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Doomslayer’s solar expanse

Your patrol ship was suddenly shot down by your homebase’s own defense grid and you barely made it out of the battered wreck alive, only to find the hangar even worse for wear. Corpses pile up across the floor, demonic markings painted in blood cover the walls and your previous comrades snarl like wild beasts as they turn their guns at you. Does this setup sound familiar? The action may take place on Jupiter, but simply watching through the game’s introductory cutscene removes shadow of a doubt as to where it takes its inspiration from. It is only natural given that Jupiter Hell is a spiritual successor to DRL – Doom, the Rougelike.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3326560587
Take your time
While many among you will immediately have an idea what to except in terms of setting, enemy design and interior decor – the gameplay is an entirely different beast. Jupiter Hell is first and foremost turn-based title presented from a top-down perspective. Every single action performed by the player takes a turn: moving a tile, shooting, reloading, using a medkit. Some among you may now argue that turn-based combat is an antithesis to fast-paced gunning mayhem of Doom, to this I retort – not in the slightest, outlandish as it may seem.

The kicker is that all of the aforementioned actions may be performed in a blink of an eye, allowing the player to blast through a level in 2 minutes while also shredding all of the enemies on your way to the exit. A 20 minutes-long session can easily translate to several thousand turns and motion is fluid enough to make you forget that you have all the time in the world before acting. Frankly, the game almost taunts the player to recklessly rip and tear until suddenly the protagonist is done, much to your disbelief, as the endgame screen delivers impassionate breakdown of damage from 6 hits at once you ate while rushing into the open.

Satisfying as the fast-paced slaughter may be, it will come as no surprise that such angle of approach won’t get you far in Jupiter Hell. This title offers unique gameplay which takes patience and perseverance to even get started, let alone explore the depths which the game is able to offer to its veterans. For now, take my word for it – you really don’t want to skip the tutorial.

Rinse and repeat
Staying true to the rougelike genre, Jupiter Hell relies on repetition to extend its playtime. Why some rougelikes encourage the player to repeatedly beat the game in an increasingly extravagant manner, the title of the day induces repetition by beating... the player, to death and repeatedly at that. Bluntly put, Jupiter Hell is punishingly difficult – to the point where the first boss will likely seem ridiculously overpowered as you make your acquaintance. Those among you familiar with this type of games will also anticipate that the same boss barely makes for a speedbump once you learn the ropes.

That’s where the perseverance comes into play. To make proper progress through the game, the player must engage in an extended period of “trial and error”, during which one will gradually familiarize themselves with myriad of different mechanics Jupiter Hell has to offer. There’s a lot to unpack too, weapons come in different calibres, optimal firing ranges and with an extensive modifiers system. Especially the latter deserves a separate mention. Upgrades may include anything ranging from mundane faster reload or increased range, through additional elemental damage, and rounding up with unique modifires operating vastly different from their ordinary counterparts (say, a self-charging rocket launcher shooting fireballs).
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3326560893
No less complex are the levels themselves. At face value, each one is a small dungeon complete with loot, batch of enemies and usually some optional additional risk, which may yield greater rewards in return. It will come as no surprise that hellspawn-marked corridors of Jupiter base are best enjoyed in a leisurely stroll once all enemies nap peacefully in the dirt. However, the only condition mandatory for further progress is finding the exit elevator, giving the player a possibility of sneaking out of tough level mostly undetected. It doesn’t take long to find out that each biome has limited building blocks available. To remedy this, every chapter of the game includes randomized side branch of levels. They all come with a unique twist and offer best rewards if the player handles the extra challenge. You can probably see the pattern emerging by now, namely Jupiter Hell is a chain of risk vs reward calculations, where player needs to continuously brave ever greater dangers to keep racking up even better rewards. Overestimate your prowess though and the chain breaks.

Select your character
I hope the multi-layered wrapping of the game doesn’t come off as overwhelming as we are not quite done yet. The game offers 3 classes, each with unique active skill and dedicated set of abilities. Every class can offer a refreshing new twist on the gameplay and may open your eyes to an approach you didn’t previously take into account. However, not all abilities are equally powerful and in title like this one, consistency is the key. Take my word for it, in a game primarily about slaying demons, you might want to stick with combat-oriented Marine until you beat the game at least once.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3326561385
Let’s assume you’ve done just that – picked your best guns, found a favourite build and discovered branch levels which yield rewards fitting your playstyle. At long last, the game-over screen sums up performance not of a freshly baked corpse, but that of a victor. You might take notice that victory screen is followed by list of completed challenges and how you barely seen the tip of that particular iceberg. Once you have mastered the game enough to be able to beat it, there is a room for further ascendance which can easily fill hundreds of hours with whacky achievement runs, higher difficulty settings or challenge modes. Sky is the limit.

Back to the future
More than deserving of separate mention is the overall 90’s touch to Jupiter’s aesthetic. Visuals are slightly curved at the edge of the screen as to imitate CRT monitor (or “brick” as some may call it) and the protagonist fills the time with cheesy quips often referencing action films (profanity filter is an option, however to my ears it would be a disservice). To yours truly, this is just the right corny touch which evokes adventurous spirit of both 90’s cinematography and games.

Jupiter Hell is a tremendous game, nonetheless no matter how enthusiastically I would spin it – this title is definitely not for everyone, far from it. The steep learning curve will turn away all but the most patient players and not even the rougelike genre veterans are guaranteed to find purchase during the climb. Despite this, resilient enough to make it to the top will find an entire mountain range, offering countless hours of top quality gameplay. It takes time and intimate knowledge to truly appreciate it.