Hydra Slayer
| Hydra Slayer | |
|---|---|
| Stable game | |
| Developer | Z |
| Theme | Fantasy (Greek mythology), Hydras, Mathematics |
| Influences | MathRL |
| Released | 26 Jul 2010 (1.0) |
| Updated | 12 Nov 2016 (17.1 (free), 18.0 (paid)) |
| Licensing | GNU GPL v2 |
| P. Language | C++ |
| Platforms | Linux, Windows, Android, OSX |
| Interface | ASCII, NotEye |
| Game Length | ~50 min (small), ~5 hr (big) |
| Official site of Hydra Slayer | |
In Hydra Slayer your task is to enter Hydra Nest and clear it. As a slayer you wish to demonstrate your profession is not obsolete nowadays. Multi-headed monsters have diminished recently but now they have returned and again threaten mankind. Lots of naive fighters went to battle hydras. They were very well provisioned, courageous and mighty but unprepared. Ancient art of hydra slaying is not an easy task. You go to show how really important is knowledge about those beasts.
Official site features history of hydra slaying tools' development. It is quite interesting to read and will give you many hints how to effectively use items found in game.
Gameplay
Player needs to kill all hydras on a level to be able to descend. To slay a beast all heads must be cut. The trick is magical cutting weapons cannot cut any more heads than a hydra has. Cut not enough and more will be regenerated. Each fight boils down to finding a combination of attacks that yields a kill while sustaining least wounds. First it is easy since hydras are small. Deeper into the Nest one will need to think more about choosing best attacks since enemies there tend to have quite a lot of heads.
The game features a number of very useful items to help you in battle. Runes of Fungification, runes of Decapitation, potions of Power Swipe, potions of Weapon Charge, scrolls of Big Stick, scrolls of Transmutation and several more. Most are unique to environment of Hydra Slayer.
The game has two parts. The 'small game' consists of the first few levels, after which there is the first boss fight. After winning the small game you can try to show that you are the true master of hydra slaying and continue into the 'big game', which features many more levels with special topologies, lots of unique hydra slaying artifacts, and hydras with many special powers.
Races
As of version 12.0 player is free to choose one of five races: human, centaur, echidna, titan, and halfling twins. Each has a unique strength and weakness. Humans excel thanks to their versatility. Centaurs are great at using bows, but are unable to perform power swipes. A little slow but fearsome Echidnas may anytime strike with both their hands simultaneously and accurately. Halfling twins are a bit weaker, but you play two of them at once. Finally, Titans stand out as a very interesting race. Utilizing their brutish strength they carry weapons and shields instead of items. With a stick for every battle it is unwise to challenge a titan but their ignorance of other items makes them vulnerable long term.