Destructive Creations is a fairly large team built from gaming industry veterans, so it's no surprise that their first game, Hatred, garnered a lot of press prior to its release. Along with the press coverage came controversy, whether it be "paid for" or completely genuine is really a question best left for another day, which made sure that the game sold well when it first released. Originally released under a base price of $21.99 CAD in 2015, Hatred received a lot of negative reviews from well known critics and sites around the world, and for a long time it branded a "mixed" score on Steam. Having bought this game myself when it first launched, having left a bad review, and having refunded it, I've decided to give this title a second chance at the new price of $9.99 CAD.
You play as a nameless, leather trench coat clad, long haired antagonist, who "just f***ing hates this world, and the human worms feasting on its carcass". Naturally, you then grab boxes of ammo and an AK-47 and proceed to kill every single human being that you can find, while calling it a "Genocide Crusade". There's not much of a story to be had here, other than once you're done with a level you proceed to the next until you're at your final destination where you will, hopefully, unleash ultimate destruction. Along the way and through the course of 7 levels, you will slaughter thousands of civilians, police officers, S.W.A.T. members, hipsters, and junkies. Keep in mind that this game can be cleared in about 5 hours, depending on difficulty, while 15-20 hours will net you all achievements sans the one that makes you play for 50 hours.
If you're thinking about using a controller for Hatred, just forget it. When I initially tried to play this game, it was with an Xbox controller, and the controls were, and are still, clunkier than a tin trashcan. If you stick to the natural keyboard and mouse agenda for this top-down shooter, you will have a better time playing. It's also a plus that the game features controls that can be re-binded, in case you don't like the default scheme. At any given time, you will be able to select between three weapon slots, one for rifles, one for shotguns, and one for pistols, and three grenade slots, frags, Molotovs, and flash-bangs. There are very few different guns that you can find laying around, relinquished by your dead enemies and found in buildings, and there's not much difference between them; the only ones that stuck out to me were the automatic vs manual pistol, and the sub-machine gun vs the AK-47, both of which have different shooting speeds.
The gameplay itself is standard for a top-down shooter, you run around and you shoot people, or throw some grenades and Molotovs at them. However, Hatred does attempt to mix things up by making it so that the only way you can heal yourself is by executing enemies. Sometimes just shooting someone isn't enough, they just don't die and instead they bleed out. If you get to them fast enough and press the Q key, the Antagonist will either simply shoot them in the head or go in to a somewhat cinematic scene where he shows the brutality of his execution prowess; there are multiple to be witnessed, including but not limited to stomping their head until it explodes, brutally knifing them to death, stabbing them in the head, and shooting them in the face. As well, ammo is not easy to come by and you will be left picking it up off of dead bodies and scouring through homes and shops for any that may have some.
However, it's both Hatred's level layouts and game presentation that are the biggest downfalls that it faces. Even though each level has its own setting, suburbs, downtown, marina, the ones that are left open (as opposed to the linear ones such as the sewers and train) feel large and empty with only a few core spots with multiple innocents to take down. These spots are usually denoted on the HUD with mission display icons, as they're part of multiple sub-missions per level. Exploration would be a lot more enjoyable if there were more civilians scattered around the non-mission areas, especially seeing as nearly every building and object in this game are fully destructible. All the while, this game boasts a black and white aesthetic where the only color that leaks through is red, and the only effect that stands out is fire; while this artistic feature is unique in the world of top-down shooters, it's not suited for the full length of the title. Pair both of these up with the fact that the game has no soundtrack, save for Survival Mode, and you can guarantee that a couple levels in that it will get stale and redundant. If you're in this one for the long haul, throw on your best humanity hating death/black metal, and you'll be much happier.
That brings me to the two additional modes that Destructive Creations have implemented over the last year of Hatred being out; Survival Mode and User Created Content. If you've played one Survival Mode, you've pretty much played them all and the one in this game is no exception. There are only three maps, three people that you can play as, and there is a ranking system that unlocks special perks and weapons. You will take on wave after wave of cops, or rather "Human Shields" as the Antagonist calls them, while killing innocents when you need to replenish your health. The User Created Content mode has brought new elements to the game, such as a color mode that is currently in beta, and a highly praised FPS mode; both of which I have yet to try out, but I am looking forward to doing so.
So, has two years and over 16 updates made me enjoy Hatred any more than I did when it first released? The answer to that is a little complex, as I'm personally a fan of the IDEA of Hatred, however it's a poorly executed idea that needs work. A sequel would be welcome if the developer listens to the feedback that they are getting (when they are getting it... I'm looking at you 1-2 sentence "top rated reviews"). With any luck, a future release would see a more colorful world with perhaps a built-in FPS mode since so many are enjoying the user mod, and a much better soundtrack filled with underground metal bands who are looking to get more publicity (if you need this, I can hook you up!) Likewise, better controller support. To end on a positive note, I was happy to see that BloodRedThrone contributed to the "heavy" style music in the Survival Mode, great band.
Rating: 3.0/5.0 - Average, can take it or leave it.The Horror Network
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