It takes a lot for an action RPG to stand out given how packed the genre is right now. The upcoming Hell Clock, recently debuted and featured in The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, is seemingly banking on its striking, historical setting; a dark fantasy dive into Brazilian history, circa 1986. (The name "Hell Clock" is also doing some good work).
Hell Clock might wrap itself in fantasy trappings and sharp Mike Mignola-esque comic art, but it feels like developer Rogue Snail is trying to get people to look at a particularly hellish part of Brazilian history here. The Canudos war, fought between 1896 and 1898. Although ‘war’ seems more like a euphemism, as it led to the settlement of Canudos (once home to 25,000 people) having 99.4% of its population exterminated by the Brazilian state army. For extra authenticity, the game will be presented in full Brazilian Portuguese with English subtitles.
While the trailer keeps things vague, it sounds like you’ll be diving into hell to save the souls of people lost in the conflict, using an assortment of weaponry (including revolvers and whips) and traditional Catholic holy relics to boost your chances of making it deep enough to help anyone. While there’s a lot of standard undead and demonic beasties to bash, the environments seem to be grim echoes of the real world, including ghost trains and still-active battlegrounds. It’s challenging material, and not every studio can pull off something fantastical while also not treating real, bloody history lightly, but Brazilian natives Rogue Snail seem the right people to try.
It’s deeply grim subject matter, especially for a studio best known for its cheerfully bouncy, Saturday morning cartoon-themed looter shooter Relic Hunters series. The trailer hints that you’ll be rolling back the clock and standing against the grinding weight of history and the invading government forces. It’s heavy stuff for a fast-paced hack n’ slash RPG where you shoot and stab a bunch of demons, but not the weirdest I’ve seen. ACE Team (the oddball studio behind Zeno Clash and Rock Of Ages) did something similar with Chilean history and folklore in the (underrated, IMO) Abyss Odyssey.
Hell Clock is set to plumb the dark depths of history this coming summer, and you can wishlist it on Steam now.
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