Hand of Doom is a stylish new dungeon crawler from indie developer Torple Dook and publisher of indie horror DreadXP. Its entire draw is just how incredibly 90s it is. Creative and Gothic UI reminiscent of Diablo, crunchy and low poly environments and visuals, digitised 2D models of real people walking about and deliberately clunky first-person dungeon crawling gameplay… it’s full of all the good stuff.
The experience on offer is what’s described as a ‘wizard simulator.’ Players control a lowly wizard that is experimenting with the dark arts and subsequently signing a blood contract. From there, you’re to travel across different realms and universes, taking on Druids, animated trees and super-imposing bosses known as Doomlords. Gradually, you’ll pick up spells and lore to add to your grimoire, mixing up the combat from otherwise being a typical melee affair. You’ll be chatting up enchanting witches,
What’s exciting and notable about Hand of Doom is just how oozing with style it is. A metal soundtrack backs your experience. Whenever you’re casting spells there are real recorded hands that make gestures as you utter each phrase of the incantation, fluidly moving between open palms, devil horns and the like. It goes entirely in on the bit, making it the most 90s PC game you’ve played in some time. is at times a little unwieldy to control as only keyboard inputs control which way you turn and whether you look up and down. Though don’t be deterred, wielding this beast is the name of the game and entirely earnest and charming.
Hand of Doom is another delightful horror experience under DreadXP’s publishing belt. It’s filled with genuinely funny writing and interactions as you observe the weird hierarchy of druids, wizards, witches and the like throughout the world. I’ve really enjoyed my time with the game thus far and am excited to get more stuck in and find out what other oddities await.
It’s available now on PC and is worth checking out if you want a weird, spooky experience.
About the Author
Charlie Kelly
She/Her, They/Them
Charlie loves her video games as much as she loves dumb, charming JRPG protagonists: probably way too much. You can often catch her spending too much time being emotional over LGBT stories in games. She also thinks Yakuza 6 is the best one.
