Hellstuck: Rage with Your Friends Review

Hellstuck: Rage With Your Friends is a precision platformer developed and published by Terror Dog Studio. The goal of the game seems easy, escape by moving upwards through the 9 Circles of Hell. It's a long way up; so be prepared to jump.

Jumping from platform to platform seems easy enough if you jump normally that is. Instead of just jumping right up, you will be using the A button — the length of time you hold it down determines the height of the jump — and the thumbstick will determine the direction. It doesn't really feel like you are jumping; instead, it feels like you are launching your demon in that direction, hoping you land the jump and not fall down, back to the bottom where you started…

The music in this game is very atmospheric and creepy, and since your character is trapped in Hell, it fits very well! Besides the fact that you will probably feel like you are also trapped in Hell after you repeatedly keep falling… over and over again. Accompanying the music is a scream you will hear every time you fall, and if it's a great distance, the scream feels like it goes on forever. However, you can turn off the scream sound in the options menu if it drives you crazy.

The visuals in the background are creepy and disturbing. There is imagery of people being tortured by being whipped, people (well, skeletons, since that's all that's left of them) trapped in cages like prison cells, demon-like creatures with sharp teeth, black eyes, and horns. The creepy imagery continues as you ascend: people getting bitten by snakes, others chained to the wall, and two people who seem to be either fighting over bloody remains or pulling out each other's insides. It's pixelated, so it's tricky to tell exactly what's happening there. Based on the other stuff here, I'm going to assume it's nothing good.

There are a variety of different platforms to jump on, each with its own unique characteristics. In the beginning, there are normal stone blocks that can support your weight with no problem. But, as you progress, your journey will get more difficult — not that it wasn't already. Some platforms are made of sand, so you will need to move fast before you fall through. Being rushed to do your jumps is frustrating because chances are, you won't line something upright and you will fall. The other infuriating types are ice blocks; land on them and be ready to slide. I have always hated areas with ice in videogames and this is no exception! There is nothing worse than sliding off a platform and falling all the way back down to where you first started.

As you play, you learn that jumping on the block nearest to you may require you to bounce off another platform to repel you back to the spot you want to go. I found that it was hard to determine how long I had to hold down the A face button to do a small or high jump. If there was a little meter that could fill to give you an idea of your jump power, it would have helped with a bit of the frustration. Besides the jump power, it felt like I couldn't select exactly where I wanted to launch the demon. For the direction, it felt like an all-or-nothing thing. There wasn't any way to go just a little towards the intended platform; instead, you would jump clear over it and fall, hoping you landed on a rock near where you were. There are no checkpoints; this is an all-or-nothing experience!

Our main demon character has a cute pixel sprite. It definitely doesn't look like a horrible monster that should be banished to Hell. Though I do have to wonder why he has cute purple wings, I wish he could fly; it would be so helpful for getting up to the top… or at least prevent you from falling so far down!

I've been swearing a ridiculous amount while playing this game. It is definitely one of the most difficult titles I have played in a long time, or maybe ever. I have not tried playing with friends online, as I don't know anyone personally who would be willing to put themselves through this kind of frustration. I'm sure there are people out there who love this kind of challenge, but for me, I found it quite infuriating. Just because the character you control is cute doesn't mean Hellstuck: Rage With Your Friends will be a fun, team-building experience! The constant screams from my character falling will forever haunt my dreams.