Recensione di Pocket Meta e di Kisw Rock

It has finally arrived! The long awaited mobile game from Avenged Sevenfold has been released and is now available on the app stores. Since I’ve been following this game for over a year now, it was the first thing I wanted to play from the batch of new games this week. Being a fan of the band is another big reason, but I’ve been really excited to see how this game plays. It has been hyped up as being not-so-easy, and a difficult Action RPG is something I’ve really been waiting for.

A little piece of heaven, especially for fans

One of the things I look at closely in any game, is the amount of visual variety it has to offer. Hail to the King: Deathbat, delivers on this accord, quite well in-fact. There are eight uniquely designed levels, each with new enemies and bosses to defeat. Although some levels will use the same structures and tiles from time to time, there’s still a huge difference between every single level in the game, and it’s really fun to see what you’ll discover next.

With all that being said, these are not top notch graphics by any means, but at the same time — this is meant to feel a bit more retro. I wouldn’t say the quality is bad, just not supreme. There are some things, like your standard attack animation and how you don’t really feel the hits in combat, which I didn’t like. However, the it was really one of the more intriguing visual experiences I’ve had with a mobile game in quite some time.

Hail to the King Deathbat (12)

One thing I need to point out (and it should come as no surprise), is that the soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal in this game. You get a solid mix of killer electronic tracks composed by the band specifically for the game, and then several instrumental tracks of the band’s music during boss fights. This is a game that you’re going to want to crank up the sound for, or use headphones if at all possible. Obviously, this goes ‘sevenfold’ for fans, pun intended.

Not your average Action RPG

So let’s just get this out of the way, the general combat isn’t extremely engaging, and can be very stiff at times. That being said, the level exploration, mini obstacle courses, and some of the boss fights are more than enough to make up for it. One thing that pleased me the most about Deathbat, is that it wasn’t very linear at all. I’ve played so many Action RPGs where you simply follow the path and use your abilities along the way, but that’s simply not the case with this one. And now, I’m going to go on a mini-rant.

I’ve seen quite a few people (who admit they’ve only played the game for 10 minutes), who say it’s a 1 star game because of either the combat, or the graphics. To anyone who believes this is a one star game, that is a completely asinine opinion. There are some really terrible games on the mobile market — especially in this genre, and now we finally get something refreshing but some write it off for the worst reasons. Fortunately, it seems to be doing quite well on the app stores according to the average review ratings. OK, rant over.

Whether you’re flipping lever across the map, or following a series of numbered door keys, there’s always something that requires you to explore before progressing through a level. Later on, it becomes even more challenging to simply explore, as the floor traps and swinging cleavers show up a lot more frequently. This is a game that is going to punish you for trying to go too fast, so you’re better off taking your time and mitigating as much damage as possible.

Lengthy, challenging campaign

Unless you’re somehow able to finish this game without ever dying or stopping to buy potions, the campaign is going to offer about 8 – 12 hours of unique progression gameplay. That’s another thing you really don’t see today, normally you’ll get an hour or two of actual unique gameplay, and then just repeat that on increased difficulty. Hail to the King: Deathbat, offers the difficult replay as well, via Nightmare mode which becomes available upon completion of the regular mode. If you’re looking for a true challenge, it’s Nightmare mode.

Hail to the King Deathbat (8)

I really enjoyed how each boss usually had a unique mechanic you needed to figure out, otherwise it is next to impossible to survive. Although, if you take time to farm coins on previous levels or bonus stages, you can go in fully stocked up on potions to give yourself really good odds. As for the items in the game as a whole, there really isn’t a whole lot to talk about, which again is refreshing compared to most Action RPGs where you come out of every level with 10 new pieces of gear to manage.

There are a handful of weapons you can purchase from the shop, as well as four upgrades to your health and magic capacity (they start at 100, can increase by 25 for 250 coins). You can also carry up to five of each potion, which includes health, magic, and elixir (both), as well as in small and large sizes. You’re also able to purchase additional lives to add to your maximum, and a shield bubble that makes you immune to damage temporarily. Other than that, it’s really all about how you play the game.
Verdict – 4.4/5 [B+]hailtothekingicon

Hail to the King: Deathbat, is quite refreshing, and offers just a tad bit of nostalgia to anyone who has played a retro RPG/Adventure game. It slightly mimics phenomenal games from the past, such as Zelda and Gauntlet, but is still a very unique experience. Although the combat mechanics may be a bit lacking, the overall experience was challenging, and it is certainly not just a simple hack and slash adventure.

Struggling to make it through the lengthy and difficult campaign in Hail to the King: Deathbat? We’ve got seven great tips for helping you complete Avenged Sevenfold’s challenging mobile Action RPG. If you haven’t make sure you take a look at our full review of the game, and then come back and check out our tips! Now, let’s get started.

#1 – Save up for the Lightning Weapon first

Aside from buying a lot of potions, upgrading your max lives, HP, magic, and buying shields — the only thing you can really spend your coins on is a new weapon. There are five weapons you can buy, but it’s best to just save up and buy the most powerful weapon (the lightning sword), so you don’t waste coins on weapons you won’t use later on. Granted, they do have unique magic abilities, but the lightning storm is still the most effective.

One thing about HP upgrades that you’ll notice, is that every time you respawn, you still only have 100HP. You either have to use one of your limited number of potions, or kill enemies/break objects hoping you find some HP. Because of this, you should work on the lightning weapon before upgrading your stats.

#2 – Farm Bat Country and Bonus Levels for coins

Early on, the levels aren’t too difficult, so you should be able to save up quite a few coins without having to buy a whole lot of potions. Still, you might not have enough to get all of the upgrades for a while, but you can speed this process up by re-playing the Bat Country level or any Bonus Levels you have unlocked. I’d say Bat Country is just as good as most bonus levels, but either one will provide you with a lot of coins — and you can play them over again and again.

After you’ve defeated the boss in Bat Country, the cave with all of the coins remains open, so you can run straight there and start picking up the loot. You’ll easily get 500+ coins doing this, and since it doesn’t take that long, you’ll have a fully upgraded character with a lightning sword in no time.

#3 – Know your enemy, don’t stand and swing

Some enemies react differently than others to your attacks, you’ll notice one enemy will get in your face and attack you even if it’s getting hit, while others may slide back a few steps. Usually, enemies that get knocked back can still hit you if you simply stand still and swing your sword. However, if you hit them and push them out, and then quick take a couple of steps back, you can avoid getting hit and keep knocking them away. Other enemies may require you to run in a circular pattern to avoid getting hit while still keeping damage consistent.

#4 – Learn the environment

The game has a lot of different obstacles that you will frequently encounter, regardless of what level you are on. Fortunately, nothing really changes about how you need to approach these obstacles. Floor Spikes will pop up twice, the second time being immediately after the first, so you should stop and wait for the second spike before trying to cross. Swinging Cleavers are consistent, and you can actually run into the side of one and your character will run through as soon as it’s safe — just be careful not to run too far and get hit by the next one.


Acid Balls are shot in specific directions, and the best way to deal with this is to find a small open spot and run to that spot. Try to make sure there are only two possible acid balls that could hit you in that path, so you can avoid them easily. Most Bridges fall apart if you stand on a certain block too long, so don’t try to stop and break the barricades on the bridge — just run around them.

#5 – Use magic often

Every level has several magic fountains that will replenish your MP (if only there were HP ones, too), because of this, you should try to use your magic as much as you can to mitigate damage. You are always vulnerable when using melee, so if you can avoid it, why not? Always charge your magic attack when fighting big groups of enemies (3 or more), as this is the most effective way to use it. Powerful weapons have large AoE magic attacks, which make it easy to hit every nearby enemy.

#6 – Stock up on potions before each Boss

You’ll notice that once you’ve reached the boss in each level, you can then teleport between the beginning and the end of the level. Because of this, there’s really no reason you shouldn’t stock up on potions before fighting the boss, unless you’re confident you can defeat it with what you’ve got. There’s no real harm in trying first, and if things are overwhelmingly difficult, go back to the crypt and stock up on potions and shields.

Health Potions and Elixirs are always useful, but magic potions can be especially effective during boss fights. Likewise, there are times where you can’t really count on your magic to save the day. Regardless, they are cheap and will get used eventually (plus coins are easy to farm), so no reason to not give yourself the biggest advantage.

#7 – In rare cases, die on purpose

There will be times where you die early in a level for whatever reason — maybe you fell off a ledge, put the game down and came back dead, or you just had some really bad luck with obstacles. Depending on how many lives it usually takes you to finish a level, and how many you’ve purchased, it can be beneficial to simply run out of lives so you can restart the level with a fresh set. Typically, one death is nothing to be concerned about, and it will take a while to kill yourself multiple times, but if there are two or three early on you may want to consider it.

Thanks for checking out these Seven tips for success in Hail to the King: Deathbat! If you’ve got any questions, feel free to let us know via the comments section below. You can also seek help from the Pockemeta community by heading over to our forums!