Many of us are stuck at home right now as the COVID-19 outbreak continues on. It can be a tad on the maddening side at times, but it’s for the better I suppose. Thankfully, there’s lots of games out there, even for free. Epic is still giving out free games like candy on their Epic Games Stores, and this week we’ve got two new titles to sink our teeth into.

Gone Home is a “walking simulator” where you must navigate through an abandoned house to find clues about what happened to your sister. Hob is a colorful action adventure game where you must solve puzzles in a brutal world and find your place in the natural order of things.

Gone Home and Hob are both now free on the Epic Games Store and will be until April 9th. Beside them is also Totally Reliable Delivery Service and Drawful 2, both of which are currently free.

Perfect World has announced that Hob, Runic Games’ action adventure mystery, will be releasing for Nintendo Switch. It will come to the platform on April 4th via the Nintendo eShop. Check out the announcement trailer below, complete with blurbs from different publications praising the game.

Hob: The Definitive Edition doesn’t seem to have much distinguishing it from the current versions on PC and PS4. Still, the narrative of a being named Hob traveling the world and trying to make sense of it all is still intriguing. Players will transform the landscape, unearthing new areas to explore while battling enemies in the process.

No, it’s not like Runic Games’ Torchlight series, but it’s still a very compelling adventure with an appealing aesthetic. Stay tuned for when Hob: The Definitive Edition is available on Switch. In the meantime, check out GamingBolt’s official interview with the development team on how the original vision for the game came together.

Knack 2

When the first Knack released, intrigue gave way to disappointment as the story and gameplay were just…meh. Let’s not forget about the erratic difficulty. Knack 2 is apparently looking to fix all of that by offering more complex combat, better gameplay balance, improved platforming and so on. It also doesn’t hurt that co-op returns with the ability to drop in and drop out. It obviously remains to be seen how the final product pans out but Knack 2 is still worth watching out for when it releases on September 5^th for PS4.

Runic Games founding member Wonder Russell spoke to GamingBolt about the gameplay in Hob and what players could look forward to.

"Fans have pointed out that Hob has a Metroidvania-inspired feel; the way the world is gated has elements of classic exploration games we love, that also involve back-tracking through previously explored areas."

What inspired Hob’s mechanics and world? How did you go from a loot game like Torchlight to a more exploration based game?

Wonder Russell: Hob is a combination of all the games we love to play. We all enjoy playing puzzle-platformers that are a good balance of adventure and puzzles. We came up with a great story at the heart of Hob that is told through the action instead of dialogue, and it’s really exciting to develop. Besides that, we’ve been making the Torchlight franchise since 2008. That’s a long time to play in just one world, especially for a small team. Variety keeps us sharp as well as happy!

What are the various ways players can transform their arm in Hob?

Wonder Russell: The glove-arms in Hob pull double duty; they’re used for getting around the world as well as for combat. Every upgrade helps you unlock new playable areas and also defeat enemies in a smarter way than just dealing out melee damage while trying to stay alive.  They’re also very practical – without the glove, you wouldn’t be able to push or pull the building blocks of the world. So far we’ve shown off the magnet glove that can pull things to you, or pull you to an object much like a grappling hook. We’ve also shown how the glove can double as a shield in combat. We’ve got more coming… your character will have an arsenal of tools to engage with the world.

How do the transformations play into the world you can unlock and explore? Is there a Metroidvania style of progression there?

Wonder Russell: Fans have pointed out that Hob has a Metroidvania-inspired feel; the way the world is gated has elements of classic exploration games we love, that also involve back-tracking through previously explored areas. The world-shifting mechanic of Hob is intrinsic to the narrative. The more regions you can shift and unlock, the closer you get to the heart of the story.

"Whole areas are inaccessible until you master the puzzles that keep them out of reach. But even in our earliest builds there were small secret bonuses and areas that are harder to find."

What kind of story can we expect with Hob? Is there a definitive “end” to the tale being told or are things kept relatively open and ambiguous for the most part?

Wonder Russell: Exploration in the world of Hob is an open experience and deliberately ambiguous, but don’t be lulled into thinking that’s all there is; a strong narrative is at work behind the scenes, revealed bit by bit as you explore. Ultimately, you will learn the secret about why you are there.

Is there a way to completely “solve” this Rubik’s Cube of a world? Or will there be plenty of secrets for even the most hard-core players to find?

Wonder Russell: Solving the world is a must! Whole areas are inaccessible until you master the puzzles that keep them out of reach. But even in our earliest builds there were small secret bonuses and areas that are harder to find. We watched a ton of people miss them at PAX Prime, though sometimes we’d point out ‘Hey, see that vine? Try jumping to it!’ We like games that reward exploration, and that’s what we’re doing with Hob.

What kind of playtime can we expect for Hob?

Wonder Russell: Hard to say at this point since we’re still in development.

What are your thoughts on bringing Hob to the PlayStation 4 along with PC?

Wonder Russell: Very excited. Sony has been an amazing partner so far. We went to our first PSX (PlayStation Experience) and had a great time. The response from the fans was incredible.

Did you face any obstacles when developing for the PS4? What differences did you notice when developing for the consoles as opposed to the PC?

Wonder Russell: We have faced and continue to face constant challenges developing for two platforms at once. However, our programmers say developing for both has been a weird, fun sort of challenge!

"This project has been an incredible journey and we can’t wait to share Hob with the world."

Will Hob ever be coming to the Xbox One? Are there plans to expand to other platforms?

Wonder Russell: We don’t have plans for any platform beyond PC and PS4 right now, but that doesn’t mean we’re not open to eventually having plans.

Is the game going to run at 1080p and 60fps on the PS4?

Wonder Russell: It will run like silk and cream down a freshly iced luge.

What can you tell us about the engine used for Hob?

Wonder Russell: Since our inception, we have been using an open-source engine called Ogre. We’ve made a ton of changes over the years and it’s definitely a highly customized engine at this point.

Is there anything else you want to tell us about the game before we let you go?

Wonder Russell: We began Hob with the explicit goal of stepping out of our comfort zone to create a new and innovative experience like nothing else we’ve done before. A story without dialogue, tightly knit combat and progression that act as a challenging puzzle in itself, and what we’re most excited about: a world that dramatically transforms and changes based on your interactions. This project has been an incredible journey and we can’t wait to share Hob with the world.

Sony’s friendly stance towards indie game developers has been noted multiple times- even though Microsoft and Nintendo have both loosened restrictions for indie game development on their consoles, Sony still gets a lot more indie game love and attention, simply because of sheer inertia and momentum at this point.

Runic Games’ Hob is one such game. The game is coming to PC alongside the PlayStation 4, and a lot of this has to do with Sony’s exemplary support for the developers. Speaking to GamingBolt in an exclusive interview, Runic Games’ Wonder Russell talked about what it is like working with Sony.

“Sony has been an amazing partner so far,” Russell said. “We went to our first PSX and had a great time. The response from the fans was incredible.”

This kind of support ensures developers’ loyalty- as of right now, Hob is not planned for any other platform, though Russell did state the team would be open to other systems in the future.

“We don’t have plans for any platform beyond PC and PS4 right now, but that doesn’t mean we’re not open to eventually having plans!” he said.

Russell also discussed the challenges the team faced as they developed the game for PC and PS4 simultaneously, noting the difference in the hardware of the two systems.

“We have faced and continue to face constant challenges developing for two platforms at once. However, our programmers say developing for both has been a weird, fun sort of challenge!” However, in spite of this, the game is going to run on 1080p and 60fps, Russell said. “It will run like silk and cream down a freshly iced luge,” he joked.

Hob is going to release on PlayStation 4 and PC. Stay tuned for our full interview on the title with Runic Games.