What does the mechanical arm let me do?

Its abilities include punching, conjuring a shield, dashing between metallic nodes and grappling hanging points. The grapple can also strip armour from enemies, so exploration abilities have uses in fights.

Can Hob's enemies hurt each other?

Yes: a giant can accidentally kill its smaller companions. Dodging in and out can turn a crowded fight in your favour; the dash and combat roll also give you a generous period of invulnerability.

Does Hob have separate Zelda-style dungeons?

Not in the usual sense: the landscape itself is the main puzzle, with underground machinery connected to what happens above. Expect to revisit ground you've already explored as you alter its shape and unlock new routes.

Hob

2017 · Runic Games

Has it aged?Why ↓

Hob is a third-person action-adventure where rebuilding the world is more satisfying than fighting through it. As a hooded figure with a mechanical replacement arm, you explore an infected landscape, fight creatures with a sword and restart buried machinery that raises, rotates and reconnects whole stretches of ground.

Transform the world of Hob! A new action-adventure from Runic Games, the award-winning studio behind Torchlight I and II. It's your chance. Make it home.

The publisher’s description, from its Steam store page.

What it looks like

the trailer, then the store's own shots

Hob | Launch Trailer

The verdict

Play it for the spectacular changes you make to the landscape, not for a story that explains every switch. The grass and copper machinery still look lovely, but watching solid ground rearrange itself is what makes Hob special. Accept some aimless wandering: a small environmental detail can hold up essential progress, and the wordless storytelling doesn't always make your next task clear.

Play it if

You investigate every path branching off the main route, enjoy tracing a dead machine back to its power source, and would rather see a mountain move than collect another combat upgrade.

Skip it if

You stop playing when the route forward becomes unclear, or need control of the camera to judge jumps. Hob can conceal essential progress in easily missed environmental details, and its fixed camera makes some narrow crossings awkward.

Common questions

What does the mechanical arm let me do?: Its abilities include punching, conjuring a shield, dashing between metallic nodes and grappling hanging points. The grapple can also strip armour from enemies, so exploration abilities have uses in fights.
Can Hob's enemies hurt each other?: Yes: a giant can accidentally kill its smaller companions. Dodging in and out can turn a crowded fight in your favour; the dash and combat roll also give you a generous period of invulnerability.
Does Hob have separate Zelda-style dungeons?: Not in the usual sense: the landscape itself is the main puzzle, with underground machinery connected to what happens above. Expect to revisit ground you've already explored as you alter its shape and unlock new routes.

What everyone else said

we link, we don't reprint

Has it aged?

How does it hold up today? Based on recent reviews, how opinions have changed since launch, player activity and updates.

4 / 5

Recent reviews

87%positive (88% all-time)

101reviews in the last 6 months

% positive each month, last 4 years.

Reviews via Steam ↗

Player activity

10playing at once, on average

±0%same as a year ago

Peak: 244 in Oct 2017.

Player counts via SteamCharts ↗

Since launch

89%positive in its first year

87%positive in the last 6 months

As well liked as at launch.

Last updated

Oct 2017 last update from the developer

No update in the last year.

What players said

nothing yet

Hob