's Past, Present, and Future. Race against the clock, see how deep you can go, and don't worry if time runs out. You'll just keep coming back in usual roguelike fashion. Showcasing fantastic music and absolutely stunning visual style, let's take a closer look at what has quickly become one of my favourite games of the year.

A very minimal, sleek and clean UI really lets the graphics take centre stage.

 It's no surprise that since games like Vampire Survivor and Hades ramped in popularity, the Roguelike genre has absolutely exploded. There seems to be no shortage of titles, but always an immense lack of quality. So, as much as I jump at the first chance I get to get my hands around a new title, I set my expectations low. However, after spending mere minutes  within the brilliantly stylized world of HellClock, it was clear I was about to be far more than pleased. While feeling quite true to the genre, there is a very unique air about it. What seems to have a unique mix of games like Diablo as well as traditional roguelikes: Not only do you get access to a broad range of skills- but gear, trinkets, and relics. Additionally you are able to level up you skills, relics, and gather equipable gear that will prove vital in your survival. Also, there is a VAST skill tree (that becomes even MORE vast once you play in some of the post game modes) that grants additional perks: Increasing stats, more time on the HellClock, increased skill levels and so on.

The Oblivion Bell is the skill tree of post game (Abyss Mode): Much larger, and broad spanning allowing to tweak more specifically to your build. 

I was pleased with the route the developers decided to take when it came to skill use. On keyboard, you can select from two movement modes, one mouse driven, the other a more traditional WASD layout. This was the choice I went with. This left my mobility ability on spacebar, left mouse my primary ability, right mouse my resource gain ability, and Q and E were left to do as I saw fit. (Realistically, you can map as you wish, but this would be considered the most traditional layout). Movement and controls were, for the most part, perfection and felt clean and responsive. I did notice some instances where I could easily get caught on items in the environment, but not so frequently that it cause me much grief, let alone a real complaint. The skill sets themselves are really fun (though I did find my little niche I loved, and hung on to through a large portion of my time in game) and allow for a pretty wide range of builds. Pair this with relics that can change elements of skills, how they work, and what they do, and the sky is absolutely the limit. Speaking of, the slots you have for relics at the beginning is quite small. Through your skill tree, you gradually open the grid- allowing for further and more intentional synergy within your own build. It's quite brilliantly done.

In HellClock, there is no Victory without Loss. While (for me) difficult to follow at times, the story is told beautifully through 3 acts. 

With crisp and bold graphics, this game makes a visual statement that carries over into the cutscenes- done in a more storyboard fashion. The default language of the game is in Portuguese, and in a hope to better follow the story, I switched over to English, temporarily. The key word here is TEMPORARILY. While the original voicework really sounds (at least to a non-native speaker) meaningful and heavy, the English Sub felt almost too much of a caricatures- and despite trying multiple times, the Portuguese voice work so heavily blew the English out of the water, there was merely no competition. While I initially questioned the choice for it to be the default, I entirely agree with that now that I have heard both. It really adds a beautiful layer to the storytelling you simply cannot get in the English.

If you have space, clutter away. Tweak and tailor your build to perform how you see fit. From stat boost to changing a skills dynamic, you have options.

With that, while I know there is an absolutely beautiful dark fantasy retelling within the game, players with little or no knowledge of the War of Canudos may want to take some time to look into the core of what makes this game unique. At times leaning from highly Religion to leaning into areas of discomfort, there is something beautiful here bound within it all- and I had a hard time following along before doing my own little deep dive. I do wish the devs had given more of a lead up, or given themselves a chance for a bit of a history lesson to help some folks along the way. I do think that was a missed opportunity to bestow a bit of history outside of some players culture.

Even with more storyboard style cutscenes, and heavily stylized graphics, the story is far from lost. If anything, it accentuates the telling in a way that is unique. 

Overall, HellClock is a hell of a good time. Catching me entirely off guard, I didnt know that I would have much hope for an impressive Roguelike before the end of the year. While the End Game is still in Beta, they developers are constantly tweaking and adjusting- and it's beyond clear this is a passion project for them. There is a lot to see here: Beautiful graphics, skill combos that make you feel amazing, and shocking good tunes, I found myself spending FAR more time than initially anticipated. Though, a fair warning: While the graphics are bright and bold, there are themes within this game that really are not suited for a younger audience. The violence shown really delves far beyond a graphic sense, and really uses the story to portray violence in the mindset and narrative of the time. While I found myself uncomfortable at times, this was unquestionably done by design, and done in such an amazing way. I feel like this really lands beyond a game, but a unique storytelling experience that you shouldn't miss.

HellClock is currently available on the Steam Marketplace for $19.99 USD.