Hard Reset has the best graphics you’ve ever seen from an indie developer PERIOD. Starting with the main menu, you become captivated. Then, once you start the game, you are reminded of how much you love interactive environments. Absolutely everything in the game is a model. The barrels, the tires, the empty jugs of bleach. Every object you see is actually there. Nothing is a static part of the level. And the physics for these items behave wonderfully. Even to the point that I grenaded a stack of tires and watched every tire bounce a few times on the ground before stopping. I could literally write a 1000 word review just praising the graphics, but I will restrain myself so that I can share with you the other details that make this game EPIC leaving you with this last nugget. Those who buy the game and start playing, look up. It is breathtaking.
When you start the game, you only have 2 guns. One that shoots physical ammo and one that shoots electrical ammo. These will be the only 2 guns you have all game (but don’t freak out just yet… hear me out). However, as you earn and collect experience, you can stop at terminals that appear periodically in the game and upgrade them. So the assault rifle that you start out with can be upgraded into a shotgun, grenade launcher, rocket launcher and more. As you hold that weapon (whether physical or electrical) you can scroll to the different upgrades you purchased. As you do, not only does your crosshair change for each upgrade, but the gun transforms before your eyes.
Even though the game is mostly linear, there are a few places where you have to do a little exploring. As you do, you will find the most intuitive help/hint system I have ever seen. The hints follow their objective as you look around. There is also a quest indicator that remains hidden. If you ever get lost, just a click of the button and you know where to go once more.
Enemies come in all shapes and sizes, but they are all mechanical. The metal clicks and clacks that you hear as they run, fit the game perfectly. And as you bloweth thine enemies up into itty bitty pieces, you can see how well that the developer crafted their internal components to look totally real. Bigger enemies will come as you get further in the game, but they all are difficult to defeat. There is nowhere to hide from these bad guys, so just keep your eyes peeled for any electrical structures on the wall that you can destroy. These structures will electrocute your enemies and help you substantially in your attempts to defeat them.
