Follow TV Tropes

Following

Video Game / Hellpoint

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hellpoint_800x400_6.jpg
Irid Novo is a success.
"Welcome, Spawn."
"Breathe. The discomfort is only temporary."

Hellpoint is a Souls-like Action RPG developed by Cradle Games and published by tinyBuild. It is available on Steam and PlayStation 4.

Once a pinnacle of human achievement, the Irid Novo space station has fallen. Its ruins are now overrun by cruel interdimensional entities acting as puppets of the malevolent Cosmic Gods.

You have been created by an entity known as the Author. You are organically printed on Irid Novo and sent on a mission to investigate the unholy series of events that led to the catastrophic incident known as the Merge and gather as much data as you can. The abominations now infesting the station, and the former inhabitants now twisted into their servants, will not make it easy for you.


Hellpoint contains examples of:

  • Affably Evil: Talking to the three Cosmic Gods via Underworld and doing their side quests reveals them to be more or less this, surprisingly enough, with all three encouraging you following the completion of their respective side quests. They also explain a couple things and are rather upfront about their natures, with Uthos even Lampshading that it was a bad idea for Irid Novo's denizens to contact them.
  • Artificial Gravity: Some kind of technology ensures that everything falls in the same direction in Irid Novo. This includes at the very bottom of the station that is still under construction and has very few floors over the expanse of space.
  • Artificial Intelligence: A sliding scale exists within Irid Novo.
    • Sentinels and Artillery robots guard against intruders but have no rights or will.
    • Averted with the Arisen which are a separate species that transferred their souls into robot bodies.
    • Played straight with The Interface, a Mass AI that uses interdimensional breaches for infinite computing power.
  • Astral Projection: The fighting style of Undisturbed Defas Nemundis, sending his astral projection to smash you with its giant fists while maintaining a meditative pose.
  • Blackout Basement: The maintenance tunnels in the Sohn district are extremely dark. The Architect who is guiding you suggests you use your own light or stay with him.
    • You can adjust the brightness of all lights in Irid Novo through the game's options menu. Playing the entire game with the minimum light level gets you a rare achievement.
  • Blood Bath: One of the room sized pools in the Dominion Baths has been flooded by the blood of some Space Marine soldiers killed by a demon.
  • Bottomless Pits:
    • A common hazard in Irid Novo, especially in Ikari Walkways which is a shopping district on the side of skyscrapers.
    • There is also the Arcology Underside, where the lowest point is still being constructed and the "pit" is the void of space.
  • The Caligula: Ramiel, a horribly mutated Demon of Human Origin who rules the Thespians as king, a cult who partakes in every debauchery imaginable. He’s warped himself so much in his quest for beauty he scarcely resembles anything human.
  • Cosmetic Award: The 66 Coins found around Irid Novo in hidden or camouflaged places. Collecting them grants an achievement and nothing else.
  • Deity of Human Origin: This is the plan of the Ministry of Union. They summoned the Cosmic Gods to Irid Novo so that they can gain enough information to become gods themselves.
  • Demon of Human Origin: Most demons are not this, but Thespians appear to be the exception. They are followers of Goija who have been transformed into his servants in return for getting to live out their dark fantasies.
  • Dual Boss: The Arisen Congregators are two Arisen androids. The Arisen Bishop fights with a laser-shooting staff and the Arisen Censer fights a radioactive incense dispenser and super speed.
  • Eldritch Abomination: The Cosmic Gods are powerful inhuman beings summoned from a parallel universe and are rather inimical to humanity overall. They are Uthos the Ashen Born - god of agony, Ozyormy Goija the Master of Puppets - a god who warps flesh through motion, and Undisturbed Defas Nemundis - god of creation and destruction.
  • Epic Flail: Arisen Censers use radioactive prayer censers as weapons to hit the player.
  • Evil Is Visceral: Areas controlled by the Thespians, arguably the most evil of the cults depicted, are either overgrown with tumorous growths, or in one case, is an entire manor home sculpted out of the flesh and bones of their victims. Their armor also resembles organ tissue folded and stitched into jester outfits.
  • Faster-Than-Light Travel: This is possible with Breaches, though humans can't survive the trip unless they convert themselves into Spawn.
  • The Fighting Narcissist: His Hideous Majesty Ramiel, ruler of the Thespians, will pause during your fight with him to admire his twisted form in the mirror before his mere presence causes it to shatter and snapping him out of it and resuming the fight.
  • Final Boss, New Dimension: The True Final Boss, The Sentient, is fought inside a giant breach between realities.
  • Freudian Trio: The three cosmic gods. Goija is the ego: manipulative, narcissistic, and selfish. Uthos is the Id: a being of base instincts and unrestrained aggression. Nemundis is the superego; restrained and contemplative.
  • Hellhole Prison: Gehenna prison, moored off of Irid Novo. It was run by high ranking Thespians, who tortured and killed the inmates both for their rites and because it was their idea of fun. There is an ankle deep pool of blood forming on the ground floor, such is the sheer slaughter.
  • He Knows Too Much: Alluded by the Prodigal Spawn, that he would have to kill you for knowing too much about the Mass AI being developed if the station wasn't already abandoned and destroyed.
  • Homing Lasers: The Artillery robots' artillery attacks will track the player's movements quite a bit. This is so the player can both see them coming and not get out of the way too easily.
  • Hub Level: The Observatory, central to the station, is your main hub on Irid Novo. It is also the way to access the Blue Sun downloadable content.
  • I Cannot Self-Terminate: Inverted with the Spawn, humans that have had their souls transferred into artificial bodies. Scientists note that despite being immortal, all recorded Spawn choose to destroy themselves after 153 years of living.
  • I'm a Humanitarian: The Dominion faith practices ritualistic cannibalism, with the idea being that it can “concentrate” the essence of many people into one more righteous one. Harrowingly, most of their victims were volunteers.
  • In Space, Everyone Can See Your Face: Played straight with the EVA suits, which leave the Spawn's face illuminated from the inside.
  • Interface Screw: Getting the Insanity status effect will cause the camera's field of view to change at random points.
  • In-Universe Game Clock: Irid Novo measures time based on its orbit around the black hole, which takes about two hours. Different events can occur based on the orbital position, such as shops changing inventory or storms causing new enemies to appear.
  • Light Is Not Good: The Dominion may use light magic and dress like a cross between Buddhist monks and Catholic priests, but they eat their congregation and worship a god who is said to devour the souls of those lost in nihilism.
  • Living Statue: Irid Novo's sentinel androids act as these. To the population they are merely decoration, but are ready to animate and put down rebellions at a moment's notice. The player can find dormant ones in the Embassy, some of which will attack you if you use your weapon.
  • Magikarp Power: Getting kills with a weapon levels it up, unlocking special attacks and passive abilities for that weapon. Some weapons, such as the junk weapons you get at the start of the game, only have one ability, which isn't unlocked until max level, but gives the weapon a massive damage boost, meaning the weapon is going to be pretty crappy for a long time, and then suddenly very strong.
  • Matter Replicator: There is one in the Observatory and a few elsewhere on the station. They can be used to break down raw materials and construct usable weapons and armor.
  • Mental Space Travel: Grew to be a common but expensive way to travel, with an artificial Spawn body 3D-Printed at the other end.
  • Necessary Evil: According to the Cosmic Gods, they are this and serve to test mortals and make them stronger, with Goija referring to the three of them as the Great Dividers.
  • The Omniscient Council of Vagueness: The Ministry of the Union. You can find them alive and well in the uppermost part of the Arisen Dominion, claiming they are there to offer sympathies to the people of the station.
  • Polluted Wasteland: Averted for most of Irid Novo, with the exception of the Arisen Dominion catacombs that are filled with rivers of radioactive liquid.
  • Power of the Void: Nihl damage and Nihl creatures.
  • Radiation-Immune Mutants: Radioactive hover fish can be found swimming in the rivers of coolant in the Arisen Dominion.
  • Religion of Evil: While all of the Cosmic Gods congregations count, special mention goes to The Thespians, followers of the Puppet Master. They are Chaotic Evil hedonistic maniacs who torture, murder, modify their bodies into killing machines and shape entire castles out of the flesh of their victims.
  • Shield Bash: A core part of The Spawn's combat arsenal. Holding sprint and the shield button and running into an enemy will interrupt their attack and allow a quick counter.
  • Solar Flare Disaster: Inverted, in some ways. The Black Hole has two "storms" trails of matter and energy falling into it. When the station passes through a storm the difficulty increases and new creatures and events will appear. A character says that the citizens would hide inside during the storms, not because of the weather but because that was when the cultists would roam around and perform rituals.
  • Soul Jar: The Spawn can find soul cubes, digitized personalities of people from the past, and talk to them at a special machine. Some respond with fear and confusion at being activated, describing that they cannot see or feel anything at all while conversing.
  • Space Is Cold: Areas exposed to the vacuum will rapidly drop the spawn's body temperature, along with massive amounts of radiation and imminent death by suffocation.
  • Space Is Magic: The energy from a Black Hole is somehow essential for summoning dark gods and creating inter-dimensional breaches.
  • Space Marine: At some point some of the Earth governments got cold feet and sent in kill teams to put a stop to whatever was happening on Irid Novo. You run into these squads during the Blue Sun DLC though its bad news for you as they are under strict “kill absolutely everything other than yourself” type orders.
  • Space Station: Irid Novo, of course. It's extremely large and includes multiple residential and commercial districts, a park, and a monorail system.
  • Stellar Station: Irid Novo orbits a black hole instead of a star, and indeed light sources are hard to come by.
  • Teleport Spam: Arisen Bishops will do this.
  • Transhumans in Space: The Spawn are this, as are the Arisen (who used to be an alien species).
  • Villainous Harlequin:
    • Goija, the Puppet Master, is a Cosmic God who resembles a three faced jester crossed with a wrathful deity.
    • The Thespians, followers of the above god, combine this aesthetic with bio-organic clothing and features.
  • Warm-Up Boss: The Archon Slaver at the end of the embassy. Literally, in that her main attack is to lower your Spawn's temperature and you have to use radiators in the arena to warm up or fight extra slowly.
  • Wizards from Outer Space: Foresight weapons and catalysts are well hidden, but obtaining one lets you play as one of these.
  • Wrong Side of the Tracks: The Sohn District, filled with cramped tenements and mountains of garbage.

Top