Helltaker
(
2020
)
He chose the path of perpetual lust
In his ravenous desire he found no peace
And with boiling blood he scoured the umbral plains
Seeking waifus among the dark ladies
And those that tasted the bite of his charm named him...
The Helltaker
It's no secret that indie game developers have a tendency to mine old NES games for inspiration. Just take one look at Shovel Knight [2014], or Super Meat Boy [2010], or Rosenkreuzstilette [2007] or any of the host of lesser titles that borrow mechanics, styles, and ideas from the old 8 and 16-bit classics. Of course, not all old games are equally likely to influence modern developers, if only because many of the games from the NES era have fallen down the memory hole of history. For every Megaman [1987] there are a few dozen obscure titles like Abadox [1989]. Consequently, it's no surprise when Minit [2018] rips-off The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening [1993], but it is a bit odd when someone decides that a game as obscure as The Adventures of Lolo [1989] could serve as a template for a modern indie title. Fortunately, for all the fans of Lolo, we now have one in the form of Helltaker.
For those who haven't had the pleasure, The Adventures of Lolo [1989] was a top-down puzzle game on the NES where your character (a blue tadpole) was climbing a tower and bypassing a multitude of tricky puzzles to save his girlfriend (a pink tadpole). The generic premise disguised some frightfully complex gameplay. Each stage steadily introduced new osbtacles and tools to your arsenal, making the game rapidly expand in terms of scale and challenge. The sequels, The Adventures of Lolo 2 [1990] and The Adventures of Lolo 3 [1991] dialed it up even further, gradually turning the simple cartoony puzzle game into a nigh-impenetrable gauntlet.
Helltaker never quite gets to that point, unfortunately. For one, it's way too short (only having ten levels in total) to throw a variety of different mechanics at the player. The same handful of obstacles you see in the first couple levels (skeletons, spikes, rocks, and locked doors) will be the same obstacles you see until the end. Moreover, even though the challenge ramps up considerably by the end of the game, it remains a pretty manageable exercise. The other key difference is the nature of the challenge the puzzles present. In Lolo it was a question of “how do I use the resources I have to get through this level.” Generally, you would have to wander around the stage for a while figuring out how all the different pieces fit together. In Helltaker, each level only gives you a set number of steps that you can take so any superfluous movements will result in a failure. Consequently, you can't just wander around the stage trying different things and expect to get anywhere. The only viable strategy is to pause for a moment at the start and consider your options before jumping in and giving it a try.
The other thing that makes Helltaker distinct from its forerunners is the light (we're talking featherweight here) dating sim elements that pop up at the end of each level. The object of the game is to eventually add all the babes in hell to your personal harem, so at the end of each stage, you'll be presented with a new daemon waifu and a few dialogue options to woo her. Answer correctly and she will join your harem, fuck it up and you'll be kicked back to the start of the level. In some cases, you can screw these text prompts up so badly that you'll get a game over! Like if you tell the angel girl that you like angels better than daemons and she informs you that you're looking in the wrong place for them before depositing you at the pearly gates. I don't think a game has ever sent me to heaven as a punishment before! The dating sim elements are just a chance to see more images of the waifus, as the dialogue options are usually only a matter of giving one or two correct answers. Even if you screw it up, the level doesn't change upon restarting so clearing it again should be a simple matter.
The story is about as lean as it can be, being related in its entirety in a few lines of text that play before the opening menu. You play as a dude who wants to collect a harem of daemon waifus. Since he's not a typical, albeit especially meek, Japanese high school student he can't just sit around and wait for one to fall into his lap. No, he's got to get off his ass and win one for himself. So he descends, Orpheus-like, into the nether realm on a quest for love, except instead of just saving one chick he's determined to bring back a whole load of them. In terms of immersion, it's actually a pretty effective story line, as the player's goals and the goals of the protagonist are fully aligned. The protagonist is here to collect daemons for his harem while the player is here to see the pictures of the various waifus that pop up during your journey.
Consequently, the whole thing would fail completely if the character designs and drawings of the girls were not on point. Fortunately, the waifus themselves are rather charming, being drawn in a semi-anime style. The heavy inking and rough lines make them all look a bit sketchy like they just wandered out of an inattentive student's chemistry notebook. It looks like what would happen if you hired the artist for Darkest Dungeon [2016] to do the illustrations for Doki Doki Literature Club [2017]. I'm hardly an expert when it comes to these sorts of things, but a quick look online has confirmed that the character design and style has struck a chord with connoisseurs of 2D pornography.
Hell in Helltaker is depicted as a semi-corporate structure, with Lucifer serving as CEO (The Father of Lies is also a waifu too because this is not the sort of title that will miss a chance to add in another waifu). Now, I know, I know, all art is political, but I suspect that Vanripper, the game's developer, is not making political commentary about capitalism/corporatism being the root of all evil in modern society. This a good illustration of a peculiar corollary of Occam's razor: Never assume intent when horniness explains something just as well. It seems much more likely that Vanripper just has a fetish for women in business formal and business casual attire. Nearly every waifu that you add to your harem will be wearing either a button-up shirt, a pantsuit, or a full-on suit and tie. It's not my thing, to be sure, but if you're the type that needs a cold shower after a screening of Secretary (2002) then you had better download this game right away.
Like We Went Back [2020], Helltaker is essentially a free demo/playable showcase of the developer's skills. It is far too lean, and far too simple to qualify as a full game in its own right. The key difference though is that We Went Back [2020] felt like nothing special, and even if the developer released a full-length version it still would be just another painfully generic First Person horror game. Sure, Helltaker only takes an hour or two to play through in its entirety, but that hour or two is a unique style of game with its own charm. Add to that a highly polished presentation and some nice art and you have a title that actually has me excited to see what the developer will do in the future.