Horror Soulslike Hellpoint Delayed To Q2

The list of games feeling the sting of the COVID-19 pandemic grows by the day. However, in Hellpoint‘s case, this might actually be a good thing. After Cradle Games released the sequel/prequel chapter Hellpoint: The Thespian Feast back in February, the feedback was very harsh. The common complaining was that combat felt sluggish and lacked weight. It’s basically the same complaint after I played Hellpoint at PAX South. They’ve worked a lot on improving The Thespian Feast, but a worried that many of the combat issues were too integral to be fixed before the initially scheduled April released.

In a statement recently released by Cradle Games, that April release date has now been pushed back to Q2 2020. While sad and certainly a letdown for fans looking forward to the unique occult sci-fi setting, the silver lining is that Cradle Games is using the extra time to polish the game. From the official announcement:

The release of Hellpoint is being postponed for reasons you are almost certainly aware of. The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting businesses worldwide, and, unfortunately, Cradle Games are feeling the strain as well. Worry not though; Hellpoint won’t be delayed for long. The game, previously set to be released on April 16, is now scheduled for release before the end of Q2 2020. We know you are disappointed by this sudden delay. Believe us—we’re equally frustrated having to do this at such short notice. However, the delay presents an opportunity to release an even better game this summer. Everyone at our studio is excited to use this additional time to further polish the game, and also address the feedback we have gathered from players of The Thespian Feast, making improvements that we feel will make Hellpoint a better gaming experience for everybody.

While waiting isn’t fun, I do hope they take the time to improve a lot of the features that made the game feel sluggish. It’s no easy task, but with an extra couple months it could feel really smooth. If you want to check out Hellpoint: The Thespain Feast now for free, you can find it on Steam by clicking here.