Hell Pie | PS4 Review

Normally a person wouldn't think of Hell as being a literal business. A place decked out with demon filled offices, and jobs catering to human torment. With a stock market all it's own, and Satan acting as the head of the company. That's exactly what you get though with Sluggerfly's take on Hell. In their game "Hell Pie" we bare witness to a corporate entity run by the king of the damned himself. A devilish dude who likes to keep his workers on blast. Harassing them for every dirty deed that he needs done. In this instance he goes searching for the in house baker only to ring up the demon of bad tastes. An impish little devil who is in the process of adding an extra ingredient to a bottle of milk. Sitting idly by in an office in some part of this establishment said demon was called up abruptly to fetch a pie for Satan's birthday. This leads to a curious collect-a-thon of sorts wherein ingredients must be found in various hub worlds through elevator access, and returned to the actual baker on duty to prepare the dessert.

From the beginning onward our little demon protagonist is let loose to explore, collect, and find the required ingredients in his own good time. This entails venturing out through elevators leading to hub worlds, and even working his way through Hell's corporate headquarters. He is not alone for the adventure though as a nasty little cherub named Nugget accompanies him as a slave pet. A pet that can be used as a weapon, a grappling device, and other useful things tied to the platforming elements laid out before them. Your dirty demon isn't without his own abilities either. He has the usual jump, double jump, dash, air dash, and wall climb. Things that allow him to get to where he needs to be without the aid of his cherub. He also sports horns that have their own uses tied to platforming, and exploration. Said horns can be upgraded via sacrifices at specific alters using certain innocent little creatures as the offering. Opening up new traversal possibilities such as the ability to run faster. In addition to all this the demon of bad taste is also packing a certain set of skills that can be unlocked in the skill tree by feeding his cherub buddy collected cans of candy meat. Skills like the amount of times you can swing before falling, or swing recovery.

Utilizing the tools of the trade, and those of your cherub companion will allow you to solve platforming puzzles as well as make it to checkpoints, teleportation pads, and the eventual ingredients. All packed into living, and breathing hub worlds made accessible via Hellevator. Within these distinctly different hub worlds, which vary in theme and inhabitants, you'll find locations, interactive objects, and NPCs of interest that can be scouted using your base horns. This allows for fast tracking where you need to be, and where it is you should go next. That being said it's best to explore thoroughly as candy meat can often times be found hidden along with the purple crystal currency and lucky cat idols in off beaten paths. Both high and low. Candy meat is of course what you'll need to progress through the more challenging platforming areas as it builds upon your demon's and cherub's mechanics. Whereas the crystals and cat idols have their own use in the way of cosmetics, and completion rewards.

Hell Pie's level design, and the traversal thereof is akin to games like Devil May Cry, Conker's Bad Fur Day, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It is that intricate in layout, and is filled not only with plenty of pitfalls, but also enemies and other hazards. The only saving grace are the checkpoints that you'll happen upon between sections of platforming. That, and teleportation pads which can be used to travel between other pads on the fly in a sort of Metroidvania fashion. Eventually when you do find an ingredient for the pie on your trek to fulfill your obligated duty you will be shown the way out at the end of each given hub world, and pointed back through short cinematics in the direction of Hell HQ. Wherein you'll take the next hub world elevator after having dropped off the current ingredient to Satan's baker. The end goal being that of finding all the ingredients so that the pie can be baked, and given to Satan for his special day.

Between the objectives and exploration there's plenty of eye candy to take in along the way. Nods to different things in entertainment history including references to horror movies like Cronenberg's "The Fly". Thankfully the game gives you all the time you need to take it all in as well as an infinite supply of lives. It is a copious collect-a-thon with lots to do, and lots to see. Leaving the game's only other task being that of collecting crystals that you can exchange for demon duds and cherub changes of clothes at Hell HQ's tailor. That and the golden lucky cat idols that are there for completionist's sake. 

The Verdict ...

I ended up really liking "Hell Pie". It reminded me a lot of "Conker's Bad Fur Day" with the adult humor and nods to other games, and films. The platforming was well done as well. At first I thought I was going to have issues with the cherub grapple, but once I realized the cherub grapples the air, it clicked. The level design in regards to the platforming is also arranged in a very good way that pushes the player to explore every nook and cranny. This leads to the spotting of certain details like the ones that pay homage to other entertainment industry offerings. 

Visually, the game has it's own unique style that harkens back to an 80's to 2000's era kind of game design. Games like Earthworm Jim come to mind when I think back on what I saw in Hell Pie. The trio of mechanics is noteworthy as well. Between the horns, the basic mechanics, and the cherub mechanics everything comes together in a truly complimentary way. The only issue, if any, were the moments when the camera was out of focus or forced behind the character into the environment. That, and the one time I got frozen in an interactable office chair, because of an approaching NPC with a cart. Past all that the game's solid. I liked it, and think you will too!