Playing Hello Adventure makes you wonder why there aren’t more dungeon crawling role playing games on Facebook. The game manages to capture those same qualities that have made games like Diablo and Torchlight such incredible time sinks, yet adapts the formula almost perfectly for Facebook. You’ll still be fighting bad guys, crafting items, and collecting lots of loot, but you’ll be able to do it while sneaking in some gaming time on your coffee break.
Playing Hello Adventure makes you wonder why there aren’t more dungeon crawling role playing games on Facebook. The game manages to capture those same qualities that have made games like Diablo and Torchlight such incredible time sinks, yet adapts the formula almost perfectly for Facebook. You’ll still be fighting bad guys, crafting items, and collecting lots of loot, but you’ll be able to do it while sneaking in some gaming time on your coffee break.
You play as an unnamed adventurer in search of, well, adventure. There isn’t really much story to Hello Adventure, but that doesn’t make the quest any less alluring. You’ll be travelling through a series of dungeons, battling all sorts of foes, from evil baby spiders to humanoid bird creatures. There are differently themed areas, and there’s a nice sense of progression as you move from forests to deserts and beyond. Certain sections are only available if you have enough friends playing the game, but you’re never prevented from progressing through the main portion of the game.
The sheer joy of exploration is fun enough, but it doesn’t hurt that you’ll be gathering up plenty of loot as well. You’ll collect gold and experience, of course, both of which can be used to by better weapons and armor. Equipping new gear changes how your character looks, which is a nice touch. You also have a camp area where you can craft new special items that let you do everything from warping to a new location to tossing bombs that can take out swaths of foes.
Hello Adventure doesn’t have an energy system, instead how much you can play is determined by your health points. These regenerate over time but you can also collect potions and cook food to replenish it. In lieu of that you can buy refills with Facebook credits. Though it’s clearly inspired by more hardcore action RPGs, Hello Adventure is actually quite casual in its approach. The combat is relatively simple and when you die there’s no punishment, you simply head back to camp until you can get some more health. And then there’s small touches, like the way the game will automatically equip a weapon if it’s stronger than your current one, that make the game very approachable.
The only real drawback is how insistent the game is on having friends gift you items. In order to complete most craftable items or upgrade various buildings in your camp, you’ll need certain items that can’t be found through normal gameplay. You either have to buy them with Facebook credits or have friends send them to you. This doesn’t make the game unplayable by any stretch, but it severely limits how much crafting you can do. There’s also a tiny, but very annoying ad, that’s constantly floating around the screen. It’s in the way just enough that you might accidentally click on it.
Aside from that though, Hello Adventure is an excellent example of what a casual action RPG should be. It’s approachable, addictive, and most importantly fun. It’s perfect or playing in quick sessions because you can make some actual progress, but it’s also the kind of game you’ll want to keep coming back to again and again. And again and again.
