For Diablo II fans
A Diablo II-like incremental ARPG
Hellwake is a dark fantasy incremental RPG for everyone who grew up on Diablo and Diablo II. The loot hunt is here: blue and yellow drops, gold uniques, green set pieces, runes and runewords, charms rattling in the bag. The acts are here, each ending in a master's lair. What changes is the fighting. Your party of up to five heroes fights on its own, and your hands go into the build.
What will feel familiar
- Item colours you can read at a glance. White normal items, blue magic, yellow rares, gold uniques and green set pieces.
- Sockets, gems and runes. Put the right runes, in the right order, into a normal item with exactly that many sockets and it becomes a runeword. There are 86 of them, from Ember (Ash, Soot) to Butcher's Psalm (Rust, Gall, Thorn, Ash).
- Charms that work from the bag. Small, large and grand, each worth the room it takes from your loot.
- Unidentified drops, a stash with tabs, and a Market to gamble at when patience runs out.
- Seven acts, each ending in a master who calls its moves aloud and marks the ground before the blow lands.
- Difficulty tiers: Mortal, Nightmare and Hell, then Torment I, II, III and on. From Nightmare on, every tier takes resistance away and your gear has to win it back.
- 140 uniques and 14 sets, seven of the sets built for one calling each. Set pieces rise to match the strongest piece of their kin you find.

What is different
- The party fights on its own. Side-view battles play out wave after wave. You never click to attack; you choose the skills, their order on the bar, the attributes and the gear.
- You are a god, not a hero. Smite a champion yourself, call down Hellfire, or bless the party for war when a fight turns.
- Up to five heroes at once, front row and back row, their auras, curses and summons working on the same foes.
- Runs are made to end. When a run hits a wall, Rekindle it for Embers and spend them in the Pantheon on lasting power, new callings and automation. Then climb the Ascension ladder, ten levels deep.
- The Decrees take over as much routine as you like once the Pantheon grants them: points, skills, gear, salvage, even the next Rekindle. Every one of them starts switched off.

A taste of the loot table
- The Last Ember, a unique ring that wards against fire.
- The Widowmaker, a unique great axe for the Warbringer's front line.
- The Red Harvest, the Warbringer's set: a reaver, a horned helm and plate. All three together make Whirl of Iron reach wider and hit harder.
- Kept Word, Bone and Ash in body armor, a helm or a shield.
- Butcher's Psalm, Rust, Gall, Thorn and Ash in a two-handed sword, great axe, war hammer or spear: four elements on every swing, and corpses that burst.
The full hunt is in the loot guide, and the seven classes in the callings.
Questions
Is Hellwake an idle game?
It is an incremental RPG. Battles play out on their own and your power builds up as you play, but nothing is earned while the game is closed. Loading a save picks the run up where you left it.
Do I control a hero directly?
No. Heroes attack on their own. You shape the build, pick the gear and skill priorities, and step in with god powers like Smite.
How many classes are there?
Seven callings: Warbringer, Huntress, Stormwitch, Bonecaller, Zealot, Nightblade and Wildheart. Some of them open up later through the Pantheon.
Is there multiplayer?
No. Hellwake is single-player with local saves.
Where can I get it?
On Steam, for Windows, at $7.99.
Hellwake on Steam
A dark fantasy incremental ARPG for Windows. Wishlist it to hear when it comes out.
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