Hell Architect is a new game in the same vein as Craft the World and Hammerting.
This type of game is a mix of Dungeon Keeper, Terraria and Dwarf Fortress. Craft the world and Hammerting especially seeing as they have dwarves. However, Hell Architect is more like Dungeon Keeper which is good news for anyone old enough to have played that series nearly a quarter century ago.
The game shares a bit with Dungeon Keeper aesthetically speaking. While Dungeon Keeper had a good and evil, dungeon and monster look, Hell Architect, as the name implies, is more hell themed.
But what these titles have in common is that you play the antagonist. Hell Architect is all about creating the perfect circle of hell to punish sinners and punishing sinners nets you suffering which in turn is currency needed to make the higher tier torture devices and other buildables and upgrades.
You can also sacrifice the sinners for essence which is needed for the highest tier of buildings and upgrades. When sinners are sacrificed, they get sent into Limbo.
The sinners want for mortal comforts like rest and food, if they do not get them, they start to lose their minds, if they completely lose their minds, they are forever lost in Limbo.
If that happens, they are virtually useless to you, but there is a way to get them back with a certain building. This building lets you buy them back for suffering (the currency in game) and each time you buy them back the price goes up.
So, in the long run it is the smart option to cater to their needs, at least a little bit, this is hell after all.
You get sinners every 10 minutes or so, depending on the campaign/scenario you are playing. Sinners all have different skills and traits.
Traits are important during torture and if you match the trait of the sinner with the correct torture device, you’ll get bonus suffering.
Then there are legendary sinners that have an area of effect bonus which could give you more suffering from other sinners in torture devices or a digging bonus for example. These legendary sinners are rare but can be quite useful when they show up.
There are a myriad of torture devices and tools to help you in creating the best/worst circle of Hell and many of them are quite creative and funny.
The game is leaning much more towards the funny side of Hell rather than the gory and evil side which is always good. Just like many games in this genre and type, the game is completely 2D and looks very good. The animations are pretty good, especially the animations when it comes to the torture devices. The main menu artwork is especially good.
The sound design is decent and the voice acting seems to be up to standard. The humour is not cringy so far, I’ve even caught myself chuckling out loud a few times, which is a good sign.
The game has a campaign mode and some scenarios to give the player some structure when playing but there is also the classic sandbox mode that just lets you make your ideal Hell.
In summary if you like these kinds of games and you think the Hell setting is an interesting one you can’t go wrong with Hell Architect. I wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone that has played Craft the World, Dungeon Keeper, Oxygen not included or Dwarf Fortress and wants more of that kind of gameplay.
Hell Architect is available now on Steam
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