Hellbreach: Vegas – A Flawed but Fun Post-Apocalyptic FPS!

“Never trust a demon. He has a hundred motives for anything he does … Ninety-nine of them, at least, are malevolent.” – Neil Gaiman

Hellbreach: Vegas – Overview

Hellbreach: Vegas is an action-packed first-person shooter set in a colourful post-apocalyptic Vegas full of demons and zombies!

Playing Hellbreach: Vegas

Premise

PvE FPS Hellbreach: Vegas, created by solo developer Ashley Ellis, a.k.a Infinity Ape, can be played single-player or co-op with up to 3 teammates. There are currently four different Vegas-themed maps available (three more in development), and each is playable in either easy, medium, or hard difficulty. The aim is to survive waves of enemies as they emerge from a host of portals and earn currency to improve one’s loadout and make customisations to characters and weapons.

There are currently 17 different weapons available, featuring some fun inclusions such as a fiery machine gun and a ray gun that is reminiscent of CoD: Zombies, a game from which Hellbreach: Vegas clearly draws a lot of inspiration. The range of weapons is eclectic and fun, making for some interesting combat and satisfying gameplay.

There are nine enemy types for players to face, some will appear in combination during a single wave, usually a combination of weaker generic enemies and larger, stronger and more unique creatures. Other waves will consist of a singular type of enemy, such as demonic rams or crows and these can also prove quite tricky. The variety helps keep the gameplay interesting and the player on their toes.

Currency

During each game, players earn points with which to level up in one’s campaign, money, and also skulls which are dropped at the end of each wave, and sometimes in between. There are also 10 available perks placed randomly throughout the maps, these include increased damage or faster health regeneration and can be purchased with money. These make a substantial difference to the player’s abilities and are very helpful as the waves of enemies pose more of a challenge.

Money can also be spent on a selection of five slot machines that are found on each map, these include a machine that has a chance to drop a random weapon and one that can give a 0-30% weapon boost. Outside of active gameplay, skulls can be used to buy accessories, customisations and loadout upgrades.

Game Modes

Hellbreach: vegas currently has three different game modes – survival, gun pro, and trapped. All involve defeating waves of enemies with increasing difficulty. Royale and Nightmare modes are set to be added at a later date.

Survival mode can be set to 10, 15 or infinite waves, the latter of which allows the player/s to challenge themselves and see how many waves they can survive. In this mode, skulls can be used to unlock different sections of the chosen map giving the player more room to explore, finding more perks and slot machines but also encountering more portals for the enemies to charge out of.

Gun pro mode is similar to survival mode, except that the player will start with a random weapon that will change after every 15 kills, the game is over when the player has cycled through all the available weapons.

In trapped mode, players can still choose the amount of waves they will face, however, they will be confined to just a single area of their chosen map, with only essential items.

Bugs

Being an early access title, there are inevitably some bugs and teething issues when playing Hellbreach: Vegas. At the time of writing some of the more prominent issues include regular crashes in which players are shunted out of the action and back to the game creation screen. The achievements, along with some in-game stats, are frustratingly very broken. Headshots and waves survived are not counted at all, and melee kills are registered only sporadically with no logical explanation or consistency. In-progress achievements can even be completely reset, much to the player’s dismay! There are also some simpler, less detrimental problems such as enemies getting stuck on different aspects of the environment, a casino machine for example.

Is there a story in Hellbreach: Vegas?

Beyond the post-apocalyptic demon-filled setting there is very little in the way of narrative elements in Hellbreach: Vegas which focuses on its high-octane shoot and survive gameplay.

Hellbreach: Vegas – Styling

Hellbreach: Vegas features moderately detailed 3D visuals, nothing too striking but of fair quality, though the character models are somewhat basic and customisation items such as accessories do not always fit well. There is also a very small choice of only four characters to play as, two male, two female and all white. The lack of diversity is painstakingly apparent and will hopefully be addressed in a future update. The lighting is vibrant and dramatic and adds to the Vegas aesthetic. The soundtrack is an interesting mix of metal and techno that creates an energetic vibe and suits the gameplay really well. The sound effects are visceral and explosive, increasing the player’s sense of immersion.

Summary of Hellbreach: Vegas

Hellbreach: Vegas is not without its flaws but as it is in early access there is plenty of hope that these issues will be ironed out along with additions to the amount of content in the form of new maps and game modes. The art style is pleasing, the lighting especially fits the theme and style of the game, and both the visuals and sound design match the energy of the gameplay brilliantly. The gameplay is satisfying and has some fun elements, with a good variety of enemies, and weapon choices, along with perks and bonuses that add an element of interest and help maintain balance as the difficulty increases.

While the game is evidently inspired by CoD: Zombies, it is unfair to compare an established AAA title costing around £50 and requiring 50-100GB storage to an early access game by a solo developer that costs less than £10 and only needs a paltry 1.95GB. Hellbreach: Vegas will leave anyone making such a direct comparison sorely disappointed but it does in fact have a lot to offer and provides a good amount of fun and value for money. The game is clearly a labour of love; I look forward to future updates and recommend it to anyone looking for a satisfying but casual FPS game to play with friends.

Looking for more multiplayer FPS titles? Take a look at these reviews:
Generation Zero – A Post-Apocalyptic FPS – Helldivers 2 – An Excellent Sequel that Far Exceeded Everyone’s Expectations. – Scathe – A Brutal, Fast-Paced, Gore-Filled Underworld Massacre!