How did the free Helltaker become a cult sensation? – review addiction

July 4, 2020 FREE Games, Game Platforms, Game Streaming, Games TOP, New Game Release, Popular Games, Steam

A short and unpretentious game in a matter of days gained incredible popularity.

Steam often scolded for ease of access. Not a day goes by on the site without the release of games that deserve to be called crafts – without original ideas and even assets. But it would be unfair because of this to call the entire store a “garbage dump”. It is more likely a sedimentation tank: real pearls come up from the rough gray stream to the surface.

We remember how before our eyes a free visual novel Doki Doki Literature Club! won the minds and hearts. And now its success repeats an equally free puzzle Helltaker. About her and will be discussed. About her and her creator, the Polish artist Lukasz Piskorz, better known as VanRipper.

Long road to hell

Twelve years ago on Deviantart The page of an unknown beginner artist appeared under the nickname VanRipper. The novice did not lay out anything particularly outstanding, so from time to time he was on duty wished him success on the field of illustrations and animation. But he did not give up.

One of VanRipper’s early sketches: nothing special, but the corporate identity is already beginning to be guessed.

For the first time, Lukasz Piskoj tested his strength in the gaming industry in 2015. Polish independent developer Tomasz Wenceslas and Devolver digital Steam Stealth Action Released Roninwhere VanRipper design and animations are used. The game obviously turned out crude, but it was rated positively, so Wenceslas also decided to work on.

Two years later, in 2017, the game designer released his next game, this time self-published under the brand teedoubleuGAMES. Hardcore role-playing action movie Immortal planet collected even more positive reviews. Piskozha’s style can be traced quite clearly in it: an exaggerated shift in proportions, an emphasis on simple shapes and a meager set of colors, an aggressive contour, due to which the figures sometimes look like a mosaic.

Screenshots and copyright sketches of Ronin and Immortal Planet

In 2018, VanRipper took on “something new”: its own animated series Daystonewhose main character was Kotya. A self-confident cat that gets involved in a variety of adventures for the sake of saving the world and the victory of good over evil. To work on a cartoon, the artist resorted to help Patreon: He shared art with subscribers and conducted live broadcasts, where he showed the process of working on sketches.

Public support not only helped release three episodes of Daystone: with its help, Lukasz Piskož created his first game.

Piskozh himself portrayed surrounded by textbooks on C # and Unity, as well as “gifts” from Russia

Demons, skeletons and pancakes

For those who are categorically opposed to any spoilers: Helltaker is completely free, and you can go through it in half an hour; especially since most levels, except for the battle with the final boss, are allowed to be skipped. In any case, getting to know it personally is worth it, because the game is really good.

Persona 5’s artefacts made by Lukash make it easy to see the characteristic tricks that make his demonesses so charming. But one cannot help but recall another … Keyword – pancakes

The foundation of Helltaker is puzzling-style puzzles. The protagonist, the Conqueror of Hell, or, as he is sometimes called, the Adbrater, wakes up with a strange idea: he wants to assemble a harem of demon girls. To look for them, of course, is most logical in hell, where he goes. There are nine levels in the underworld, and they are all arranged in the same way. Between the Admiral and the next demoness are rocks, skeletons and treacherous traps. In order to get to the girl, a certain number of moves were allotted: they did not fit in – death. At some stages, secrets and scraps of parchment are hidden, and in a couple of cases they even give out an “achievement” for special actions.

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Best of surprises: charming triplets play the role of a three-headed Cerberus

Since puzzles can be safely ignored, VanRipper sees the salt of the game in the devils themselves, a meeting with whom awaits at the end of the level: each of the girls turned out to be with character, although they have only a few replicas. In the course of the dialogue, one can easily die by choosing the wrong answer — to understand which one is correct is possible only through intuition.

Lukash “copied” his hero with Larry Laffer, the hero Leisure suit larry. And the characteristic polyester costume is clearly visible on the excellent Khajiit_123 fan art

And after the demoness from the ninth level gets into the harem, the most interesting begins. Justice, the highest prosecutor of hell, does not allow the Admiral to leave with his prey, and we have to join the battle. Moreover, this battle, based on a sense of rhythm and absolute reaction, can deprive tons of nerve cells.

Those who are tuned in to erotic games with charming demonic beauties will have another surprise in the finale. No vulgarity: The adbreter simply treats the girls with pancakes, and they burst them with pleasure. For the most inquisitive, there is also a secret ending: the code for it appears in the menu if you collect all three parchments at the levels. We will not spoil it – just say that Beelzebub is involved in it.

All is well, that ends well: Adbrater, his harem, pancakes and police outside the door

Sweet and nutritious

Helltaker was released on Steam on May 11 and very quickly broke into the top of the most popular projects. As usual, streamers played a significant role in this: the game seemed to be intentionally created for live broadcasts. It goes through in one session, but sudden changes in gameplay and a difficult battle with the boss give a lot of emotions.

Any mistake in Helltaker is punishable by death, but it’s not scary, because you can always try again

Following the streamers, the masters of fanart entered the scene. The idea of ​​presenting creepy and powerful demons as dangerous, but incredibly cute girls turned out to be really fresh and promising. And artists from all over the world willingly joined in drawing their own versions of Azazel, Lucifer, Cerberus, Zdrada and other inhabitants of the harem. This topic turned out to be beneficial, because the author came up with a demo for each demoness like love for coffee or turn-based strategies.
Lukas Piskož released his game in English, but made a simple and convenient tool for localizers. As a result, in the Steam workshop you can find more than a dozen only Russian translation options, so the modders also do not feel left out.

If the game sells well – it is popular, but if memes are made on it – it already smacks of cult status

What falls from the author himself? We already seem to have mentioned that Helltaker is a free game. But those who want to support the creator can buy an addition for 260 rubles. It includes an art book with many sketches, notes by the artist (“for the most part all nonsense») And the recipe for fans that is symbolic for the fans, which demonic girls eat with such pleasure!

The author’s recipe for demonically delicious pancakes quickly turned on the network, but this did not affect the sale of bonuses

No one forces you to buy a paid Helltaker kit. Moreover, access to the artbook is unlocked as a result of passing. Nevertheless, many decided to express their gratitude to the virtual “flower”. And thanks to this, Piskoz is even going to close his Patreon: he feels that it is wrong to accept money when he can now finance all his projects on his own.

How did the free Helltaker become a cult sensation?

The Helltaker pancake recipe sells great on Steam. If everything goes well, I will soon try the pay-as-you-go model on itch.io. And I’m not going to stop there. I will soon reach a state of affairs in which I can draw all day, without worrying about money, hire assistants, and at the same time release everything for free, without any restrictions. The expression “It’s time to buy a private helicopter!” Fits my current situation.

Cosplayers never take on unpopular looks, even if the costume isn’t particularly complicated

It is not known what else VanRipper will come up with and what will surprise the assembled army of fans. Now that he has enough money, he can very well establish a studio and announce something ambitious. Or, after a year or two, suddenly will announce: “Hi, I released a free game, it is short and stupid, but I will be glad if you pass it!“.

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