Hell Clock review: Racing the clock never felt so good

Hell Clock may exist in the same genre as Hades, Diablo 4, and Dead Cells, but it’s very much its own thing. It’s not a copy or clone by any means. The game boasts a unique story and sharp gameplay, and even its tedious grind towards the end is merely optional. I appreciate the flexibility of this game, and the more time I’ve spent with it, the more I’ve enjoyed it.

If you’re a fan of making perfect builds in Diablo 4, then Hell Clock will indubitably provide an enjoyable experience. While it’s not the greatest ARPG I’ve ever played, it certainly has a unique look and feel. It’s one I enjoy, and I think fans of the genre won’t want to miss out on it.

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Hell Clock’s story is an unforgettable historical fiction version of the Canudos Massacre

You don’t need to understand the Canudos Massacre to enjoy Hell Clock — my knowledge of it was mediocre at best going in — but it certainly does help immerse you in the story. The War of Canudos was a heated conflict between the First Brazilian Republic and the residents of Canudos, in Bahia. The people were branded “monarchists” and were slaughtered.

I quickly found myself researching more about the War of Canudos while playing this title (Image via Mad Mushroom)

This is very much a game of revenge, but it also follows a dark, gripping story with memorable lines of dialogue to get you thinking. Players control Pajeú as he seeks out his mentor in the underworld. His soul is trapped there, and you must slaughter your way through the depths of Hell itself to bring him back.

I like the blend of gameplay and story in Hell Clock, that’s for sure. Do you need to understand the war and historical actions to enjoy this game? Certainly not. But I do feel like it will certainly lead to people researching this tragic event in Brazil’s history.

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The clock ticks down in Hell Clock; or not, if you choose otherwise

The gameplay loop is pretty simple for Hell Clock. You start in a little village hub, where you select a starting skill loadout and a few pieces of equipment. When ready, you dive into the underworld, where the clock is constantly against you. Then, you grind through floors of enemies, picking up upgrades to your skills and a variety of passive buffs to your stats. While these aren’t exciting, they can be quite useful.

Each upgrade, each stat change is important. Make them count, so you can fight the clock longer (Image via Mad Mushroom)

The stat upgrades, honestly, I barely looked at. You can check in your status window, but the clock continues to tick down when paused (unless you turn that off, which I do recommend). You’ll break open crates and pick up tons of loot, but so much of it just felt pointless. More often than not, I’d get stat upgrades that weren’t better than what I already had.

Occasionally, you’ll get upgrades to your abilities, too; that’s where the real fun was for me, other than the relics. Whether you shoot faster or choose to throw more knives at anyone in an AOE circle around you, the skills all felt awesome.

It’s still very much a game of chance; you must make the best of whatever upgrades you get. I liked using the various gun skills, prompting my focus on shooting faster/using fewer resources, but it’s all down to what you get! Upon slaying one of the bosses of the game, you get more time added to the clock. When the clock reaches the end, you forfeit the run and return to your hub.

Perhaps you'll get lucky and find amazing Relics to equip (Image via Mad Mushroom)

This is where you can start unlocking a wide array of upgrade systems that will make the subsequent runs just a bit easier. You can make it harder by choosing Hardcore, or make it easier by turning off the Hell Clock. It’s entirely up to you, which I appreciate. I like that the game also caters to casuals. You still have to struggle through challenging waves of enemies and deadly bosses, but you don’t have to worry about the constantly moving timer.

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The dark, gritty aesthetic of Hell Clock is appropriate and visually appealing

Playing through this game made me think of pulpy comics of old. It paired nicely with the gritty, dark, bloody action that the game presents you with. The visuals pop out nicely, and overall, I was satisfied with how it looked. Each “region” of the underworld had its own visual style, and the sound effects were satisfying.

The colors and art style blend together to create a dark, almost hopeless environment, which won't stop us from putting things right, though (Image via Mad Mushroom)

It has a striking, sharp visual style, from the characters you interact with to the deadly bosses. Admittedly, some of the regular, weak enemies look bland and generic, but they don’t last long enough for that to matter. The rest of the presentation is phenomenal. It’s got a simple design, easily playable on a wide variety of machines, I imagine, but it also looks fantastic.

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Final Thoughts

Sure, I found amazing Relics, but not for the build I was going for! (Image via Mad Mushroom)

The flexibility of Hell Clock is arguably my favorite thing about it. You can set up some truly amazing builds, though it can take some time. Once I started unlocking Relics (equipment that provides passive bonuses), so many of the Relics I picked up were useless to me. It was almost always something that didn’t benefit my build.

I could still equip a few that offered stat bonuses, but it took me quite a while to find something useful. That doesn’t surprise me, though; it was the same way trying to find good, useful Uniques in Diablo 4, and similar titles. That said, I love how much freedom this game gives you.

There are all sorts of potentially devastating builds, and I look forward to going back to this and finding other great ways to play it. It may not break the mold in terms of gameplay — it’s pretty standard move-and-shoot ARPG gameplay fare — but it’s still a fun experience.

This is a game I can't wait to dive back into again. It quickly becomes "Well, just one more run. . ." (Image via Mad Mushroom)

While I don’t hate the clock, I do wish it had a slightly longer timer earlier in the game. I know you can improve how long you can stay down in a run, but it did feel a bit restrictive for the first few runs. That said, this game hooked me quickly. I always found myself wanting to go back for one more run in Hell Clock, to see if I could get just a bit farther, or find just a few more resources to improve my loadout.

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Hell Clock

Hell Clock brings an interesting historical fiction twist to the Roguelike/ARPG genre (Image via Mad Mushroom & Sportskeeda)

• Platforms: PC
• Reviewed On: PC (Code provided by Mad Mushroom)
• Developer: Rogue Snail
• Publisher: Mad Mushroom
• Release Date: July 22, 2025