Rising Hell

Genre: Action-Platformer / Roguelike

Players: 1

.

Review:

Rising Hell is an Action-Platformer with Roguelike elements released on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2021. In this game, players take on the role of a lone warrior fighting his way up a tower of demons in a blood-soaked rage to free Lucifer from his heavenly shackles.

If the game’s title and that last paragraph didn’t give it away, this game is very “metal”, with both a premise and visual art style seemingly ripped straight out of a heavy metal album and rendered in pixel art style. Everything here looks impressively imaginative, though the dark tone and level of detail does make it hard to make out just what some things are at times.These visuals are backed by a soundtrack that’s naturally very heavy metal-inspired, with lots of electric guitar. While there’s nothing here that I felt truly struck me as outstanding, it was all top-notch and seemed perfectly-suited to the game.

There is a fair amount of platforming in Rising Hell, as players are constantly working their way upward, jumping on platforms and bouncing off of walls. However, the focus here is clearly on the combat, which has your hero tearing into enemies with vicious claws resulting in a satisfying meaty crunch. Of particular note is your character’s hellbreak ability that has you automatically slamming enemies with a strong attack and bouncing upward whenever you encounter them in mid-air. At its best, this can make for some satisfying combos as you fling yourself upwards from one enemy into the next into the next.

There’s a downside here too, though. Because the hellbreak is automatic, it can happen at times you’d rather not be doing it, flinging you upward into a hazard. In addition, your character’s attacks are a bit on the slow side, and as satisfying as it is to let loose on enemies, it’s far too easy to get carried away and leave yourself open to an attack from an enemy you’re not actively tearing into. Finally, it bears mention that this game leans toward the tougher side of Roguelikes – you won’t be finding much in the way of permanent upgrades here, save for alternate characters and equipment that all come with a large trade-off.

In the end, Rising Hell isn’t quite going to appeal to everyone due to its high challenge level, and the visceral combat and hellbreak ability are both this game’s greatest qualities and at times biggest problems. But overall, players looking for a tough, fun, combat-focused Action-Platformer will likely be pleased with Rising Hell.

tl;dr – Rising Hell is an Action-Platformer with Roguelike elements that has players climbing a tower and ripping into demonic enemies with claws. This game’s metal-infused presentation and visceral combat are compelling, but the challenge level may be a bit too high for some, in part thanks to somewhat slow attacks and the automatic hellbreak ability. On balance, this game is well worth looking into if you’re up for a challenge and looking for a combat-focused Platformer.

Grade: B

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are MB, Andy Miller, Johannes, u/RamboFox, Exlene, Eli Goodman, Ilya Zverev, Stov, Connor Armstrong, and K.H. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}