![]() Smoke billows from the rudimentary firearms that some enemies use. There’s a slew of impressive graphical effects too, and some great audio design. And the backdrops aren’t merely for decoration - errant hammer strikes will knock bricks from walls, banners and ropes can be set ablaze, and sometimes there are even some casualties among the spectators in particularly chaotic arena battles. ![]() The game is quite pretty, too, with beautiful sprites and backdrops that really help portray the feel of the world and its people. The various characters in the story will respond differently based on how the player handled these encounters. Hammerfight even tracks whether or not the player has shown mercy on enemies, disarming them or letting them retreat rather than killing them. Learning more about the world is the real draw in the short campaign, which impressively offers several branching paths the player may choose. ![]() ![]() Still, it makes the rather simple story of revenge far more interesting when it’s set in such an intriguing place. Unfortunately, the translation from the original Russian is not particularly strong it communicates the basics but seems to lose a lot of the nuance. It’s a fascinating setting, with many historical and cultural details in the background, hinted at and implied rather than overtly explained. This is a world where merchants stave off dangerous flying worms and insects to ply their trades, and clan warriors fight across the skies for honor and glory. The clans seem to be modeled after desert-dwelling nomadic cultures, which fits the harsh setting of the game. Over the years, different clans developed preferred weapons and fighting styles, and the art of aerial combat became a grand tradition. There are several clans and Houses, each with their own ancestral cliffs, and they frequently vie for power and resources. But some of the old machines can still be found in the caves, and the people have salvaged small flying vehicles which they use for all sorts of things. The cave systems that the worms come from are known as the Abyss, a cursed place which collapsed long ago, burying the sins of the ancients. These flying caravans ferry goods between the cliffside cities and dwellings. Traders tame and breed the giant flying worms that can be found in the caves below, and use them as makeshift zeppelins. Human settlements cling to the sides of cliffs. But what impresses me most is where all the action is set. There’s also a great amount of depth in the combat systems, with various weapons handling differently and the strategic use of armor plating and thrown weapons lending some spice to battles. The controls immediately feel natural, and yet the gameplay takes time to master. The core concept is brilliant, and the physics engine it relies on is tuned perfectly. I finally got a copy of the full game as part of the Humble Indie Bundle 3 (sadly no longer available, but you can still buy Hammerfight on Steam) and played through it. It makes more sense in motion, and can be seen much more easily in a gameplay video like this one. By flying the machine around with the mouse, the player must swing the weapon, gather momentum, and then strike enemies with it. Strapped to said machine is some manner of melee weapon: a flail, hammer, sword or similar. A 2D side-view game, Hammerfight puts the player in control of a flying machine, which is moved around the screen by moving the mouse. Anyway, I was impressed by the core mechanic in Hammerfight which is, as far as I know, completely original. I presume the name was changed to avoid any confusion with Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls games, in which there is a province called Hammerfell. I’d actually played a demo of Hammerfight several years ago, back when it was called Hammerfall. Having finished LIMBO and Bastion, the next game on my list was Hammerfight, a game by Konstantin Koshutin and KranX Productions. In between penning the epic Saga of Urist Redbeard, I’ve managed to find a little time to continue my indie game stint.
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