The Great Disappointment of Hellgate: London

Hellmode brings us a retrospective article on Hellgate: London, recalling the game’s early ambitions before diving into the reasons why it ultimately failed. The editorial is written by Sol Invictus, whom some of you may recall ran Hellgate Guru back in the day:

The game was set in London, 2038, a city rich with history and culture, brought to chaos by a marauding horde of extra-dimensional demonic entities that threatened to tear the world asunder. In spite of the vivid concept, the world felt like little more than a series of boring sewers and mazes of concrete, occasionally interspersed with bits of red and brown.

It was a husk of a setting, populated by random landmarks like Piccadilly Square and The Tower of London. I never had the sensation that the London of this world was ever a large, sprawling environment. Instead, it felt very claustrophobic, mainly due the way that zoning was handled by the game’s engine. I felt trapped, sequestered into tiny stages that were dull and withdrawn. I did not feel like I was exploring a vast, apocalyptic landscape of London several years in the future as I should have.

I was willing to put most of my expectations aside and let the game speak for itself, even as I had my doubts. However, I was expecting a narrative as even Diablo II and the preceding game featured a narrative that engulfed the player’s immediate attention. Diablo featured a timeless song, entitled (Tristram,) after the game’s town. It served as an eerie, yet familiar welcome into the world of Sanctuary. It defined Diablo.

In contrast, Hellgate: London’s narrative was nonexistent. There was no warm, familiar feel to greet the player and make you feel at home. My avatar appeared into the world with no back-story explaining my presence or how I got there. Dropped into the middle of an alleyway that was filled with generic monsters, called Imps, I felt as though the game’s designers could have tried much harder in populating the setting with more interesting contents, and providing a better context for my actions. Regardless of my avatar’s character class, there was no reason for me to be where I was. It left a poor first impression.

Am I the only one who actually enjoyed Hellgate: London? Farming Moloch with a marksman in the Stonehenge Chronicles content was pretty damn fun, and the Abyss Chronicles update showed a lot of promise on the test server.