Last Updated on Sep 8, 2025 @ 20:56:20 PM.
Recently, I got the opportunity to try out the roguelite horde-survivor game Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel, from the developer Games Farm, in which I was given access to different characters with the sole goal of surviving the hordes of Hel by acquiring different perks either relating to the certain character I chose or by the numerous Norse gods that supported me during my battles.
Throughout my time with Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel, I ventured through numerous battles in an effort to defeat the bosses at the end of each mission, and during these missions, I tried out as many abilities and upgrades as I could to test out the different combinations that were available to me.
Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel Gameplay is a Lot of Fun But Can Also be Very Stressful
During my time with Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel, I tried out each character, as many abilities as I could, and even the different combinations that they could create after obtaining them. For me, I found this to be incredibly fun, as the character-specific abilities and their upgrades were quite useful on their own, which is rare for a game like this.
Along with the character abilities being useful, the ability to gather powers from different gods was also pretty interesting, as it did remind me of games like Hades, as each god provided its own unique twist on different abilities, which could all benefit the player in different ways.
For me, I found mixing these different abilities was a very fun way to play the game, as it ensured that I had different forms of protection from the hordes of enemies that would attempt to end my run. Whether it be area-of-effect, direct attacks, or rotating abilities, they all provided an extra form of protection that made the challenging objectives slightly easier.
Unfortunately, that didn’t make the game entirely easy to beat, as understandably, there were a lot of enemies that would attempt to end the run by defeating me, and as much fun as this was, it did get quite stressful on a lot of occasions.
Although it was stressful to face down these hordes, the game wasn’t exactly unfair when it comes to how these hordes act, as the spawn rates were pretty reasonable and didn’t overwhelm me straight away, and the type of enemies gradually got stronger over the course of the run, rather than getting tougher quite fast and staying at that toughness throughout the run.
In terms of the actual gameplay, it did begin to get slightly boring after a long time playing, causing me to only play the game in short bursts, as for me, doing the same missions over and over again in an attempt to complete objectives to progress to different locations and earn different characters and gods can become quite dull after a long time.
The World of Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel Are All Uniquely Designed and Laid Out
Throughout Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel, the player will explore a few different locations, each with their own layout, unique events that could hinder the player, and unique bosses that await the end of their run. I attempted to complete each of these bosses during my time with the game; however, this was a challenge that I was unable to complete.
Understandably, some of these bosses required a lot of skill, some of which I didn’t have, so I was unable to beat all of these bosses before I wrote my review; however, I did attempt each of the locations that were on offer within Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel, and it is safe to say that each location has had a lot of effort put into creating it.
For me in a game like this, it is a big challenge to create a map that is both detailed and effective in terms of gameplay, but Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel does this well, as each location was interesting to play in, but it also provided its own challenges, as being able to loop the enemies and move towards chests, objectives, and other situations within the map felt like its own challenge rather than just completing objectives to move on.
In terms of overall design of the maps, each location felt entirely different from the last, as the layouts were rather varied, the locations themselves were very colorful and detailed, and due to these locations being set in other worlds from Norse mythology, it was fun to see these locations brought to life with unique twists and features that made them stand out from the rest.
Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel
Summary
During my time with Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel, I found the experience to be rather fun with the numerous different characters to try, along with the different abilities that could be granted to me to even the score against the enemy hordes.
However, I did find the game to only be good in short bursts, completing only a few missions each session, as the grind could get boring rather easily.
HOURS PLAYED: 12
PLAYED ON: PS5
- Easy unlock system that rewards progress.
- Lots of locations to discover, each with their own layouts and bosses.
- Plenty of options in terms of characters, abilities, and upgrades.
- Could get repetitive after a long period of playing.
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Liam is a Senior Editor, Writer, and Critic for Thumb Wars and has been working with the team since day one. Liam is a big fan of all things gaming, as you will catch him playing all of the new releases from every genre you can imagine. Whether you find Liam gaming just for fun or spending his free time streaming, you will always find a smile on his face when it comes to all things gaming.
