Demo Time: HELLBREAK (VSD)

 [Disclaimer:  I received a review key for HELLBREAK through Keymailer, a third-party website/company that connects publishers and developers with content creators.  The game was given without promise or expectation of a positive review, only that the game be played and content be created through the playing of the game and the experience.  Unless otherwise noted, all content in the following article is from my own playthrough of this game.] 

HELLBREAK
Systems: Windows, Steam OS
Release Date: April 2025
Publisher: Biotech Gameworks, Double Barrel Games
Developer: Double Barrel Games
Time Spent: 64 Minutes

The best way I can describe HELLBREAK is that it's a budget DOOM arena horde mode rogue-lite.  What I mean by all of that is this:

• The monster design looks very similar to the creatures in DOOM (2016), down to the first enemy that throws projectiles, which are also called Imps and have slightly elongated heads.
• Hell (heh), even the HELLBREAK cover art is a direct homage to the original Doom cover.
• You play in a literal arena where enemies endlessly spawn in until you either die or you kill the boss (I assume there's a boss as I've seen them in screenshots, but I personally never lasted longer than 5 minutes)
• You can unlock permanent upgrades like access to new weapons, or a bonus to health drops, but only after you complete specific tasks, some must be completed in a single round, while others are cumulative.
• During the game, you earn blessings that modify your current session, such as "Gain 2% movement for each enemy in a 5 meter radius" or "Your max health is reduced by 20%, but you regenerate 1 health per 25 meters you move," which resets every session.

We have a playlist up on YouTube here to watch gameplay and menu toggling for the 64 minutes I played.

That's really all I was able to figure out during my two sessions with the game.  I had access to two different arenas that were different enough from each other that they didn't feel like reskins.  I can understand the appeal of HELLBREAK with the mechanics, unlocking additional abilities, weapons, and arenas, but the game just didn't click with me even though I enjoyed a lot of what I played.  Maybe the progression wasn't significant enough, or the challenges were just too grindy to feel like I was making any kind of headway after each match.  Or maybe I'm just not good at arena horde mode shooters, which is also a very real possibility.

I don't think that HELLBREAK is a bad game by any measure; it's just not something that I would see myself coming back to time and time again.

~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
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