Developer Runic Games has announced that their newest 3D platformer, Hob, will be released on September 26 according to a blog post on the PlayStation blog.
Hob is a game where the player wakes up with no memory and must find their way through the thicket of ruins from an unknown civilization, as shown in the release date announcement trailer on the official PlayStation YouTube channel. It is unknown where the player will be going, but Runic Games hints that you will be trying to find your way “home.” The player will have to solve the puzzles built into the terrain, fix the damaged world and defend themselves from the various enemies in the world in order to unlock new areas of the game and continue their journey.
The way that players defend themselves is with a sword and giant glove the character carries (you can be killed by the various enemies in the game, with the trailer showing a giant fish eating the character, causing blood to ooze out of it’s mouth into the water). The glove can connect to the various machinery throughout the world, helping the character advance through the world. It is attached to the player after discovering it, as shown in the trailer. With the glove, you can use it to move around in the world, as a weapon or to teleport according to the official Runic Games’ website.
Not only will you be defending yourself, but you will also be defending creatures called Sprites that you come into contact with throughout your journey. Sprites are adorable and tiny secondary characters that will help the character on its journey, and in return, the player will help protect them from danger.
“Our world has a lot of machines in it, and our Sprites are actually plants. They are symbiont creatures. They have culture. They sing, they dance. But at the same time, they are in this dangerous world,” said Marsh Lefler, lead engineer at Runic Games in a video about the Sprites. “They are protectors of the wilderness, and they help the player go throughout the game. They help in giving an emotional response.”
The enemies you meet throughout Hob, who are targeting the Sprites, seem to only want to survive themselves. In the blog post, Wonder Russell, the minister of culture at Runic Games, calls the various creatures throughout the world “true-neutral.” Normally, when a game has enemies, they are specifically targeting the player. But in this world, the enemies that you come across are just trying to survive themselves, too. You will also come across creatures that are docile and will leave you alone.
“Nothing, however, is inherently good or evil. Instead, all of the life forms are locked in a Darwinian struggle for the survival of their own species. Some creatures may try to eat you, others could become your friends,” said Russell in the PlayStation blog post.
Along with the Darwinistic view on the enemies of Hob, Russell also reveals that the character will be considered gender-neutral so that the players will be able to better connect to the story, regardless of their gender.
Runic Games previously worked on Torchlight I and Torchlight II. These games are also 3D platformers but are seemingly more focused on the combat-aspect rather than the heavy exploration Hob has.
Hob, as said before, will be available on September 26 for both PC and PlayStation. Also, before the game is released, players will have the opportunity to submit Trophy names that could possibly earn you rewards.
If you pre-order Hob now, you will get a 10 percent discount from its regular cost of $19.99 (that’s $17.99) and on PlayStation 4, you will receive a theme with your pre-order. You can find Hob on Steam and on the PlayStation Store official website.
Featured image via Hob official Steam page.
