it's okay @ColeDaddy ! you dont need to do much of the endless runner portion to reach the ending of this game.
I really liked the style of the game, and it seems like it has a good backstory if you include your previous apps (this was my first AppSir game). But, wow, I really hated this game. A bombardment of ads in the first stage (which I suffered through because I read here that it changes dramatically after this). Then I get to the second area, and the controls are HORRIBLY positioned for an iPad. I don't even have the largest 12.9 which would probably be even more painful on the hands to control, but it's pretty bad on the 10.2. No options to move the controls. So I wander around, need more ammo, go back to first stage, get the inevitable ad, figure I'll watch an additional ad to get 90 ammo and just watch less ads that way, then it crashes. Least I didn't waste any money on it. Just my opinion. Hope it does well and/or you fix/change some things.
Your feedback is appreciated @Tinsel . I mentioned in this thread about twelve hours that I have sent out the fix to get the "watch ad for 90 ammo" fix so people who don't like the endless runner portion of it could just watch one ad and they get enough ammo to beat almost an entire level of enemies. It's still waiting for review at the moment, but should release automatically for everyone soon. I hope this helps., Also, with regards to the second point I truly apologize I mostly tested this on an iPad during development because i always want to make sure all of the dialogue is seen in iPad's shorter screen length and the big moments in the game are seen too. there may be room for more improvement in that area still. I haven't received much complaints from ipad users of DERE EVIL EXE which had the same button layout, so I didn't consider changing it. I will look into this more and for the next games in the series too. For now, I hope the upcoming update (if approved) could help improve this experience for you. I hope you give it another chance! If not this, at least the other AppSir games. But if not, I'll totally understand. Thanks again, Tinsel!
Woke up to find the update is now live on the App Store. I hope this fixes the watch ad for 90 ammo for everyone. Also, should there be game-breaking bugs, feel free to send me a DM and I'll see what I can do. Reading the reviews and watching my fave YouTubers play HopBound has made this day for me. Thank you so much.
We did it! HopBound is featured in the App Store's New Games We Love! A good-looking banner for HopBound is featured too! App Store may not have updated for other countries yet so we don't know which countries this will be a thing. No matter what, this is already really cool! I am grateful. Thank you for all the support everyone! Thank you to those that believed in me still even after a long time of not being able to make games and not being able to do anything else. Thank you for sticking around. Let's all play HopBound. Let's all share HopBound. Let's all love HopBound.
Man, I am obsessed with this game. There are games within a game held together by a meta-story that slowly unfolds and congeals. I'll admit to having a jump scare (or two...or three..) but, they weren't for cheap thrills as this helps progress the story forward. I only realized that the save points are gravestones. The soundtrack absolutely sets the tone and mood for the game and is an essential component of the entire gaming experience. It is an immersively moody and powerful score that draws you in so much, you can't imagine playing the game without it. I'm in the third act and just entered "Dere Exe III" (I think that's what it's called because I just died before being moved to type this post). Eron's mentions of the locale "Taal" leads me to believe that the developer is Filipino?
Thank you! It's called "DERE QUEST III" because it references a top-down style bonus game called DERE QUEST from DERE EVIL EXE I'm glad you're having enjoying HopBound, @ColeDaddy!! Thank you for the review of your experience so far! and yes, I am Filipino. There are little references to the Philippines there and there like the tapsilogan (an eatery that serves a classic filipino dish of egg, rice and meat), Region IV-A, etc.
I played and I am completely in love with artwork and storyline . I was expecting more from this game because Dare evil was one of my favourite title from this developer . And developer has done that job very well
Thank you so much @Vikas Pawar ! Glad we didn't disappoint! It was hard to release something on that level but new and different. Others, however, unfortunately thought it was something else which is why we made a very important update for HopBound. In the older versions, the game pretty much pretends to be "just an endless runner game". Unfortunately, it may have been too good at pretending. Originally, we wanted to users to think it was just another game on the app store and then they'd be pleasantly surprised when the story mode begins and the game transforms from endless runner to story-rich platformer after a few runs of collecting ammo in the endless mode. Unfortunately, because of this creative direction some reviewers and users are complaining why AppSir released an endless runner game. We went from 4.9 stars to 4.6 stars globally. And surely there were a lot of uninstalls because of that reason too. As much as we wanted to keep our game as "meta" as possible, we simply don't want people to pass on this game because of that. Now with version 3.7, the game introduces a button labeled "Endless Mode" and "Story Mode" near the beginning of the game, and story mode is now unlocked very early on. It's not what we wanted initially, but with this new design choice more people will be sucked into the story of the game much earlier. We hope this would get more people to want to experience the unique, meaningful, and haunting narrative of HopBound.
This games either way too hard or i'm so bad at it. Find the runner stage very frustrating ! I can 'kinda' see what you want to do for the player to make it some surprise but i think 1) we've all seen screenshots showing theres a platformer bit anyway and 2) with so many games to play on my phone after 10 times of dying in frustration its so tempting to try something else. I've bought the remove ad's IAP as i want to support indie devs but yeah this game i'm finding so frustrating
With Darius' games, the level of difficulty is par for the course. This is part of the reason I actually stopped playing his previous games. However, the positive press pulled me back in and I'm really enjoying this new game. It is difficult, but thus far, it has been worth plowing through. There is a sense of satisfaction overcoming a level that appears to be seemingly unbeatable. With that being said, I think I've been stuck for the first time and I need folks to chime in on how to get past this worm in The Gardens. PM me or if you prefer to post publicly, be sure to enable the spoiler alert mask in your response.
@psj3809 i've seen a few reviews on the app store that said they were excited for the new game but alas it was just an endless runner. so i thought if people that have played previous games of ours thought it was an endless runner then there's something i have to do about it. i thought the icon, screenshots and even descriptions would at least give them the sense that there's more to it but alas i learned a valuable lesson. people may not look at those at much haha. and if they do, may not give much thought to it. as for the difficulty, i got these kinds of reviews for DERE EVIL EXE kind of adjusted HopBound because of that. DERE EVIL EXE is easier than HopBound now. that said, i will continue to find ways to find the sweet spot of difficulty level that would satisfy almost everyone. it seems like an elusive dragon as a gamedev but i know it's out there @ColeDaddy by the way you've made it this far to HopBound, it means DERE EVIL EXE will be a cakewalk for you now. As for the serpent boss, it requires a lot of double jumping and shooting for the head of the serpent . all timing with the jumping but when you get the chance you have to shoot as much as possible for the head of the serpent it takes 28 shots to the serpent's head to defeat it
The Serpent Boss is giving me fits in The Garden. Any tips other than double-jumping? I've gone back to Downtown to reload on bullets way too much. Also, when logging into the game, what is "Aiden Mode"?
Hi @ColeDaddy ! Here's a video I uploaded made by one of the players for HopBound. The loading screen that says "AIDEN STATUES: OK" is a tribute to the Energy Star bootscreens of computers in the 90s. AIDEN is the narrator AI that speaks early in the game. But if you're referring to the endless mode and story mode labels in the map, it's just a label we put in so as to inform people that there's a story mode in the game. Good luck! You're almost there. Final stretch.
HopBound Updates DropRate made a simple walkthrough/guide for defeating the bosses in HopBound! That Grave Serpent wouldn't know what it's in for. For other sections, a bunch of YouTubers have been playing the game too. Watching them play HopBound could definitely help you with your run. A free iMessage sticker pack will also be released soon, courtesy of twitch streamer HEY JELLY. Also, if you're done playing HopBound, I've written a short essay about it on my personal blog (not AppSir's blog). It's a short essay of my thoughts and feelings while making the game and what inspired it. Spoilers if you still haven't finished it. https://www.dariusguerrero.xyz/2020/06/how-mad-men-inspired-hopbound.html
Just finished the game last night! I absolutely loved the variety and intensity of the gameplay. The creepy undertone make for a suspenseful vibe that reverberates throughout. Married with the excellent soundtrack and you have a taut action horror game that leads to a satisfying conclusion. This is definitely one on the best games I've played on iOS. Now I'm going to check out the extra related content Darius pointed to in earlier posts (his blog, YouTube, etc.). Great game, Darius! Looking forward to more of your work!
@ColeDaddy , thank you for the awesome review! Reading things like that are really inspiring as an indie dev. Makes it all worth it. HopBound and DERE EVIL EXE for me are the best games I've worked on, at different points of my life. I promise that whatever you loved about HopBound, be it the effort put in, the suspense, or the story, will always be there for future games. Quality will not go down and will never be phoned in. In short, my days as an indie dev are far from over, and I'll always do my best Thanks again for finishing it!
New HopBound and DERE EVIL EXE Stickers for iMessage! HopBound and DERE EVIL EXE now come with free iMessage stickers! Each game includes a sticker pack featuring your favorite characters from the AppSir Universe! HopBound►https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hopbound/id1499147637 DERE EVIL EXE►https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dere-evil-exe/id1382655034 Resurrect your dead conversations and have AppSir games up your texting game! You can send them as standalone messages on chat or peel and paste them on chat bubbles and pictures. Glitches shown in the video will not happen when you send these stickers to your chats! That only happens to our iPhones. Already have the games on your iOS device? Update to the latest version to receive the sticker packs. And did we mention these iMessage sticker packs are completely free? Wow! That's a great price! Get them now and surprise your friends with cute stickers of Yanna, Knigtly, Mayumi, and more!
