Hack 'n' Slash

This article is about the video game. For the video game genre, seeHack and slash.

Hack 'n' Slash
Developer(s)	Double Fine Productions
Publisher(s)	Double Fine Productions
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows,OS X,Linux
Release	WW:September 9, 2014
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Hack 'n' Slashis a video game developed byDouble Fine Productions.Prototyped during Double Fine's openAmnesia Fortnight 2012,Hack 'n' Slashis atop-downaction-adventure gamesimilar toThe Legend of Zelda,though with in-game weapons and objects that allow the player tohackthe game's world to achieve victory. The game was released toSteam's Early Accesson May 6, 2014, forMicrosoft Windows,OS X,andLinuxcomputers. It left early access status and became a full release on September 9, 2014.

Gameplay

The player controls the game's primary character, Alice (a reference to the commonAlice and Bobplaceholder names), armed with a "USBSword "from a top-down view. While the player can use the sword and other weapons and tools to explore dungeons and fight enemies in a traditional manner, the sword itself can also interact in special ways with any game object, including enemies and obstacles, that has a USB port. At this point, the player can alter the basic parameters of the object to alter their behavior. Examples include adjusting the movement speed of an enemy, or setting a container'shit pointsto zero, causing it to collapse and release its contents. The player can also hack Alice's variables, such as her name or health points. For game objects that lack these USB ports, the player can use limited bombs that pause the execution of code from objects caught in the explosion, allowing them to temporarily hack the object's code, such as setting a flag that gives these objects a USB port to be hacked further.

The player can interact with any object inHack 'n' Slashthat possess a USB port (like the diamond-shaped pillars in the middle of the screen) to access the object's code and adjust its parameters to achieve various goals.

Another tool Alice has is the Third Eye Hat that opens adebugginginterface, the same that Double Fine has used to create and test the game. Through this, the player can see elements of the code behind the objects, such as the contents of a container or invisible blocks. Although the player cannot hack the code while in debug mode, they can use this knowledge to achieve goals. In one case, with a series of invisible blocks floating very slowly over a chasm, the player is able to hack the game'sinternal clockthat would, to the player, speed up the movement of the blocks. Completing quests earns the player in-game books that represent the actual code files used by the game, which the player can read to understand game mechanics and hack to alter how some process the game uses are done. For example, one book gives code for how bridges in the game are built, and the player can hack the book to cause the bridges to become longer as needed.All these changes are directly affecting the base code that the main adventure game runs with, and with improper changes, it is possible for the player to corrupt their saved game or break the mechanics of the adventure game, but the game's program will allow the player to go back to restored versions of the game's code to fix these.

Development

Hack 'n' Slashwas one of several ideas presented for voting for Double Fine'sAmnesia Fortnight 2012project, where users would be able to vote for the game concepts they felt they would want to play the most.Hack 'n' Slashwas an idea presented by senior programmer Brandon Dillon, as aZelda-like game with the ability to hack the game's features. The title received the most votes and was one of five other titles that Double Fine stated they would develop into full games.A full commercial version of the game was announced in December 2013, with expected released on Windows, Mac, and Linux in the first half of 2014.The announcement also revealed that part of the game's funding will come from theIndie Fund.The announcement also contained a single image that linked to a large compressed computer file that users have decoded to find out information about the game's world.

Dillon explained that the full version is less an adventure game and "really thispuzzle gamethat teaches you about hacking ", proving alearning curveto help players learn each of the tools provided in the game.

Release

The game released as anearly accesstitle onSteamon May 6, 2014.The early access model is intended to facilitate fine-tuning the game's puzzles given its unusual mechanics, as well as allowing for integration ofSteam Workshopfeatures.

With the 1.0 release on September 9, 2014, thesource codeof the game was also released by Double Fine.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	73/100
OpenCritic	69/100 33% Critics Recommend

Review scores

Publication	Score
Eurogamer	Recommended
GameSpot	6/10
IGN	7.7/10
PC Gamer(US)	60/100

Hack 'N' Slashreceived "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregatorMetacritic.

IGNgave the game a 7.7 out of 10, writing, "for all the very smart, ambitious, and never-before-tried stuff that Hack N'Slash does so well, it has a tendency to drop the ball on the easy stuff. Its maps are a nuisance to get around, with slippery controls...[it has] a tendency to get so wrapped up in being clever that the gameplay suffers for it...", and ultimately concluded that programmers would have a good time with the game.Eurogamerpraised the game's graphics and the manner in which the game demanded the player's attention, calling the title "something of a perfect storm of indie game design", while criticizing its unfair obstacles, obtuse visual cues, and lack of polish.GameSpotandPC Gamerfound the game's humor to be both unique and clever, and took issue with how "if you're not familiar with making games yourself, you may find each joke is lost on you whilst solving its associated puzzle, and is only funny in retrospect after its completion".

External links

• Official website