The demo for Hellslave 2: Judgment of the Archon rocketed me back to the early days of PC RPGs, think old-school Wizardry or Might and Magic and you’ll get the vibe. This is a classic, crunchy dungeon-crawling adventure where you’ll mix and match abilities and gear, to get the very best out of your dark hero.
For me, the real standout is the plentiful art. Everything from environments and enemies, to player characters and gear, is hand-drawn. There are lots of little details that really stand out, like character models that display all of the weapons, armour, and gear you have equipped — even going so far as to make rings visible too!
The game proudly states on the startup screen that no AI was used in its making.
Hard as nails
Hellslave 2 is a turn-based RPG where your hero fights wolves, demons, and all manner of dark fantasy beasties. You do this through an overworld map and first-person turn-based combat. It took a little while to wrap my head around the combat, but when I did, it felt very good. The real twist is that the turn order changes dynamically based on the abilities you use in combat; you might use a big spell that slows down your next turn, an ability to slow the enemy, or one to speed yourself up.
In my time with the demo, I’ve been playing as an elemental mage, focused on throwing lightning bolts that bounce between enemies. When I unlocked an ‘Ice Nova’ spell that slowed enemies in the turn order, I really started to see the potential of the combat system. By slowing groups of enemies and then dropping ‘Chain Lightning’ on the first unit in the turn order, I found I could reliably manipulate the fights to my favour.
The power creep on my own abilities felt very cool, and I quickly started to feel quite powerful… But the same was true of the enemies. While I was quickly able to mop the floor with the starting areas, once I stepped into new zones the enemies ramped up significantly. I can really see this system playing into higher-tier combat as the fights get more complex.
Blast from the past
For those wanting to jump back into the earlier era of PC gaming RPGs, Hellslave 2 might be right up your alley. However, if you’re coming from the modern wave of RPGs, there might be some hurdles to leap. This style of game gives back as much as you put into it, but it doesn’t hold your hand or guide you through.
There’s a huge tech tree for each class, with abilities that interact and overlap with one another. You could easily back yourself into a corner with the wrong ability choices, but it’s easy enough to respec your character if you need to.
I did have one issue, where the game was hitching when loading from one screen to another, like when entering towns, talking to NPCs, or heading to the map. Hopefully this performance quirk can be ironed out before launch.
Should I try Hellslave 2: Hand of the Archon?
From the first few hours of Hellslave 2, I feel like this will be a great game for a particular type of player. If you grew up on early PC RPGs, and like detailed build crafting and challenging combat, give it a look. If you don’t like a game that teaches you through failure, then this dark road might not be for you.
You can try the Hellslave 2: Judgement of the Archon demo for yourself on Steam. The full game is set to release sometime in 2026.
Thanks to the publisher for providing access to Hellslave 2: Hand of the Archon.
