Hydra Slayer
| Hydra Slayer | |
|---|---|
| Stable game | |
| Developer | Z |
| Theme | Fantasy, Hydras, Mathematics |
| Influences | MathRL |
| Released | 26 Jul 2010 (1.0) |
| Updated | 4 Dec 2010 (8.0) |
| Licensing | GNU GPL v2 |
| P. Language | C++ |
| Platforms | Linux, Windows |
| Interface | ASCII, Tiles |
| Game Length | ~50 min to win |
| 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.
Races
As of version 8.0 player is free to chose one of four races: human, elf, naga and troll. Each has a unique strength and weakness. Humans excel thanks to their versatility. Graceful elves who may hit multiple targets at will but are unable to perform ambidextrous attacks. A little slow but fearsome Nagas may anytime strike with both their hands simultaneously and accurately. Finally, Trolls 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 troll but their ignorance of other items makes them vulnerable long term.