Hell Of An Office Review – Crunching Numbers

First-person speedrun platformers have long been a personal favorite of mine. Deeply underappreciated for a decade straight, a breakout hit finally reached a wider audience in 2022’s Neon White. For those who found it then, I would like to welcome you all. The rabbit hole goes so much deeper than you can imagine, and Hell of an Office is a hell of a good place to start.

Taking place at an office job in hell itself (aesthetically reminiscent of another genre classic: SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell) over ten chapters, a hundred levels, plus around twenty explorable story areas with easter eggs and quips abound, Hell of an Office’s full release is not lacking in content. The difference between it and its Early Access version is staggering as well, with the changes mostly being for the better.

An office featuring a devil painting and a statue of a man with a stapler head
These story areas are a brand new addition in the full release

I had the pleasure of playing all seventy levels available in the Early Access version, as I wanted to see just how much it differs from the full release. While the most complex levels got reworked into simpler layouts, nearly all flow much better and I was overjoyed with how naturally I was able to find optimal paths and reach the top scores after my skills had improved.

The main mechanics here are dashes, rocket jumps (bouncing off objects by firing an explosive-shooting stapler next to you), and momentum preservation. The latter is the main reason why I fell in love with these kinds of games—the indescribable joy of gaining and keeping up speed contained in short, but sweet bursts. It is not just about mapping out the best path, which is a great aspect on its own given how every bizarre piece of the environment is a physical object you can bounce off of.

A troll face on a whiteboard
Wow, this really is hell

Though Hell of an Office leans more into that as time goes on, with portals, grapple points, and speed-up platforms forming the basis of a more straightforward approach for a couple of chapters, it does loop around on providing the freedom of approach provided by that momentum system, especially in chapter nine. The main way of speeding up from a neutral position is dashing, which does not provide any height and is reset upon landing on a surface or propelling yourself with a rocket jump.

There are no side objectives to be found here, your attention lies squarely on a single goal: the end portal. The only puzzle element is finding spots you may use as shortcuts in the levels that allow it: noticing a giant pencil or rib cage sticking out of the rising lava which can be used to gain a bit of height and skip a section of the level. Often these kinds of tricks are required to reach the highest-tier medals for a given stage, but not always.

A green circle floating in the air around a frozen wasteland with giant ice stalagmites point a path towards an orange exit portal high in the air
Think you can use those ice stalagmites to reach the goal? You sure can go ahead and try

My favorite parts of Hell of an Office were all about splitting my attention between verticality and forward momentum—stages that offer several time-saving opportunities along the intended path rather than ones that can be skipped entirely or ones with a very strict set of obstacles you need to execute on perfectly. This is not to say that any of them are bad, far from it, some may be too short for my taste but Hell of an Office is simply quite varied.

One constant is how each stage begins. The timer does not start until leaving the first platform, allowing the player to position themselves correctly, clear some initial obstacles, or wait out some traps before dashing in. It is a pretty great addition to a game where spatial awareness is so important, and strategies often require turning around completely before starting a stage. It also makes any early failures more manageable, as you get some time to pick yourself back up mentally without the added pressure of having to immediately perform a turn. Great addition!

An entrance point into a new, dark blueish level with stone pillars, orange platforms and air current tubes
Think carefully before making your first move, you have all the time in the world!

Not everyone may enjoy the new approach to level design. While I mentioned the stages themselves had a better flow to them, removing objects that theoretically could be used for tricks undoubtedly lowers the entry barrier for higher ranks considerably. No longer do you need to think about whether bouncing off a platform is faster than a rocket jump off an object; the object is just gone. Perhaps with the newfound focus on the story, completing the game is meant to be more straightforward, but I must admit that some of the hardest levels in the Early Access version became kind of a breeze now.

The story sections are largely a mixed bag. The theme of the game is far from the worst idea, but a few chapters in I started to almost glaze over the text. After talking to the same overworked employees in different situations, it becomes apparent that the writing does not quite have the comedic prowess required to prevent boredom from setting in while exploring twenty areas, likely with well over a hundred jokes and references scattered throughout.

An NPC called Eric screaming "Let me out!"
I feel like I’m not the only one who’s no longer amused by random references like this one

They are a welcome change of pace though, and introduce the theme of a given chapter well. Even if the jokes are not that exciting, areas like this are key to the addictive nature of Hell of an Office, providing story incentives to push forward. These kinds of games can also feel very intense without a clear stopping point and confusing pacing, so creating scenes like these to provide a bit of respite is nevertheless a net positive in my book.

Perhaps a stronger direction would have helped, but everything about Hell of an Office often feels like a pastiche of the genre. Hell feels like a played-out idea even with the added theming, enlarged everyday objects are a very common trope, and the sort of rhythms found here can excite in the moment but are about as standard and forgettable as they come.

A penguin party plotting an invasion of the North Pole
Occasionally you’ll get little gems like this

After around 20 hours spent on over one and a half playthroughs, I feel like there is very little I can do to improve my game, which is why the prospect of the level editor is pretty exciting. I know a solid community could cook up something devilish given the fact that you only unlock every kind of obstacle and movement option in the very last chapter of the story. There is still a lot of untapped potential in the freedom provided by all that Hell of an Office has to offer.

I think a community should form around this game because it just is pretty darn solid. Not exactly my favorite but I would be lying if I said I didn’t scream with joy when I got my final diamond medal. With enough player support, it could easily grow to be one of the cornerstones of this genre that had people clamoring for more for the past two years. Whether it is to be your speedrunning game of choice, or merely a stepping stone into this world, unlike the health insurance of the in-game employees Hell of an Office has you covered.

Mateusz played Hell of an Office on PC with a review code.

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