I recently had access to the alpha ofHellion, a first-person multiplayer survival game. To start, a little video to get in the mood with a cutscene:
Without really knowing what to expect, not being very interested in survival games or FPS, I start my game with a touch of apprehension. A cutscene puts me in the bath. Basically, after a week in cryo-sleep, we find ourselves in the ruins of the first human interstellar colony. So you have to expect to find abandoned stations and ships around me, resources just waiting to be plundered to increase my survival in the harsh cold space.
Immediately, the game warns me, it's an alpha! I validate the panel and, without further transition, a long list of servers is presented to me. Indeed, it is not currently planned other modes than multiplayer and it is therefore necessary to join one of the multiple servers. I see an FR server, but I don't know how to join it (a small padlock indicates that it is protected by a password, which is confirmed quickly) so I opt for a European server with a correct ping .
I enter a character name, then choose one of four choices: a whole new start, continue a previous game, or land on a random outpost. Thinking that it will be easier, I opt for the new start.
My character is in a cryonics cell which I exit using the F key. I discover a very cozy interior of what looks like a space station.
A quick tour of the options, just to find out what to expect. So there will a priori be ships, combat, docking on stations, a jet-pack ... That promises!
Unfortunately the place where I am is not in very good condition, the systems are out of order, there is no electricity, the air recirculation does not work and several doors open directly to the vacuum spatial! By looking a little at the different consoles, and by exploring my environment which very generously offers me spare parts in various toolboxes, I manage to understand what is missing to make the systems work and to restart the electricity. . I also reconnect the air system even if it remains on standby and refuses to start.
On a device on the ground, I find instructions explaining how to use my spacesuit. I find a helmet, a tunic and a jet-pack right next to it.
Great ! I immediately equip myself with it and set off to discover the space!
Unfortunately I realize that I have no lifeline and that my ship is very, very far ... Depressed, without more oxygen or fuel for my jet-pack I decide to give up and open my helmet. My character dies ... I just have to recreate one, either on the same server or on another server.
Not fully understanding what is expected of me, I take the time to watch a let's play from the developers where they play the exact part I just tested and I discover that there is in fact simply no line. of life, you just have to manage once outside so as not to lose your station and stay close by using your jet-pack as little as possible.
We must therefore venture outside and survive. Well, at the same time, we're in a survival game so it makes sense. In particular, I notice the clever use of the targeting key which gives a better view of nearby items, something that is virtually impossible to do without help from the interface.
I rehearse ... I retent, I almost manage to catch a module. I take a passage from the video of the developers to understand what I'm doing wrong, I try again, stressed by the space vacuum and my helplessness in this inhospitable world where nothing is done to help me ... And finally I deliver some screenshots from the press kit!
Screenshot
Particularly demanding, Hellion is a survival game that leaves no room for improvisation. In space, survival depends on the obvious needs of our character, but also (and especially besides) of the technical installations around. And all this does not go without a good mastery of space landing. It will take you many attempts to successfully escape into space without becoming a new unidentified floating object, even longer to successfully do anything with the station, ship, or mod you find. If you have the patience for that, you will find a real challenge, offered in an immersive graphic and musical environment, to the delight of survivalists. On the other hand, if you do not feel up to the size of the challenge, perhaps wait for the development of the title to continue because you could, just like me, find yourself rather quickly stuck or frustrated.
