Unholy Heights (PlayStation 4) Review

By Thom Compton 17.03.2017

Review for Unholy Heights  on PlayStation 4

Video games can be really weird, and there may be no other way to describe it. While film has brought an epic chess battle between a soldier and death, and music has given the world a literal Weird Al, games seem to take the cake. No other medium could justify a plot centered on rolling up the cosmos into a ball. No other form of entertainment would dare assume people might want to live out the daily happenings of a mosquito. Thus enters Unholy Heights, a game about being a slumlord for monsters.

Ok, so there's a bit more to it than that. Unholy Heights centers around the Devil. The Devil has gotten into the housing racket and has opened an apartment complex for monsters. The aim of the game is to rent out bedrooms to these monsters, refurnish them, and eventually send said the monsters into battle. What's interesting is how it all plays out less like a military boot camp, and more like quid pro quo thuggery.

It all begins with the rather quick application process. A monster will walk up to the signage, decide whether or not they want to live in the housing, and the Devil decides at that point if he wants them there. It's important to pick a good array of monsters, as different monsters have different attributes. It's worth mentioning early on that close-quarters monsters aren't very useful in groups, as combat is all about them being funneled down a line. While long range monsters can attack all day, melee fighters can only attack if they're the closest fighter to the opponent. It makes having a lot of them honestly a waste.

Screenshot for Unholy Heights  on PlayStation 4

It's important to note though that the monsters can, and inevitably will, die. Monsters don't seem particularly sturdy early on, but that's perfectly fine. As time goes on, they will find love and have babies, and eventually the Devil will have an army at his disposal. Unfortunately, this game tries to fill the time for that with apartment management, and it's not particularly interesting. Various aspects of each of the monsters apartments can be upgraded, from the carpet to the bedding, but it's all fairly unimpressive resource management.

Of course the witch probably wants a real bed instead of a futon. It doesn't seem to matter much, as the overall happiness doesn't go up in any tangible way. Occasionally monsters will get sick, and this is an inconvenience because sick monsters can't fight. There doesn't seem to really be a way to fix this though, and is a problem that Unholy Heights suffers tremendously for. At its heart, this is a tower defense game that leaves a lot of its management aspects to chance, and it makes them feel less fun. In reality, Unholy Heights is like an idle game that occasionally requires a good deal of attention, and it's not always enjoyable managing the somewhat chaotic fighting with the bizarrely fish tank watching experience of the management portion.

That being said, though, Unholy Heights is still a good game. The art style is instantly engrossing, a charming canvas that seems almost childish and thoughtful. While it may seem irrelevant to decorate and fix up the apartments, in time it does pay off as more families live in the Devils humble domicile. The battle system does take some getting used to, despite not being particularly deep, and the game manages its waves fairly well, even if they are a bit slow. It's a shame that Unholy Heights just doesn't make the player feel more in control.

Screenshot for Unholy Heights  on PlayStation 4

Cubed3 Rating

5/10
Rated 5 out of 10

Average

Unholy Heights is a perfectly fine tower defense and management title, but it never manages to feel like an accomplishment. Instead, it feels like an experience the player participates in, like the game itself is garnering a lot of the glory due to being about setting things up and waiting. While it's nice to watch the slum hovel turn into a real swanky complex, and the battle system is just deep enough to feel manageable, the experience just feels a bit too out of control to be truly engaging.

Developer

Mebius

Publisher

Teyon

Genre

Strategy

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  5/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

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