My Playtime: 31.4h (100% achievement, finished the game)
- Castle Hammerwatch: 10.6h
- Sun Temple: 4.9h
- Shaftlocke Tower: 15.9h
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (28 achievements).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.

Hammerwatch Anniversary Edition is a top-down, hack-and-slash game where you select from a number of classes to play with to finish a campaign. The game offers 3 campaigns with different settings.

Pros:
- 4 difficulties
- 7 characters to choose from
- 3 campaigns
- Upgrades to customize your build
- A lot of secrets

Cons:
- It can be hard to figure out where to go next sometimes
- The game can be repetitive after a while

Specs
Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

Yes.
If you enjoy a game that focuses on dungeon delving that focuses on combat, buy this game.

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Despite using pixelated visuals, Hammerwatch Anniversary Edition takes a more realistic approach to its design. It seems to try to retain the original game's visual style while improving the quality. The approach works well; the visuals capture the dungeon theme perfectly and the dim lighting improves the atmosphere. However, some areas can be too dark to see due to the poor lighting.

The game has a different story based on the campaign that you played. I don't think the story for each campaign is related to each other, but they are still in the same universe. It will give you a premise at the beginning and a conclusion at the end. As a game that isn't focused on the story, I'd say that it was good enough.

Gameplay
The gameplay differs based on the class that you choose. You can choose one out of 7 classes with different skills and playstyle. The game doesn't tell the difference between each character, although you might be able to deduce which is which since the classes are pretty commonly used in other games. Both melee and ranged choices are available.

You can customize your character. I'm not talking about how you can change your character's color, but you can buy coins to either upgrade your stats or learn new skills. Once you upgrade everything to max, the game will be a cakewalk, although since the resource is limited, you need to consider which one to prioritize. Moreover, there isn't a skill reset, so you need to spend your upgrades carefully.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3411537451

The game offers 3 campaigns: Castle Hammerwatch, Sun Temple, and Shaftlocke Tower. You can't transfer your progress from one campaign to another; you must start a new save per campaign. This makes the early game to be fairly repetitive, especially since progression is slow. However, that was understandable since the balance would be off otherwise.

A lot of secrets exist in the game. You can find broken walls or walls that can be passed through to find some items. These items tend to be useful for your run, and since the resource is limited, you might not want to miss any. However, sometimes progression is also locked behind these secrets, making it confusing to progress if you don't know what to look for. I had to walk around in the last two campaigns because I didn't know where to go next.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3021894729

I like the in-game map. It covers a vast area, meaning that you don't have to waste time exploring an area that you have explored if you are getting lost. This also makes it easy to figure out where to go next since it labels almost everything. Breakable walls also show up on the map once you are close enough, and you can even use it to view scattered coins that you might have missed; coins can blend well with the ground sometimes, making it hard to see. Lastly, the map was displayed on top of the in-game screen with a lower opacity. This makes it possible to see the map while moving around.

Enemies
Enemies are tough. Of course, there are easier enemies for you to kill, but some can be troublesome to beat due to their damage or attack pattern. You need to learn their attack pattern first before you can find an opening to land a hit. This is especially true if you are playing a melee character. Moreover, enemies tend to come in swarms, sometimes turning the game into a bullet hell. Fights will be chaotic at times, especially if you are the type who rushes into a room. It's not hard to get killed by normal enemies if you are not careful.

Traps can kill you. Sometimes, they can be annoying since they will kill you in one hit. Moreover, treasure chests and other items tend to be hidden behind the traps, forcing you to navigate through them. Luckily, these traps also can kill enemies, so you can just lure them into it for an easy kill.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3024506827

Bosses are unique, but their difficulty depends on your upgrade. If you don't upgrade the right stats or skills, you might have a difficulty to beat them. However, the opposite is also true: having all upgrades means that the boss will be easy to beat. I didn't even budge an inch when I beat the last boss of the Shaftlocke Tower campaign because of this.

Paying attention to the boss's attack pattern is important, although you can always cheese the boss. If you have a high DPS, you can just attack the boss without worry as long as you stock up enough resurrection items. You'll be resurrected with the boss still having their HP intact from your last encounter. If you run out of resurrection items, the game will ask you to either load from the last checkpoint to continue. For boss fights, this is usually in the boss' room.

Length and Difficulty
I finished all the campaigns in 31.4h. The game offers 4 difficulties. I played the hardest one, and although I faced difficulties from time to time, I don't think the game was that hard to beat in this difficulty. The only annoyance is the boss' damage since they can kill my character in a few hits, although it's still doable. Whenever I died, I always felt like it was my fault, and that I could find a way to improve. Combat was so fluid and it's easy to move your character to wherever you want.

Hammerwatch Anniversary Edition is a solid hack-and-slash game. It has a lot of content and you can even prolong it by replaying the game with different characters. Combat was so fluid and it felt as if you were in control of your character with the upgrades. I would recommend it to those who enjoy dungeon-delving games with a focus on combat, and maybe hack-and-slash fans too.