[CREDIT](google.com)
http://www.runicgames.com/images/hob/unfurls/facebook-share-image@2x.png
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>After achieving success with the Torchlight rolera saga, Runic Games is committed to adventure in a game that drinks more than Zelda, but also has its own (and interesting) ideas.
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**If we talk about conventions in videogames, it is usually easy to divide them among those that arise as a result of chance, for a practice that is standardized after being successfully tested (how to recover life automatically when you stop being attacked), and that on the contrary they are born of a logic that dictates that something must be of a certain way if a certain effect is looked for. The adventures , for example, must pass in worlds of certain amplitude, that require capacity of orientation and a few hours of our time to be discovered in depth. After all, how could we call them adventures without the trip and consequent learning? But this kind of method, like the other, is also amenable to revisions. Zelda it went from nourishing the initial concept of Hyrule with ever larger size, better differentiated zones and urban centers with more life, to reinterpret it through different types of structure or progression.**

**This reformulation is more severe if we leave the saga created by Miyamoto and we go to works like those of Team ICO , which deconstruct the adventure and then focus only on some of its elements. Even more contemplative experiences like Journey or Abzu, away from the prototype action adventure that over the years has also been cemented outside of Nintendo with titles such as Alundra, Beyond Good & Evil or Okami, propose trips full of discoveries at a playable and narrative level, making their mark without needing so many hours or land. It is an interesting alternative that contrasts with that eagerness to create ever larger worlds that sometimes leads developers to suffer to stop filling them with relevant things to see. A problem that extends to different genres, from RPGs to shooters, and for which Breath of the Wild found some solutions this year. But not all have the same resources to execute something like this, so it is necessary to resort to other tricks. And that's where Hob comes in right.**
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[CREDIT](google.com)
http://img2.meristation.as.com/files/imagecache/inline/imagenes/general/hob_01.jpg?1507175445
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**Founded by veterans in the field of action RPG, Runic Games was unveiled a little less than a decade ago thanks to Torchlight , heir to the Diablo school that was succeeded by a sequelaccording to many able to rival Blizzard on their own terms. Hob, however, has little or nothing to do with those games. The superior perspective (something more lax here), the taste for bright colors and specific aspects of the design may give away the hand of the studio, but far away is the emphasis on the combats, statistics and the dungeon. Very different influences do not take long to be noticed in a work that already from the Steam page recommends being played with command (although in our case we have opted for the PS4 version). Hob is an adventure that fits much better in the list of games mentioned during the introductory paragraphs, displays ideas and mechanics that would not be out of place in a Zelda or similar. But in the process it also shows that the change of registration is not only motivated by the intention to appeal to another kind of audience, but because Runic Games really has new things to contribute to this genre.**
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<h3>The moldable world: Exploration through change</h3>
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**Retaking the thread of the conventions, a rambling on the subject would hardly be complete without its allusion to the monomite and that proposal on the journey, evolution and triumph of the hero in every adventure worth its salt passes through recurring stages. It is something also present in Hob, despite its self-imposed plot austerity : the game completely dispenses with dialogues and is intentionally vague when it comes to posing its background , although it does not stop telling a story and marking several of the boxes that connect so many legends to each other. However, the grace here is that this evolution is shown in a much clearer way in the world itself than in the figure of the hero. Obviously, he (and by extension through the command, us) is the engine that moves the story forward with his actions, but Hob recreates more than usual in what they mean for the environment that surrounds him. Hybrid between nature and technology, the world created by Runic Games is made up of large pieces of assembly that give rise to plains, forests or lakes if they are connected to each other using the appropriate mechanisms.**
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[CREDIT](google.com)
http://img3.meristation.as.com/files/imagecache/inline/imagenes/general/hob_02.jpg?1507175453
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**Beyond the effectiveness of the approach to stand out and offer something original, Hob uses it to solve some practical problems that often face the adventures. First, it organically controls the progression , linking the zones' access to our ability to open them with the game's language (that is, interacting with objects and solving environmental puzzles) instead of at arbitrary moments in the plot. The development finds a good balance between linearity and flexibility since, although there is a series of pre-established steps, it also gives a lot of freedom with the order of many objectives and the player has a very active role in interpreting and unraveling the design. The simile of the world is often used as a puzzle, a puzzle that distributes its pieces on the table so that we can then fit them. Metroidvania, an adventurous subgenre with emphasis on acquiring skills that work like keys, are essentially this, but Hob gives another twist: although there are techniques that unlock areas (like breaking weak walls with our robotic fist, or reaching points special with an electromagnetic hook), here the idea is to transform the world so that it allows us to progress.**
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<h3>Deploying the design: Micro and macro-transformations</h3>
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**Going into detail, and leaving the fighting aside (they will have their own explanation later), the method of advancement in Hob is divided into two types of actions, which we can define as " micro-transformations " and " macro- ". transformations . " The first form the bulk of the game and are all those operations dedicated to achieving an immediate result in the area we are in: they are activated by taking batteries to devices without power, pushing rotating mechanisms, activating switches, etc. They are simple actions , constantly repeated, but the key does not lie in what , but in how they are introduced as part of the design. The argument austerity also moves to the playable level, and beyond the specific indications of a certain secondary character (again, without the need for dialogues) and the little intrusive work of the interface, Hob invites us to look at the scenarios, understand our account which elements fail or are absent, and we do something about it. Although of humble technical invoice, the graphical section  does a great job transmitting this class of ideas without words , something to which the aforementioned repetition contributes, but above all the clarity of the visual design .**
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[CREDIT](google.com)
http://img2.meristation.as.com/files/imagecache/inline/imagenes/general/hob_03.jpg?1507175458
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**For the regulars to the genre it is probably a disappointment to find out that the difficulty never escalates too much , but the fact that we can be for hours wandering, observing and solving the small puzzles that alter the scenarios without any interruptions or tutorials is a good compensation for it. Although in other areas they are very different, Hob shares with the light adventures like Journey or Abzu that desire to immerse us in their world, cut unnecessary distractions, let us explore at our own pace and learn without being taken by the hand unless it is strictly necessary. It even dedicates strategic positions to serve as lookouts where the protagonist can rest while the music, as a rule in the background, is placed in front and the camera looks for the best way to focus a piece of the area we are traveling, or we will travel during the next minutes. Enjoy this contemplative facet is vital to enjoy Hob as a game, because although it also has plataform, combats and small doses of dungeon (very light , little to do with Zelda in that area), in practice works as a fusion that does not aspire to the peaks of other proposals, but at your own level of serenity.**

**As for the "macro-transformations", evidently they occur less frequently, because they are responsible for adding explorable areas to the map. Sometimes they are visible from far before, but distributed to different heights, so they are not accessible until we overcome a chain of steps that allow us to reposition the pieces to build an increasingly larger world. These events are treated as such, and have less qualms about taking control of us to enjoy brief sequences in which large blocks rise and fill the horizon with new content. Some of them are particularly ingenious, since they not only show the surface section, but they also simulate a momentary pass through the inertia of the ascent to show an appetizer of what awaits in the underground section and put the honey on our lips. Most of these extensions take place on pedestals prepared to use items claimed in other areas, but later in the game there are other methods to reach new territories, such as the use of pipes to drive water to dry areas.The end of the game is accessible without needing to get to see the whole map , but precisely this peculiar way of opening up through it makes it entertaining to do it anyway.**
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[CREDIT](google.com)
http://img4.meristation.as.com/files/imagecache/inline/imagenes/general/hob_04.jpg?1507175466
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<h3>The importance of well-used size</h3>
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**And is that another advantage of this method of enlargement is precisely that it serves to maintain the sense of wonder over time without the need to shoot the scale to uncomfortable or laborious ends. Several sessions after starting (it is easy to leave at 8-10 hours even leaving enough optional content aside), the world continues to draw corners and surprises from a hat that is always in front of our noses, but whose interior we can not see the whole the end of the function. This does not negatively affect the exploration because there is a teleportation system between certain key points and the constant opening of shortcuts lightens navigationdespite having more and more useful space to cover. Backtracking is the order of the day, but thanks to the handling of our protagonist and the map that is always a button away, in the end we can go to any corner of the world in five minutes or less regardless of our point of departure. Something very important, since without a more predominant narrative load, or characters with whom to talk or who receive messages, this navigation is what decides if the player remains stuck in command.**

**Hob counteracts the apparent lack of events (outside the expansions and the brief final climax) in a way not really that different from Breath of the Wild: each corner tries to offer something that justifies the trip there even if it does not translate into one of the obligatory steps to open the way to the credits. Given its deliberately vague nature, going around without receiving the kind of reward we seek can turn into a frustrating process quite quickly. That is why the world, apart from its puzzles and visual charms, has a series of collections that are distributed throughout the map so that we are continuously getting something of profit. These can range from the classic life improvements, ripped off from bright plants, to robotic cores that serve to expand the energy bar, through schemes that allow learning optional combat techniques or create new costumes for our protagonist. None of this is essential in a strict sense, but not getting at least something can make progress difficult in some points. Although that takes us to ...**
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[CREDIT](google.com)
http://img2.meristation.as.com/files/imagecache/inline/imagenes/general/hob_05.jpg?1507175476
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<h3>Conflicts: Fighting with yourself</h3>
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**The combat of Hob is one of the most problematic points when recommending the game. But not because it is bad, or simple, or inconsequential, but because it can be any of those things or none depending on the player. Leaving the subject for the end has been something intentional because, while all the comments so far clearly seen the vision of the study, here it is difficult to find the same degree of commitment and the game does not finish blunting as a result. At a basic level, it has the ingredients to work well: the handling responds as it should, the centering is efficient (although rarely necessary given the aerial perspective), there are two varieties of attack (swords and a punch that can be loaded), as well as two varieties of evasive movements (roll and use an instant teleportation), and from a certain point we can also remove pieces of armor to some enemies using the aforementioned electromagnetic hook. Then, on this basis, the schemes allow multiple improvements such as using a shield, increasing the speed of reloading the punch or turning teleportation into an attack, among other things.**

**The conflict resides in that, although several of the enemies have been designed to take advantage of these abilities, their level of aggressiveness can be modified from the options at any time . Note the nuance that this is not a difficulty in the usual sense (increase your life and attack power), but something more oriented to the pace and intensity of combat. But in either case, smoothing the encounters (or directly ignoring them, something possible in most of the game) can reduce them to mere distractions between puzzles,  affecting not only the value of the fights themselves, but the exploration itself by minimizing the benefit that all those skills and improvements can bring us. Of course, you can also turn the argument around and pose it as another tool that the study puts in our hands for greater adaptation. Some players will have less skill, and / or they will want to spend more time in the puzzles than in fighting. There are not even bosses to use waiting in the mini-dungeons, so definitely the focus of the game has never been there. But at the same time it is a pity that something with good ideas in its foundations can go unnoticed by its inability to claim more forcefully its place in the game.**
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[CREDIT](google.com)
http://img3.meristation.as.com/files/imagecache/inline/imagenes/general/hob_06.jpg?1507175485
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**In the end, the greatest incentive to fight is almost always the simple satisfaction of beating our opponents, which besides rewarding us with a calmer exploration, life and items exchangeable for improvements (something halfway between money and experience), also plays in favor of that idea that in Hob the transformation manifests itself more in the world than in the hero: animals and other friendly creatures begin to repopulate the areas that we have cleared of enemies, generating a subtle but pleasant sense of achievement that for some can have as much validity as material awards. It is something that marries the naturalistic proposal of the game, and reaffirms it as an adventure that does not try to deal with other adventures, but rather creates its own space. Of course it will not be worth it for everyone, and being a fan of Zelda or similar games does not guarantee that Hob is a safe bet despite the mime that has clearly put Runic Games in it, but at least manages to distinguish itself and not offer the same under another package.**
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**Unfortunately, we can not close without referring to the technical problems that Hob suffers in its current state (this analysis has been made based on version 1.12 of PS4). The framerate is the main affected, with abundant slowdowns even in situations where there are no enemies on the screen, which seldom weighs down the game at the playable level, but it does tarnish a visual section so precious that it deserves better performance to show off. In the same way, although less frequent, we can also find  glitcheshow to fit into the geometry of the stage, something that the studio is certainly aware of because it has included a reappearance command that takes us back to the last point of control. And continuing with the options, the changed parameters (such as the difficulty selector or the sound balance) are not saved between sessions, so we must re-adjust them every time we reboot. Since we live in the era of the patches, it is possible that some or all of these problems are solved in a matter of days, but it never hurts to signal their presence. Especially when they get in the way of enjoying an experience that otherwise knows how to do many things well.**
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[CREDIT](google.com)
http://img1.meristation.as.com/files/imagecache/inline/imagenes/general/hob_07.jpg?1507175496
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<h3>conclusion</h3>
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>>What's new in Runic Gamespark the roleo to take us adventures to a universe as beautiful as changing. The scenarios are transformed in front of us to offer us more and more environments, dangers and also tools with which to face them. Its mixture between exploration, plataform, resolution of puzzles and combats does not push with excessive force in any direction, but in the process it builds something fresh and charming. One moment you can remember Zelda, another one to ICO, and the next one to Journey, which means that you have good sources of inspiration, and that you also sneak into a space not as saturated as that of other genres. However, some lack of commitment to the difficulty and importance of the fights, as well as their technical roughness, prevent you from jumping to the next level and rubbing elbows with the bigger ones. But nevertheless,Hob is still a highly recommended experience for those who enjoy traveling to exotic places, putting their neurons to good use and deciphering the secrets of a world that does not want us inside it to tell us stories that we have already heard elsewhere, but simply to to play.
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<h3>The best</h3>

* Scenario transformations are witty and create memorable moments.
* It goes straight to the point, good exploration and puzzles with minimal interruptions.
* The great artistic direction, of great beauty and successful use of colors.
* Even in the background, the sound section is careful and sometimes traps with its melodies.

<h3>Worst</h3>

* The combat system and improvements could give more of itself.
* Blurred by clear framerate problems and some glitches.
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http://images.eurogamer.net/2013/articles/1/7/7/5/4/1/9/torchlight-developer-teases-its-next-game-hob-1439837082560.jpg/EG11/thumbnail/1200x630/format/jpg/1775419.jpg
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https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iCqnil4q6Hg/maxresdefault.jpg
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https://www.newgamenetwork.com/images/uploads/gallery/Hob/hob_01.jpg
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https://www.gamersnexus.net/media/k2/items/cache/3ad0a2e47111012ed7b783bac1559565_XL.jpg
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https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/007/503/543/large/tim-swope-hob-shots-prison-01.jpg?1506577786
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https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sDKCeBs7zEA/maxresdefault.jpg
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1-6  [IMAGECREDIT](google.com)



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THANKS FOR READING, ALSO CHECK OUT MY PREVIOUS REVIEW ON [HELLBLADE: SENUA'S SACRIFICE (PC)](https://steemit.com/gaming/@juliusfatai/hellblade-senua-s-sacrifice-pc)



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