Hordes of Hunger Early Access Impressions
Now in Early Access, the latest project from the creators of Blood West blends hack-and-slash and survivorslike gameplay.
Hordes of Hunger. Hyperstrange / Kwalee
Hordes of Hunger is a 3D roguelite survivorslike developed by Hyperstrange and published by Kwalee, released in Steam Early Access earlier this month. While the game introduces some engaging mechanics, it currently offers a mixed experience.
From Steam:
Vanquish an onslaught of monsters in this 3D action survivorslike from the creators of Blood West. Take control of Mirah to defend your homeland from a living hunger, wield powerful weapons and abilities, and save others from the advancing hordes.
The game's story is presented through NPCs that Mirah can converse with. I found it somewhat lacking due to awkward writing and mediocre voice acting. There is significant room for improvement here, and I hope it happens before the final release.
The game’s active combat distinguishes it from other games in the genre. Rather than auto-aimed, automatic, passive attacks, players manually execute light and heavy attacks, parries, dodges, and specials in the game’s mostly close-quarters combat. Players still have access to automatic attacks, which are included in the reward options after leveling up, but these are complementary to the active combat. Other in-run upgrades include elemental damage, stat boosts, defensive buffs, and augmented effects to dodges and parries. Like in other roguelites, these boosts only last the current run.
Hordes of Hunger. Hyperstrange / Kwalee
Hits sometimes lack impact. Meaningful staggering or physical response from enemies would greatly enhance combat; I hope options like these are on the developers’ radar for improvement during Early Access. Controls could also stand to be more responsive, particularly when switching up attacks. For example, I sometimes felt I couldn’t execute a jumping attack when I tried to. Another gripe is that it’s impossible to parry while moving—it triggers a sidestep instead.
Runs in each area are randomized but consist of three phases followed by a boss fight. In each phase, players must complete two quests—timed survival, area defense, enemy hunts, etc.—while fighting off waves of enemies. After each phase, the game gives you an opportunity to end the run and return to the hub, a useful option since death means losing any items you’ve collected. Still, this penalty is too harsh and makes gathering materials to craft better weapons tedious.
Hordes of Hunger. Hyperstrange / Kwalee
In the hub, players can gain permanent stat boosts, build weapons with components found during runs, buy temporary buffs in the form of food, talk to rescued NPCs, and more. Upgrades are a bit underwhelming in the game’s current state, and making upgraded weapons takes too long, in part because of the rarity of higher quality materials and the tedium in farming them, since you lose what you gather when you die in a run.
Visually, Hordes of Hunger feels dated. Even with the “Cinematic” graphics settings, the game’s graphics seem to lack quality at this stage. The game could use some more visual panache in the form of better lighting, effects, and perhaps color. Enemy and character designs aren’t memorable.
Hordes of Hunger. Hyperstrange / Kwalee
Despite the dated feeling of the graphics, the game ran poorly on my Steam Deck. I’m sure a lot of optimization can be done, but in the game’s current state, I could only reach 50-60 FPS with low settings across the board, which don’t look great. Adjustments to get the game looking a little better brought me down to 40-45 FPS, which affected the feel of combat.
Hordes of Hunger is a promising title, thanks to its intriguing blend of hack-and-slash gameplay with the survivorslike genre. However, as might be expected in an initial Early Access release, the game lacks much polish in its gameplay, metaprogression, and graphics. I’m looking forward to revisiting this one as it gets updated.
Hordes of Hunger was released on Steam Early Access on May 6, 2025.
