Double Fine’s Hack ‘n’ Slash has exited the Early Access phase and the 1.0 version is now available to purchase along with the game’s source code. The trailer above reveals more.
While Hack ‘n’ Slash’s title and look conjures up memories of classic arcade action games, it’s a little bit more than just that. In fact, it’s actually about hacking, re-programming, and rewriting code.
It starts with a wizard confining a village’s population to its walls in such a manner that no one can escape. Not happy with this, you take your sword and, rather than slay enemies, use it to hack into the mainframe of the world.
Far from a gimmick, Double Fine says that you’re “actually” hacking the game. As such, it’s possible to break Hack ‘n’ Slash by messing with the code, but luckily you can use the rewind function to fix it – I’m sure a lot of programmers wish that was something they had access to.
As you are hacking into the game, this means that the puzzles have a ton of solutions, many of which Double Fine hasn’t even anticipated.
Of course, inside of the game’s world your hacking abilities are considered a form of magic. You can use it to see things that aren’t meant to be seen, alter live-running code inside the game’s procedurally generated dungeons, and completely change a creature’s behavior.
You can purchase Hack ‘n’ Slash for Windows, Mac, and Linux at $19.99 on the game’s website. However, during its launch week, the game is available for the discounted price of $13.39 on Steam.
