With the release of its new DLC, Hell Clock showcases just how much it has improved since launch, leaving an even stronger impression than before.
It has been almost a year since my original review of Hell Clock, a brilliant action RPG with clear Diablo-inspired roots. Even then, it managed to stand out thanks to its strong identity and several interesting ideas.
At the heart of the experience are fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled runs made even more frantic by a timer that constantly pushes players to keep moving. Combined with automatic loot collection and a progression system built around a central hub, relics, and passive abilities, this design removes much of the downtime traditionally associated with the genre, resulting in gameplay that feels smooth, rewarding, and highly engaging.
As an added bonus, Hell Clock also delivers a mature and uncompromising narrative inspired by real historical events. Set in a hellish interpretation of the Canudos Massacre, the game follows Pajeú’s quest for vengeance across a three-act campaign that blends history and fantasy into a straightforward story capable of delivering a few genuine surprises.
That said, the game wasn’t without its flaws. The heavy reliance on randomized loot could become frustrating whenever the best relics rolled stats that didn’t fit the player’s build, while the steep stat scaling echoed some of the less appealing aspects of more traditional Diablo-likes. Technical issues also surfaced during the most chaotic encounters, with performance drops occasionally disrupting the flow of combat. For those reasons, I lowered my score slightly while waiting for the improvements promised by the developers in their detailed roadmap.
If you’re interested, you can read my original review. Here, however, I want to focus on the DLC and the improvements I hadn’t had the chance to experience at the time.
A DLC… and a Prequel
Hell Clock: Cursed War does not continue the story after the end of Act III. Pajeú’s journey had already reached a satisfying conclusion, and extending it would have been both difficult and, considering the nature of the narrative, arguably inappropriate.
For that reason, while Cursed War effectively serves as a fourth act, it unfolds as a prequel.
Many years before the War of Canudos, Pajeú fought in the Paraguayan War (1864–1870). Throughout the campaign, he witnesses the horrors of one of South America’s bloodiest conflicts. The army is composed largely of conscripts deceived by false promises of freedom upon their return. The generals show little regard for human life, sending children and elderly men to the front lines under horrific living and sanitary conditions. Many ultimately fall victim not only to exhaustion but also to the devastating cholera epidemic that swept through the army.
Beyond expanding Pajeú‘s backstory, the DLC places players on a battlefield that becomes increasingly corrupted and consumed by evil. Alongside demonic creatures, players will also face deeply unsettling enemies such as child soldiers.
What Changes in Terms of Gameplay?
Hell Clock: Cursed War leaves the core gameplay structure untouched. The gameplay loop and the system of building synergies between abilities remain fundamentally the same. Players gain access to a new hub, visually distinct from the original but functionally identical.
The new hub takes the form of a military encampment containing all the familiar progression systems. As in the base game, players can manage their equipment, Bell talents, Constellations, and Relics.
The fourth act follows the same structure as the previous three, featuring a familiar progression through mid-boss encounters and major boss fights. It introduces four new active abilities along with new relics designed to synergize with them.
In addition, Rogue Snail has added relics that are not tied to specific active abilities. Instead, these provide bonuses to multiple abilities simultaneously, provided they belong to the same category.
A Small Weakness
Unfortunately, since I returned to the game after a long break, I was able to progress using my old, fully upgraded build. Although I eventually incorporated one of the new abilities, I didn’t find the additions particularly impactful.
As a result, the relics specifically designed around the new abilities lose some of their value. By contrast, the more general-purpose relics become almost essential, or at the very least far more useful, for virtually any build.
Even so, Hell Clock: Cursed War encourages experimentation thanks to several excellent quality-of-life improvements.
Let’s take a closer look.
Quality Beyond Content
In my review nearly a year ago, I criticized Hell Clock for two specific issues: randomized loot and technical performance.
On the performance side, Hell Clock: Cursed War has made tremendous progress. During my playthrough of the fourth act, using a build focused on minions and countless visual effects, I experienced no frame drops, stuttering, or freezes whatsoever. My first experience with the base game suffered heavily from these problems, especially near the end of Act III. In contrast, Act IV remained consistently smooth despite the sheer number of enemies and visual effects on screen.
The loot system has also seen meaningful improvements. Previously, I had compared it to the early days of Diablo III, but the developers have clearly addressed many of those concerns.
Throughout the campaign, players now collect consumable items that serve two primary purposes. The first allows them to add an additional affix selected from a relic-specific pool. The second rerolls one existing affix at random, replacing it with another randomly selected one. While this mechanic may initially seem overly reliant on chance, the game provides such a generous supply of these consumables that players can reroll repeatedly until they obtain satisfying results.
Encouraging Replayability
Combined with the ability to freely redistribute both Constellation points and Bell talents, experimenting with entirely new builds has become significantly easier and far more accessible.
This ties directly into the Endless Nightmare system, where players create custom challenges by selecting combinations of positive and negative modifiers. These dungeons are quick, enjoyable, and highly rewarding, providing meaningful progression for builds, equipment, and character development.
More than anything else, they may be the strongest reason to keep playing after completing the campaign.
My Two Cents
Hell Clock: Cursed War is a DLC that certainly adds new content, but more importantly, it represents the mature version of Hell Clock. Rather than judging the fourth act, I prefer to reassess the entire project after nearly a year of patches and updates.
The fourth act expands Pajeú’s story through a compelling and coherent prequel. It introduces new abilities and relics while delivering another campaign that successfully preserves the pace and intensity of the original adventure. Considered on its own, however, the new content doesn’t fundamentally reinvent the gameplay, and some of the new abilities don’t integrate into established builds as naturally as expected.
The real strength of Cursed War lies elsewhere.
It arrives after nearly a year of continuous updates that have significantly improved the areas where Hell Clock previously fell short. Performance is now consistently solid, even during the most chaotic encounters. Loot management has become far more flexible, and creating or refining a build is considerably more satisfying than before. These improvements fundamentally enhance the overall experience.
For that reason, Cursed War is the perfect opportunity either to discover Hell Clock for the first time or to return after its original release. It isn’t the DLC alone that transforms the game, it’s the months of dedicated work Rogue Snail has invested in refining the experience.
Today, Hell Clock: Cursed War finally feels like the game it promised to be a year ago: a fast-paced, distinctive action RPG that confidently carves out its own place within the crowded Diablo-like genre.
Free review copy of this product received from the developers.
Hell Clock: Cursed War
PRO
- A prequel that expands Pajeú’s story with a strong historical backdrop
- Excellent quality-of-life improvements make experimentation much easier
- Significantly improved performance, even during the most chaotic encounters
- Endless Nightmare provide an engaging endgame
CON
- The new campaign doesn’t significantly evolve the core gameplay
- Some new abilities struggle to compete with well-established builds
8.5/10
