From Love to Hate – Hatred Review

The stars themselves said that Hatred will succeed. Scandalous phenomenon to the public., bloody idea, ban on sale in Australia, virtual taboo on Twitch, and a solid Adults Only rating (exclusively for fussy uncles, that is) – what could go wrong? It turns out that something could still go wrong, because the most controversial phenomenon in the industry didn’t turn out exactly as expected. There are contradictions, but in different aspects.

One of the hints on the game’s loading screens reminds: “You are not the hero.” Taken out of context, this phrase describes the actions of the main character perfectly. You see, our ward is a maniac, obsessed with the idea of ridding the world of disgusting people. In a sincere hatred, he spreads death and chaos on the streets of his city, shooting innocent people, setting gas stations on fire, and maybe even throwing cats into trees. Sending as many “dirty offspring” to the other world as possible before dying himself is his main goal for the evening.

Actually, that’s the whole game. And the further you go, the more depressing it is to see how it ruins its own potential. The antagonist is not developed, he has no personality, background, charisma, anything to hold on to. He’s just a dumb guy babbling rudeness – you don’t want to associate yourself with him, and it’s simply impossible to understand his motives, so you watch all the misadventures from the sidelines, without thinking or empathizing. Well, one cardboard shoots at another, what a tragedy.

The local level of cruelty seems even more frustrating in this situation. The gloomy tones and abundance of executions initially successfully cloud your mind, but after some time you realize that you haven’t seen anything excessively brutal. Moreover, almost all the techniques are extremely derivative. Shooting people in the face again, stomping on heads à la “American History X,” slitting throats, breaking necks, and so on. There is no reason to say “hey, this is too much,” nor is there any phenomenal detail in the depicted scenes – some GTA games sometimes deliver worse. The only difference is that killing civilians is demanded here, not allowed.

In general, we are not asking for a deep plot with total dismemberment, but when a sensitive topic is touched upon, whether we like it or not, we expect the development of thought. By the way, even Manhunt had something to say – Hatred, on the other hand, dedicating itself to violence, carries no value in this regard.

But on the gameplay front, things aren’t so bad. Mindless extermination of screaming crowds and police squads happens in a pleasant mechanic reminiscent of the first Postal, controlled literally with a couple of buttons, and the shootouts are dynamic and easy to master. For those who simply want to escape from everyday affairs, there is no better haven.

Another reason for delight is the destruction system. The walls here easily crumble under external impact, offering, um, space for tactical maneuvers, from improvised entrances to clever shots. Not that they are necessary here, but the ability to blow up half a block is still capable of causing excitement – and it’s hard to resist the abundance of unforgettable red barrels, canisters, grenades, and rocket launchers.

Unfortunately, the enemies often behave like a clueless herd, which means that most of the tricks they are trained in don’t work at all. For example, civilians know how to pick up weapons for self-defense – a very unexpected trick that can catch you off guard and cause a lot of trouble – but in most cases, they stupidly prefer the rifle under your feet and happily run to surrender to the bloodthirsty killer. It gets even more absurd when the special forces, skillfully surrounding a building, start poking holes in the walls without any visible purpose. Cannon fodder, what can you expect from it.

But what really ruins the picture is the widespread monotony. Each stage is a banal shooting of a certain number of wrong ones, pressing a couple of buttons, and escaping to another location. There are no special conditions on the levels, no unique situations. There are, however, side quests, but you probably already guessed what they consist of.

The means of killing the unfortunate are no less monotonous. There are already few types of weapons, and some are only given closer to the end of the game, like a flamethrower, which is almost useless by the time it appears. Plus, it would be nice to have more options for interacting with the victims – for example, taking people hostage: why call cops “living shields” if you don’t use them as intended?

All of this is compensated by a short duration – at a high level of difficulty, the credits will crawl across the screen somewhere around the end of the fifth hour of the game. The gameplay is prolonged mostly by the final missions, which are a blatant imbalance. Damn it, the “Hammers” spawn right on top of you!

Among the technical issues, excluding performance-related bugs, the camera stands out, especially on large distances. On small locations, it is a pure delight for the eyes – but on long distances, a syndrome begins. Hotline Miami 2, where enemies were hitting the player across the entire map, and he had to respond with blind shots.

It is worth noting the wonderful visual design at the end. The black and white color scheme emphasizes the game’s dark atmosphere, and splashes of color make the picture juicy and expressive, despite the boring level design. When the dark street is first illuminated by bright police “flashing lights,” it becomes clear that Hatred would be completely different without its style.

How many Poles does it take to cause a scandal in the gaming industry? We can’t say for sure, but the Destructive Creations team definitely didn’t have enough. Hatred is devoid of discussions about morality and cruelty – it is a mindless shooter that allowed itself a little more than some for the sake of fun. If you weren’t expecting more, then it will serve as entertainment for the evening.

It’s just a shame that they will trample the game in the mud much faster than they raised it to the heights.