Hob

The puzzles aren't challenging and I almost let it go because it felt like a kids game. But you find out that it's not really about the puzzles and not really about the combat. It's the exploration. One of the things I love about puzzle games is when it itches that part of the brain where you find those secret little areas. THAT'S what this games does best. You HAVE to go back and check out those areas you couldn't reach before. You HAVE find out what that little tunnel area leads to that you can see in the distance. If you have that itch, this game wills scratch it.
Another thing of note that really kept my attention was the visuals. Unfortunately, they really don't fully come out until a little ways into the game play. Again, I thought it was a bit juvenile but it takes a turn man. Really tho, the visuals surprise you and their use of isometric view really makes it stand out from other games.

I could simply tell you that HoB is a great game and you should definitely play it and be done with it but that would be a disservice to the game i'd like to talk about it a little bit more than that.
HoB is adventure and exploration game with some light combat thrown into the mix. While combat is definitely weakest part of the game it is used sparingly throughout the game so i never becomes boring and bothersome . You have your light attack,heavy attack,block and dodge. Enemy variety is on a low side but again , it never gets old or boring because of how few combat encounters there are.
Main drive of the game is exploration and that's where HoBs magic is at . Game lacks any kind of conventional story telling, there's no spoken or written text or exposition but your character basically is woken up by a mechanical golem and tasked to reactivate and cleanse this half organical half construct city which is corrupted by some kind of 'evil' . You do that by solving various puzzles and slowly but surely waking up the city and getting rid of the purple corruption.
One would be forgiven for thinking that is a puzzle game but i would disagree . While your main mean of progressing throu the game is solving puzzles they are simple and pleasant enough to go through so you rarely get stuck and lost and this makes you feel this 'momentum' . You are always going forward , discovering new places and watching world get awaken. And this is there HoB nailed what it was going forward imho. You never get stuck on a over complicated long or boring puzzle and lose all intereset in what you there doing , it's constant excitement , wonder and feel of grand adventure and it's just a loveliest of times.
Visuals are stunning and you are always shown there you are going to go next , somewhat reminding me of what Dark Souls did where everything you can see is a playable zone you can reach . Music while simplistic and low key accompanies gameplay and visuals beautifully and is like a right amount of pepper and salt in a dish .
There are few technical issues some people do experience but for me game largely ran fine. Few frame dips here and there but game m ran at 144 fps most of the time . Admittedly it tasks system quite high keeping in mind that it doesnt go for crazy life like graphics so that is something to keep in mind.
Overally HoB is a magical time and if i would give games numerical scores it would be a high number.

HOB ... A HOB's Tale
Sup all ! This game is super nice and very underrated ! It plays kind of like Mario meets Zelda meets Fez ! The controls are real good and I also would highly recommend using a Controller to play this one ! The game has a very console feel to it a bit of old school meets new school so a controller works better but it can be played by keyboard and mouse .
The GFX are real nice and way easy on the eyes with lots of lush and colorful landscapes and vibrate colors . As for the game play its a mixed game with action combat and puzzle solving and exploring and collecting . You also open up areas of the map and find upgrades for HOB along the way with your exploring and puzzle solving . You can upgrade his/her Skills as you adventure on ! Truth there is no real hand holding in this game so you have to be on the lookout for things that stand out or paths to go down or you will be running around in circles lol
There are a few bugs like getting stuck on things or ladders or walls but they added a unstuck or respawn in the menu. I have had only one crash so far and there is off and on fps drops on some areas but its not enough to say the game is unplayable and can be hardly noticeable . Also if it crashes there are so many save points if you have to reset due to a crash you don't have to go out of your way to get back to were you died or the crash happened.
Just sucks Runic games was closed down.... I really would have like to seen a HOB 2 and maybe some fixes to this one to make it rock solid.... But all and all I give this one a 8/10 score ! A real must play if you like these types of games !

Zelda combat and Mario platforming with a unique art style and beautiful music.
I mean... do you hate good games?

Hob is one of those rare games that you don't want to end. The swansong for Runic Games, and what a way to go out. Hob feels somewhat old school in design. It tells you very little, but it shows you a lot, so you begin with a sense of mystery about the world and you learn with the character. It's such a confident design, and it works.
In Hob you control a control a character who's awakened by a mysterious stone sentinel. The sentinel leads you through the game's prologue, and you soon learn that you're in metrovania land, a kind of Super Mario World made from cogs and gears where progression allows traversal to places you could previously not reach. While this is a tried and tested design, Hob distinguishes itself through the design of its world. It's a beautiful place, full of vertiginous drops and vistas that disappear into the mist, a place where pressing buttons and pulling levers can drastically move entire sections of the world around, often in breathtaking ways. The world is a jigsaw of interlocking pieces, and pathways open up in the most devious manner. Puzzles feel clever but never obtuse.
The world is very open, and eventually you'll be faced with a variety of possible directions to explore, yet the game is good at leading you towards your goal, if that's your preference. What it keeps hidden are secret places, hidden ledges, and mysterious caves that contain several of the games various upgrades, including currency with which you can buy additional combat abilities. It took me 15 hours to beat the game, and there were still secrets that I'd yet to uncover. Some of them are well hidden.
Combat quickly turns from button mashing into a dance, with enemies that will smash your face in if you take a frontal approach. To aid you there are various moves available, from dashing and jumping to warping and using weapon combos, several of which are unlocked in your home cave over time. Combat is pretty satisfying, although there's nothing too challenging. I played on Hard and had some enjoyable fights, but nothing insurmountable. Normal would strike me as a bit too easy, frankly, so don't be afraid to crank the difficulty a bit which encourages you to use the various moves at your disposal. You can change it at any time.
There were a few times where lining up jumps in 3D space were a little frustrating, but generally it's very forgiving of mistakes. If you barely miss a ledge you'll grab onto the edge and pull yourself up, and dying simply means respawning nearby.
Hob is an enjoyable and memorable game, one of the best I've played lately. If you like exploration of a beautifully constructed world, with enjoyable but fairly forgiving combat, you won't regret it.

One of the best platformers i've played in years. The combat is also pretty dang good.
I only got 2 gripes:
1: the camera can sometimes clip through objects and depending on the area that can really screw with the combat areas.
2: the keyboard and mouse control schemes are a little wonkey, and you can't rebind the keys to match where you want them to be. CONTROLLERS ARE DEFINiTELY RECOMMENDED.

It's been a while since I played something so engrossing. The puzzles aren't too challenging or too easy, just the right amount. Had me hooked from the first second. I cannot recommend this enough!