Energy Hook Preview

Few games are remembered for their mechanics. Gears of War popularised the cover-based combat, for Minecraft its main mechanic kickstarted an entire genre and Spider-Man 2 was most well known for its web-swinging mechanic. This is a ham-fisted way of saying -- I loved the web swinging in Spider-Man 2. And if you ask anyone who has played that PS2/GameCube/Xbox classic as well as any other Spider-Man title, what that was missing, they will always answer ‘decent web swinging’.

So when you have the guy who prototyped and oversaw the web-swinging physics for Spider-Man 2, go out and create a game of his own about swinging around, you can bet your spandex-covered arse that there are high hopes.

Luckily there are high levels

Energy Hook is more of a sandbox than anything, at least currently. Developer Happion Labs has been focussing on the gameplay, making it the best swinging simulator it can be, but has given it a basic plot. As an Energy Hook enthusiast (think base jumper or urban skateboarder), you go about performing tricks, doing time trials and basically swinging your little heart out.

Equipped with a basic jetpack and the titular hook comprised of energy, there are seven courses to play around in -- or there will be, some of these are still under construction. There are a bunch of challenge markers with races and trick attacks, but you don’t have to do them and can just swing about the place, much like some versions of Tony Hawk. Each course is very distinct looking, and tell a tale of a world gone through some kind of cataclysm, judging by the desolation of some and the fact that the city of New Atlantis is half underwater.

And is a stark contrast to the screenshot higher up

Which brings me to one point that caused a lot of issues whilst I was getting used to it. Water is instant death, even if you’re swinging and your foot barely grazes it. This is a disappointing way to die, especially as the only other way to die is by smashing into something solid. Whether it’s a failed roll or you’re swinging faster than a human has any right to and smash face-first into a wall, don’t let the lack of enemies fool you into thinking you’re safe: because you will mess up and die.

This is me boosting towards open nothingness...

There are some challenges that Energy Hook must overcome before it goes on sale. The most obvious first: the character design is very basic. This is down to budgetary restraints (and graphics are definitely not everything) but it does stand out against the very well designed courses, some of which were created by third parties. The ground controls are currently either very sluggish, or incredibly twitchy -- and which one is usually the opposite of what you want, resulting in me drowning several times. Both the hook and jetpack upgrade automatically as you complete challenges, but it could be made clearer when and what was going to happen.

But whilst you wait -- weeee!

There is definitely work to be done on Energy Hook. But that’s exactly why Early Access titles are in Early Access; for the community to say how they want things to change and improve. As it is, the game has some bugs and isn’t finished but is a fun, challenging sandbox. Set your own targets or participate in the leaderboards, it’s up to you how you play, and if this sounds fun for you, I highly recommend you do play it.