REVIEW: ‘Hellfront Honeymoon’ is a Great Couch Co-Op Indie (PS4)

Something I always enjoy about indie games is the ability for the genre to reinvent what a game can be. With an ever increasing number of games dialing back to the simple days of competitive couch gameplay,  SkyGoblin Studios and Thunderful Games have stepped up to the plate to introduce their own breed of exciting competitive arcade shooter, called Hellfront Honeymoon. Albeit short and compact, this unique take on twin-stick shooting and tower-defense gameplay is incredibly refreshing and engaging.

We have no idea what a future space war will be like, but the people of Thunderful Games do. In the future, there will undeniable war and conflict across planets and space. There will be orbital bombardments, space marines, giant bugs, and territories to claim. Hellfront Honeymoon puts players in the midst of a solar system at siege, with humans fighting each other for territorial control. To do so, they have orbital starships to drop supplies and cutting edge firearms.

Hellfront Honeymoon does not have a narrative or story-campaign. Instead, it puts players straight into the action, placing them onto a hexagonal battlefield. Players are introduced to the easy-to-learn mechanics and can move and shoot like a traditional twin stick shooter. They can also destroy obstacles and shoot opposing enemies.

When players destroy an enemy position, such as a turret or a camp, a glowing honeycomb will appear and you can place your own tower, which are fired from orbit. You can then either create camps to gain more soldiers on the field or turrets to attack all enemy combatants. For the allied soldiers, all players need to do is point in a direction and tap a button to send the solider to the desired area. They will shoot all enemies on sight. But, you should be careful to avoid being crushed by the orbital bombardments of their own towers.

The buildings you construct in Hellfront Honeymoon is your lifeline. As long as there is one building left standing on the field, players can respawn. But when all of the buildings are destroyed, players will be eliminated and the game is over. Additionally, you can shoot through your environment, with different colored honeycombs being weaker than others. Using this destructibility mechanic will allow the players to make the best possible strategic choice when fighting the enemy.

Playing Hellfront Honeymoon is incredibly refreshing and innovative. Being able to multitask between actual combat and tactical tower placement is quite thrilling, especially as it happens at a lightning-fast pace to the tune of an aggressive 80’s synth-wave soundtrack.  The action is intense and fierce and the battle can immediately flip between assured victory and imminent defeat.

Destroying towers and securing positions is essential for survival, and standing still will mean certain death. The battlefield layouts and tower placements will also make a difference in the quickness of battle. Once players become familiar with the controls and flow of battle, Hellfront Honeymoon is a fantastic action experience. When playing with another player, that experience can become even more electrifying. The game sports a fantastic combat style, but it is hampered by a few missing elements.

Hellfront Honeymoon is a pure package. There isn’t a terrible amount of content and as mentioned before, there is no campaign. While there is a single-player mission mode and competitive mode, there isn’t much else in the way of content. I feel that with the fascinating gameplay mechanics and level design, there could have been a really strong single-player campaign made. The game is clearly inspired by 1980’s R-rated sci-fi and aggressive synth-wave soundtracks from artists like Carpentur Brut. It would have been neat to see a simple but neat story surrounded these battles taking place.

Hellfront Honeymoon, while light on content, is still a solid action experience that I recommend for those looking for something different, especially for those with other people to play. Its gameplay mechanics are incredibly refreshing and unique, and its presentation is sharp. Hellfront Honeymoon introduces new ideas to PvP and executes them very well. Here’s to hoping that a successor makes it bigger, badder, and better.

Hellfront Honeymoon is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Steam, Nintendo Switch.