RiftMode
If the apocalypse were finally here and forces of evil were destroying everything that you knew, what do you think you would do to try to put an end to it all? Do you think you could withstand any forces, regardless of whether it was physical or magical? If the darkest of days was upon you, would you be willing to do anything it took, no matter the consequences later on? When you think about it, there is a lot that we would think we would do versus what we would do if we were actually faced with those moments. But does the developer, Ars Goetia, show us something new in the dungeon crawler genre? Let’s find out with Hellslave for the PC.
Hellslave is a dark fantasy dungeon crawler where you make a pact with the Devil to fight back a demon invasion. Customize your character with powerful demonic abilities, explore a cursed world, and battle nightmarish enemies to save humanity if you can resist the darkness.
So before you go making pacts with the devil and realize that your life has come to this moment, there are a few things that you should be aware of. First, go into options to make sure everything is to your liking. You probably don’t want to play in window mode; you want to have the best visual experience possible. If you don’t want to have traps on, you can, but with the way the world is right now, you might as well leave them on. Also, depending on how you like your screen shake effect, you may want to keep it at 100% or feel free not to have it on. Select whether you want to use a keyboard and mouse or a controller, and finally, select your language preference. Once you have everything the way that you like, it’s time to start your adventure. You will need to pick a save spot and then your difficulty level. You can select from easy, normal, hard, and very hard. Keep in mind that if things get too challenging, you can change the level of difficulty at any time. With all that said, let’s continue…
The game starts with you being told about the peaceful valley of Nivlatth (which I will say the music greatly complements this peacefulness), and season after season, the world kept turning no matter how hard or what the weather was. It may not be the perfect life for some, but for us in Nivlatth, it was the life for us. Well, until that one night, the ground rumbled, and the beasts rose from whatever place and wrecking havock upon everyone. But, like most, we believed what we fought for and fought what we believed in. Even when those who died and those who fled, hope seemed like the last thing that anyone would ever have again.
Those beasts, well, they had some serious backing that would kill anyone who refused to join them. No mortal could ever defeat them. But there was one who did know what needed to be done. The one who knew to fight fire, you are going to need some fire to fight back with. That one is you, and to fight this fight, there is only one thing that you could do, and that is sell your soul to the demon, aka your class selection. Probably not the wisest decision you ever made, but here you are facing a world and a valley you called home. But for you to have the ability to do this, you have to be made, aka build your character, including your name, hair color, and your body type.
Now that we are caught up to the present, you can get into the fun of it all. Throughout your time, you will be talking to individuals who, depending on what they say, will lead to missions that you will need to complete. You use left click to talk to those individuals, as well as making choices; right click will allow you to move along with interacting with items and objects. Where you want to go. When you are on missions, you will be able to see the world map that will show different locations you can visit. For example, in one of the first missions, you will talk with a villager, and you will need to find out what happened to one of their own.
The dungeons you enter are dark, as they should be, but allow for different things you can do, such as collecting gold (which you can use to buy weapons and armor, finding items such as weapons and armor, fight against enemies. Once you come across items, you do have a generous space in your inventory that you can hold items that you found, or if you prefer, destroy them. Keep in mind that there are going to be many times when you find the same item over and over again, which you can later sell to earn even more money to buy more items. But as you move around, you do need to worry about traps, as long as you didn’t turn off this option in the settings, in which you will need to click on three different areas to hopefully avoid said traps. But don’t worry, you have more than enough time to click the areas and earn some experience points while you go collecting all that you can in the dungeons.
Other objects that you will encounter are shrines, which, depending on who you want to summon, will provide extra powers to your character. This will come in handy when you have to face enemies. Starting, the enemies are going to be easy to overcome and will become more powerful as your adventure continues. Battling enemies is pretty simple, as you must select from melee attacks, spells that you need mana for, and, of course, the rage points that you build up. And just like any action you would do causes your character fatigue, you will need to pay attention to the level indicators to make sure you try to recover as best you can during battles.
There will be times when you become so fatigued, or there has been enough damage taken, that you will have critical health. This is where you will want to pay attention, as you will have very little health left, which you will need to try to survive. As you will need to do what you can to heal or fight as you have never fought and take out everything around you. But keep in mind, this mode of survival is a one-time use, so use it wisely.
Also, during battles, depending on your levels, you can select to become a demon, which will allow for extra benefits when facing enemies. After a certain time, you will turn back to normal, and if you want to become a demon again, you will have to build up those levels to do so. If you happen to die, no worries; you will come back at the last village you were in, so you can fight again. Luckily, things are reset when the battles come to an end, and you do not lose your gold or items you have collected. So this means if you need to change your weapons and armor before entering that dungeon that you were just in, this would be a good time to do so.
You will also need to pay attention to the symbols at the top bar (time gauge), as certain symbols will allow for different options, such as which momentum you would like to use. It’s all part of the strategy as you fight against enemies. One thing about some of the enemies, especially when it comes to the bosses, is their regaining of health. This can become frustrating, as when you have tried many attempts to defeat the enemies to the point where you have them almost defeated, only to see them become stronger.
Along with the strategies of trying to have the right weapon and armor, there are also skills that you can unlock and gain. Some will help you for the location that you are in, and some can help boost attacks, spells, and health. So the question then becomes: do you want to have the heavier, more deadly attacks, including poison, or do you want to try to increase other levels to be more overall balanced? Also, don’t forget when you are in a village to rest and buy additional health and mana, as you will need them during battles, as it’s just you versus all the enemies with no help.
Let’s talk about the graphics and sound. From the moment the game started and all through every battle and interaction, this dark art style is used, which helps the overall feeling of the story being told and played, and each dungeon has its own style to it, which I appreciate. It made me excited to see what would be coming next. With the sound, as I mentioned earlier, the music from moving to battles complements and balances the gameplay. This is the type of music where you could sit and listen to enjoy on any day of the week.
If there is anything I would love to see added, it would be more interactions with both the good and the bad. The only other thing I would have loved to see is alternate endings, as it would be interesting to see different endings based on the demon you sold your soul to.
Hellslave shows us what the dark dungeon crawler genre can be without sacrificing the uncomfortable truth at its core: that power often comes from the very things we fear. With every turn, every encounter becomes a negotiation with your own limits, asking how much of yourself you’re willing to give away for the strength to survive. It’s a place where ambition and damnation walk side by side, where each victory feels like a question rather than an answer. The deeper you go, the more you realize the real battle isn’t against demons — it’s against the part of you that wonders if becoming one might be easier. And when that thought lingers, you have to ask yourself: what would you choose if the darkness offered you everything you ever wanted?
Hellslave is out now for PC via the Epic Games Store, Fanatical, GOG, Humble Store, and Steam.
To learn more about Ars Goetia, please follow them on Facebook, follow them on Instagram, follow them on X, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I need to level up more while I wait for part 2 — and until the Rift opens again, know that you are appreciated.
