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Hob
Released On: Sep 26, 2017
76
7.5
Where to Buy
Where to Buy
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
76
55% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
39% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
76
55% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
39% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
A gorgeous action-adventure that transports you to a magical world. [Issue#267, p.74]
Hob is an action adventure that stands on the shoulders of giants like Legend of Zelda, and offers an experience based around a constantly-growing world. There are some camera and technical issues, but fans of the genre should definitely consider it.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 135 User Ratings
7.5
61% Positive
83 Ratings
83 Ratings
24% Mixed
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
14% Negative
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 135 User Ratings
7.5
61% Positive
83 Ratings
83 Ratings
24% Mixed
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
14% Negative
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
Very good and cool game. Atmospheric and immersive. Cool sci-fi world and fun art style. Something to hold you over the classic top down adventure games like Legend of Zelda.
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PC
A fascinating trip into as living world full of mysterious puzzle machines.
You should not expect a grown-up action adventure in the Zelda format, because Runic Games relies entirely on the fun exploring and leaves a lot of potential unused.
Perhaps this is due to my less than favorable inclination for puzzle/platformer action games as I seldom search out for games of this genre, but Hob felt lacking an identity- a clear element to call its own that really makes it standout amongst the rest of the games in the genre. While it most certainly looks pleasing to the eyes and feels competently made, I never felt excited to get back into the world of Hob after picking up a controller for another play session. As much as I would love to say that Runic Games went out after creating their best work yet, I cannot in good conscious as Hob is a solid, albeit unremarkable game.
Hob is made for gamers who love to explore, tinker, and problem-solve. Combat is present, but not as a central element. Gameplay consists, by a considerable margin more, of looking for ways to inventively raise, lower, move, open up, or interact with the environment. While, some puzzles are clumsy puzzles, each has a logical solution – though it reaching this point might require a temporal investment.
Hob tries to do a lot of things within its beautiful world but never does any of them very well. The platforming feels janky and slow, combat is basic and meaningless, and the puzzles will make you wish you were back in 10th grade listening to your Geometry teacher explain proofs for the millionth time. A great game was not too far away from what eventually was delivered, but outside of the stunning visuals and world design, Hob falls frustratingly short.
Loved it! The animation and world-building makes this an immersive and interesting experience. It's a "zoomed-out" zelda, with satisfying and surprisingly-decent combat, puzzles, platforming and a few gadgets to play with. Would recommend!
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PC
The visual style is at a good level, but landscape isn't various (simply, there are 3 types of terrain - grassland, desert and [steam/mana]punk temples).
Most puzzles are interesting (especially the metroidvania-like parts), but sometimes a quest is simply "find a not-obvious path".
Enemies are not a danger at all.
It sounds like I didn't enjoy the game, but it can entertain you for 10 hours.
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PC
Hob, Runic Games’ literal swansong, started off as a grandiose dream that ultimately suffers from its generic gameplay and lack of tangible story. Runic Games’ goal was to create a game that would make the player follow their natural curiosity and discover the story for themselves. Without a good story to follow, Hob ends up leaning on its gameplay to lead characters around the world - Sadly, the generic hack-and-slash combat left me wanting more out of the entire experience. The skill-less combat mechanics, bland environmental puzzles, and intangible story ended up piling together to make a single unenjoyable experience. Hob takes all the good things about Torchlight, gently lays it on the ground before violently kicking it to a pulp, then opening a window, to throw all that is good about the franchise out the window into the middle of the road.
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PC
Hob tiene muchos problemas como juego que le hacen ser más frustrante que interesante. Primero, no aporta nada al género que no se haya visto antes mejor. Segundo, aunque se supone que tiene una historia e incluso una decisión, la realidad es que está tan mal contada que yo no me he enterado de la mayor parte de ella; lo cual hace que te pases el tiempo yendo de un lado a otro por "razones", para conseguir cambiar el mapa para llegar a nuevos sitios donde hacer "cosas" y poder así avanzar hasta el siguiente "objetivo". ¿Por qué haces todo eso? Ni idea la mayor parte de las veces. Los puzzles son en general muy sencillos, el combate tiene poca variedad, menos dificultad y aun menos interes. Y la exploración resulta más frustrante que otra cosa porque los controles no responden nada bien (una cámara vertical no encaja nada bien con unos escenarios que tienden hacia las curvas), el mapa es completamente inútil por cómo está diseñado el mundo, y este además cambia muchas veces, de modo que no sabes si has abierto algo nuevo e importante o no, si debes volver a recorrer lo explorado en busca de coleccionables olvidados o no es necesario, etc.
Gráficamente el juego es en el mejor de los casos, discreto; y, una vez has avanzado un rato en el juego, se vuelve muy repetitivo a nivel gráfico, repitiendo entornos, enemigos y situaciones. El sonido no va mejor, con una música casi sin relevancia, efectos sonoros repetitivos y anodinos y sin voces más allá de unos sonidillos incomprensibles. Y, para colmo, no está escaso de bugs, incluyendo salidas a escritorio, atravesar paredes y caerte del mapa, etc. Y ni siquiera permite configurar la asignación de botones en el teclado libremente, algo que debería ser obligatorio para cualquier juego en PC.
El resultado es un juego muy genérico en lo mejor, y que en lo peor falla a alcanzar un mínimo esperable. Un 3. Al menos es corto, pero recomiendo jugarlo con una guía para limitar la pérdida de tiempo.
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PC
Summary Transform the world of Hob! Welcome to a new action-adventure from Runic Games, the award-winning studio behind Torchlight I and II. It’s your chance. Make it home.
Platforms:
- PlayStation 4
- PC
- Nintendo Switch
Initial Release Date: Sep 26, 2017
Developer:
- Runic Games
Publisher: Runic Games
Genres:
