Co-op shooter Hellbreach: Vegas has reached version 1.0 after just over a year in Early Access. While the pick-up-and-play FPS received a $5 price bump compared to Early Access, an introductory sale keeps it at its original $10 price until August 28.
One problem I had when I got casually addicted to insanely deep live service multiplayer games is that all my friends are normal people and have even less room for this sort of thing in their lives than I do. I still remember the halting, worried tone of my friend, who was just taking his first steps in Destiny 2, joining my instance and for some reason catching me practicing solo dungeon attempts. There’s just something about games like Trackmania, Golf With Your Friends, or older FPS that you can just pick up and play.
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That’s a quality Hellbreach definitely has, and it’s a goal that the game’s creator Ashley Ellis described to me when it first released: to capture the low skill floor, high skill ceiling, and cramped co-op magic of the first few iterations of CoD Zombies without complicating live service elements, multiple launcher tiers, or any progression beyond simple, experience-based cosmetic unlocks.
The constant shooting and classic survival are great, but Hellbreach also has some varied modes with a lot of power. The micro-scale “Battle Royale” with a shrinking play area is a great twist on the concept, but my favorite is “Gun Pro,” a variation of Call of Duty’s classic “Gun Game” mode ripped off from Counter-Strike modding. You have to compete against your friends for kills and work your way through a randomized weapon list, earning your next weapon for 15 kills. It adds structure, a competitive element, and a faster turnaround to matches, which I really like.
Version 1.0 brings a few more extras. There’s a new flamethrower, a particularly difficult mode with no UI and a monochrome screen filter, and a new hill dimension map to round out Hellbreach’s selection of locations in Sin City and the Sun Belt.
So if you’re like me and want more multiplayer games in the pipeline that don’t feel like side jobs, Hellbreach: Vegas is a clear recommendation, especially at the launch price of $10. Hellbreach: Vegas is available now on Steam.
