Jötunnslayer: Hordes of Hel

Steam Reviews

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• Recommended Posted October 1, 2025 on Steam Quite frankly, I was almost put off this game by the negative reviews. People were saying this was very mediocre- to which, after playing, I am so very confused by that comment. The game is good. It looks great, plays great, and each run feels a little different. One of the big issues with survivor-likes is that you end up choosing the same things every time. You go for crit, you go for area, you go for damage. With this game you don't really do that. There are six classes each with their own gimmick- and then each of those six classes has a subclass that you get ten or so levels into a run. The subclasses don't drastically change how a class plays, but does add a lot of interesting variety. For example, there's the Revenant, who is a dead body brought back to life by a wolf spirit. The whole gimmick of the class is that spirit wolves are created periodically that attack nearby enemies. The sublcasses either grant the Revenant an extra revive and damage reduction, or make the wolves more powerful, or turn you into a more powerful archer. It's interesting and gives more choice than the bog standard +damage, +area, +crit stat sticks that other survivor-likes use. On top of that you also have a number of gods that can grant you boons. You can choose up to three gods, each with their own abilities and passives. And, again, the gods' boons aren't just +damage, +area, +crit stat sticks. There's a lot of interesting interactions here. And, of course, the game also has the whole skills evolving thing, but unlike in other survivor-likes that require you to memorize what goes with what, you just have to unlock the evolve and then level the skill like normal. It really does open up the versatility of the game. You're not chained to specific passives for specific skills in this. It's very open. The cherry on the cake for me is that this game is beautiful! A lot of survivor-likes are pretty mediocre when it comes to graphics- or they go the opposite route and turn the screen into fireworks. This game finds a great balance of making enemy attacks/hazards very clear and readable, but having player abilities still look gorgeous. But, wait, there's more. This game does objectives [i]well[/i]. One of my big sticking points with games is creating vacuous objectives that really only serve as a reason to get you to interact with a game instead of just standing there. This game naturally encourages you to move around- and the objectives, and their variety, really help with that. They're fun and engaging (except the cursed stick that prevents ability usage- that's just a pass most of the time). The only negative critique about the game is that after ten hours I felt like I've sort of seen everything. At this point I'm just cleaning up the last of the unlocks and chasing achievements. But, maybe that's a good thing? In the sense that the game doesn't overstay its welcome. A lot of survivor-likes make you play for forty hours [i]just[/i] to unlock everything- and a lot of that time feels very grindy. This game? Doesn't feel that grindy. It's a very each pick up and play. Overall, I think this is one of the better survivor-likes out there. It keeps with the formula enough to be a comfortable play, but breaks the mold in enough ways to make itself unique compared to the horde of other games in the genre. And it looks good!
• Not recommended Posted August 17, 2025 on Steam Love the graphics. I've been enjoying a lot of games like this lately. You fight a horde, gain experience, gain abilities, get stronger and the horde gets larger. That's not what this game is. In this game your goal is to complete a task (usually on the other side of the map) before the timer runs out. The tasks are not that wonderful. To get to the task you have to get past a horde. The horde is now an irritant that is prevent you from getting your task done. Oh look, now there is a cannon that is on the other side of the map dropping explosives on me. I don't think i can make over there and destroy it before the clock runs out. The horde, the cannon, the mini bosses are no longer the goal of the game. The goal of the game for me has become completing tasks that i don't even want to do.
• Not recommended Posted September 4, 2025 on Steam This game has great graphics and animations - and those are the only positives. Gameplay feels soulless and boring, it doesn't give that ultimate late stage payoff like other games in this genre do. meta progression is rudimentary at best, unlocks feel very basic and unsatisfactory. Now they also decided to add to the grievance of overpriced crappy micro-transactions even crappier predatory practices - twitch drops, which just cements the feeling that's a game is a coldblooded cash grab and not a project of real passion for gaming. It's not the worst game I played, it's just extremely mediocre and not fun.
• Not recommended Posted March 18, 2026 on Steam The game is quite good for the first 5-10 hours while its Viking theme feels fresh: levels look good, heroes look interesting, graphics catch the eye, music feels powerful. As you go beyond 10 hours, the game becomes tiresome and even soul-draining if you try going for 100%: each run feels exactly the same, the repetitive music annoys, and fps drops down to stable 10-20 in long sessions (30+ minutes) or on specific maps. If you're looking for something to play in the genre, better opt for something like Halls of Torment. If you specifically want a Nordic theme, then get this one on sale
• Recommended Posted July 2, 2025 on Steam I got Hordes of Hel thinking it’d be a little roguelite throwaway—y’know, something to crack open on the Steamdeck while I decompose on the porcelain throne. A couple of runs, a couple of wipes, call it a day. I was wrong. This game is NOT poop-tier. It is poop-enhanced. What started as a casual “lemme see what this is” has turned into “babe I’ll be out in a bit, I’m… uh… busy.” I have completely restructured my digestive rhythm to maximize time spent playing this chaotic, crunchy, violently satisfying gem of a game. You like roguelites? Good. You like fast runs that make you say “ok one more” fifty-seven times? Good. You want a game that feels like Diablo but strips out the spreadsheet crap and leaves you with just the good slashy-slashy dopamine? HEL yes. The controls are tight, the upgrades feel meaningful, and the combat absolutely slaps. You want a game where every run feels like a punk rock Viking fever dream and somehow never gets old? This is it. It's like the devs put actual effort into it or something, which is suspicious, but appreciated. Plus they keep updating it. Like… more than they should? It's getting new features, polish, love—hell, even the bugs feel charming. I’ve played AAA games with less soul than this. If you’re into: Tight combat and buttery movement Dying stupidly and immediately doing it again Supporting devs who give a damn Sitting way too long and realizing your legs are asleep Roguelites that don’t waste your damn time Then Hordes of Hel isn’t just worth it—it’s a lifestyle choice. This isn’t bathroom gaming. This is throne-based domination. 10/10 would ruin my lower back again.
• Not recommended Posted December 20, 2025 on Steam This survivor-type game has great potential and a certain vibe to it that I enjoy but I can't recommend it in the current state for it still lacks a lot of depth and balance. The endless mode especially is very boring, it lets you level up to 100 in theory (vs 40 in story mode) which is great fun but after lvl 60 or so you simply run out of skills to pick and instead of offering some generic incremental bonuses the game just offers you nothing, so the only way to scale past that point is to go for an All In no healing build which not all classes can get away with, only the Seeress and maybe the Warden thanks to their shielding abilities. In terms of balance there are a few skills that trump all the other ones (looking at you Frost Ring) so you end up always doing the same thing once you figure it out. Also means that depending on your build the difficulty level goes from impossible to screensaver. Story mode is short and sweet with pretty run of the mill boss fights but nothing to complain about except that the meta-progression mechanics lack depth. 20 hours in I feel like I've experienced all the game has to offer. Might come back to tinker with some builds or try to get those last few achievements but until they add more content and fix the endless mode I don't really see a point.