Helheim

I have a soft spot for debut games that carry more ambition than polish, and Helheim sits squarely in that category. Not a Number, a small student-founded Italian studio, built this as their very first release, backed by publisher 34BigThings. The concept is genuinely interesting: you play as Hella, goddess of death, reclaiming her Norse underworld from a corrupted army wielding anachronistic technology. It is a sci-fi-tinted Norse setting, crumbling ancient architecture fused with something colder and more mechanical, and that aesthetic tension is one of the things that makes the game worth a second look. The core loop is a top-down hack-and-slash with a bullet-hell streak running through it. Hella's sword is not just a melee weapon - you reflect incoming projectiles back at enemies, making the parry mechanic the rhythmic heart of every encounter. Layer on top of that a dash that costs nothing, and you have the bones of something kinetic and satisfying. Ancient runes scattered through levels act as a light build system: find them, slot them, combine their effects to create deadlier combos. Rune collection is one-way, meaning you cannot backtrack to grab one you missed, which gives each run a quiet permanence. The difficulty settings (three on a first run, a fourth unlocking after completion) mean newcomers can find their footing, while players chasing tighter skill expression can step up. The Steam tag community has flagged this as a Spectacle Fighter as much as a hack-and-slash, and that feels honest - when the parry chain is flowing, there is a satisfying visual language to the combat. The honest part of this review, though, is that Helheim launched in a rough state and never fully recovered in public perception. Steam reviews sit at a mixed rating across a very small sample, and the single critical review that surfaced on Metacritic described it as "simple yet engaging" but also hard - which is charitable given the bug reports that circulated at launch. Players reported getting stuck in geometry, hitbox inconsistencies on Hella's stomp attack, and balance issues with the rune system. The unlimited dash-and-parry also opens up some unintended cheese routes that undercut the intended difficulty. These were not small complaints. The soundtrack, which the community tagged as a genuine strength, is one of the few elements that drew consistent praise, and the isometric visual presentation at least keeps the bullet streams readable. Who is this for? Honestly, it is for the player who enjoys watching a small team swing for something above their weight class and wants to see what landed. If you have burned through Furi and want something in a similar vein at a fraction of the stakes, Helheim scratches a comparable itch, even if it never achieves that game's precision. If control customization matters to you, note that the lack of remappable controls was a sticking point for some players. And if you need a polished, complete-feeling experience, the roughness here will grate. There is something I find worth preserving about small games like this one. The passion that went into the world design is visible even when the execution stumbles. The sci-fi corruption of a Norse underworld is a genuinely evocative setting. The sword-reflection mechanic at its best produces the kind of moment where you feel clever and agile at the same time. It is a debut, with all the fragility that implies, and it will feel that way to you.

Kai · Scout Team

Indie & narrative

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