Also on: PC, PS4
Publisher: Perfect World
Developer: Runic Games/Panic Button
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: T
As I wrote recently, I have a strange preference when it comes to Zelda and Zelda-like games. I?ve never been able to get into any Zelda — be they the original games on the NES, all the way through to Breath of the Wild. Give me a Zelda-ish game, however — say, Oceanhorn, or Yonder — and I can?t get enough of it.
While I wouldn?t say that Hob is a direct copy of anything from the Hyrule universe, it?s certainly close enough enough that some comparisons are inevitable. And, unsurprisingly, I love it.
Mind you, I wouldn?t say that I love it because of how much it reminds me of those other games I like. Rather, I love it because of how well it works. It?s a game built around exploring a mysterious world, and even though it makes no attempt to explain anything to you (seriously, the map is both huge and kind of useless), it makes exploring a breeze. Your character moves around the world with ease, and whether you?re walking, running, or jumping, you always feel in control of what they?re doing. Likewise, combat works well, with both a sword and some kind of power-punch at your disposal.
It?s also worth noting that the game works phenomenally well on the Switch. Whatever performance problems may have plagued it on the PS4, none of those are present here. It simply runs smoothly, without any noticeable issues.
I should probably also add that simply calling Hob a straight-up Zelda clone does it a grave disservice — it?s clearly more than that. The better description, perhaps, might be The Legend of Zelda filtered through Diablo (or Torchlight, if you want to reference it to one of the developer?s previous games), with its quasi-isometric view and its slightly more linear approach to action.
However you want to describe it, though, there?s no denying Hob is great. It?s an action-adventure game that has an abundance of both of those things, and if you want some Zelda-adjacent action on your Switch, you?ll find plenty to love here.
Perfect World provided us with a Hob: The Definitive Edition Switch code for review purposes.