Summary
Hell Clock is easy to recommend to players who want a solid, enjoyable, and polished roguelike, but it's definitely not the lightning in a bottle that will reinvent the tried and true genre.
Developer — Rogue Snail
Publisher — Mad Mushroom
Platforms — PC(Reviewed)
There’s been a lot of debate for a long time about ‘soulslike fatigue.’ Whether you’re tired of the genre or not yourself, there’s no denying that soulslike titles are everywhere these days. I’m personally in the One More Soulslike and I Might Just Spew camp, but luckily, developer Rogue Snail’s new title, Hell Clock, isn’t a soulslike! It’s a- oh, dammit, it’s a roguelike.
Yes, roguelikes are the other genre that we have an overabundance of lately, but Hell Clock is one of the more enjoyable live, die, repeat titles I’ve played in recent memory. With its unique setting, stellar visuals, and satisfying gameplay loop, there’s plenty here to satisfy and intrigue fans of the genre.
My favorite part of Hell Clock is definitely its unique, grimdark setting. It’s set during and inspired by the real-world War of Canudos, an armed conflict from the 1890s between the residents of Canudos and the First Brazilian Republic in Brazil. I don’t know nearly enough about Brazilian history, and I love that this more obscure historical setting serves as the game’s backdrop. I’m only slightly ashamed that I have to wait for a unique video game to inspire me to learn new pieces of world history, but that’s just how my brain works.
During this conflict, you play as Pajeú: a man who finds himself quite literally in hell as he attempts to save the soul of an old friend and mentor. Your objective is to battle through the various rungs of the underworld, gain power as you progress, and, hopefully, save your mentor before it’s too late.
If there’s one thing that Hell Clock does at an above-average level compared to other roguelikes, it’s the story. The writing is strong, characters have plenty of intrigue, and wanting to see more of the eerie, hellish events play out is largely what kept me playing.
Aiding the nightmarish narrative and unsettling atmosphere is the game’s gorgeous art style. This is one of those games that delivers its visuals with such skill and panache that it makes you wonder how it was even done. The heavy use of shadows and thick colors brings comic book artist Mike Mignola to mind, and that’s a style I’m a total sucker for. When 2025 comes to a close, this is one of the games I’ll fondly remember for its visuals alone.
The visuals are also an enormous boon to gameplay. You can tell these developers have played their fair share of ARPGs and rougelikes, because you can clearly see what you and your enemies are doing at all times. They, like all of us, have played one too many titles where parsing the battle is, well, more of a battle than the battle itself.
Navigating the eerie environments and dodging hostile attacks? Delightful. Working your way toward the game’s ending? Ehhh, not as much. The game’s progression isn’t awful by any means! In fact, Hell Clock takes the best type of notes from Hades and makes each run feel meaningful. There are plenty of permanent upgrades to unlock between runs that help you get further, and you can create some truly unique builds with the items and abilities that you find.
Additionally, the game features fantastic accessibility options. You can cruise through the game in its Relaxed Mode, or test the limits of your sadistic soul with Hardcore Mode. Hell, you can even pause the game! That shouldn’t feel like such a fantastic feature in 2025, but it really is.
All of this is great! The only problem I have is that, much like your fifteenth run through a roguelike, everything feels very routine. I understand how nitpicky that sounds, and how crazy it is to say, “The problem with this game is that it works exactly as it was designed!” but I suppose I’m experiencing some roguelike fatigue in addition to soulslike fatigue.
Again, the game’s incredibly unique setting and story were my personal highlights. The art and animation are well done, the gameplay loop is solid, and there are plenty of things to discover that can wildly alter the variety of your build. Hell Clock is easy to recommend to players who want a solid, enjoyable, and polished roguelike, but it’s definitely not the lightning in a bottle that will reinvent the tried and true genre.
