Just make your way through the collapsing Lambda Complex and try to survive in this catastrophe.
Incredible. Solid mapping throughout and it really has the classic Half-Life feel. Textures and lighting are near flawless.
Gameplay is alright. Pretty slow to start with the puzzle elements but the environment is so eerie that it had a real sense of survival horror, no doubt inspired by Amnesia / Penumbra as stated in the readme file.
Then it kicks off big time following the garg section into all out action. The black ops hit way too hard though and I was getting frustrated at first. Felt good when I finally got past them though so I can't complain too much. From there on it plays like a classic Half-Life mod, running and gunning with the puzzle solving taking a back seat.
Overall, I'm very impressed. :D
Excellent and tightly paced. I loved the initial puzzle solving/atmosphere building maps and the slow build up to combat. When combat is involved, the player is thrust right into the thick of it, similar to the intro of the first Hopelessness mod. Brilliant idea I feel, it's a good way to spice up the game-play involving enemies we've known inside and out for over a decade. It was challenging and I did die a lot, but I felt much more rewarded for making it in the end without abusing quick-saves. Maybe I've been playing too much Dark Souls recently and have become a sucker for dying!
My main criticism would be the puzzle item arena. There is one item behind a fence that I did not notice for some time. Perhaps making it better lit would help. Plus, my other criticism was a reliance on using movable boxes to scale up ladders or over traps. The boxes would move far too often when I tried to jump on them (in particular the ladder area) and could get frustrating. I understand this is an engine problem, but one solution could be to have an object on the ground to block the movement of the box when it is in place, that it can be pushed up agasinst.
All in all, a brilliant mod, and I am looking forward to more :)
Lives up to the first with its great level design and puzzles.
The first 60% or so seems like a Penumbra/Half-Life hybrid which was really nice, horrifying and creative. A lovely mix of eerie atmosphere and puzzle solving. Not many mods handle it this well.
Then we finish off by getting thrown right into some action, classic Half-Life style. It's a bit difficult, though. Possibly even for those who've been playing Half-Life for years. I do wish the ending didn't come so abruptly, like the predecessor, but that doesn't take away from the mod as a whole.
I encountered some small issues throughout (like an annoying vent grate, or couple lighting bugs, etc.) however nothing game breaking.
Definitely worth a play, a proper Half-Life mod.
Superb as always. (By always, I mean the first chapter)
This mod starts strangely. You hear a church organ and a voice (most likely the creator) speaking while crying. It's weird, and the sound quality isn't that good. Thankfully after the introduction you start treading on familiar ground.
Everything that made the first one a memorable experience is present in the sequel. Great brushwork, old-school mapping, gloomy atmosphere and puzzle heavy gameplay. Speaking of puzzles, they are much more refined and interesting than before. The only really memorable puzzle in the first mod was the morse code puzzle, this one has similarly interesting ones. There is one where you need to use your "head" after playing with electricity, another has you interacting a very cool looking custom made keypad with a cursor you can control, good stuff. The horror elements are also multiplied, this is still not a horror mod but there are some sequences that may unnerve some. I liked the "guest" :)
This is still a short mod, with five maps just like the first but unlike the first, there is barely any combat in this one. It seems like the creator is continuing following Penumbra's formula and decided to take away the weapons for the sequel just like that game did :)
Overall, this is yet another quality release by the author. There are some issues like getting the crowbar far too late after combat starts and running out of ammo before solving a puzzle that requires ammo. The biggest problem is the extremely abrupt ending, but regardless, if you liked Hopelessness, you'll like Hopelessness: The Afterlife.
Really amazing! A colossal step up from the first one. Absolutely play it!
Hopelessness 2 follows where the prequel left off, you are presumably rescued by somebody after what happened in the first one. That or some damned soul of Hell did it because the voice acting is atrocious.
The first part of the mod is about you are unarmed and there are puzzles you have to solve. It has some good attempts at a puzzle room and some horror atmosphere, both could have been better. In the puzzle room, there are tripmines and you have to move boxes to get over them. The problem is the boxes can move too fast and trigger them. The horror only relies on being in the dark while some spooky ambiance plays. I feel like that was cheap.
Then, you are trapped in a room with Gargantuar and you have to solve a puzzle while this thing is chasing you. I personally dislike this concept of solving a puzzle and avoiding an enemy at the same time. Some parts in this room could have been clearer such as what does the valve does. This room really needs more supplies since the Gargantuar will burn through your health and armor quickly, and then you have to fight Black Ops afterward, with no resupplies and they have a lot of grenadiers.
And another abrupt ending, great. Although, kudos on implementing a working keypad.