Every game should have a giant electrified hammer

I've been playing a bunch of the new hack and slash roguelike Curse Of The Dead Gods this week, and it's good! It has cool temple exploring, a great Darkest Dungeon-esque aesthetic, and a variety weapons and combos to try out. Except, I haven't really tried out that many, because I've found a favourite and I refuse to put it down. It's a massive electrified hammer which is properly satisfying to whomp enemies with. It makes me feel like Thor, if Thor were a little grunty man running around a cursed temple.

So, Curse Of The Dead Gods starts you off with some pretty basic weapons - like a machete and a pistol - and as you travel through the temple you find more with different effects that can combo off of each other. There are so many good options, too. One run I had a whip as my secondary that increased damage by 30% for throwing knives as my main. It was a combo that worked perfectly, but I quickly forgot about it when I found The Sky Hammer.

As far as two-handed weapons go, it has pretty modest damage. However, it also sparks with lightning, gloriously setting enemies on fire when you land a finisher. It can stun-lock regular mobs and bosses alike, and even stop some enemies from unleashing big attacks on you. Upgrade it once or twice, then you can get extra modifiers, like dealing more damage in darkness. Find a couple relics that increase the lightning damage as well, and oooh baby, you'll be mowing down bosses like no one's business.

Here are some highlights from my most recent run where this legendary hammer just so happened to be one of my starting weapons. It actually wasn't a great run, I got shafted by the curses and relics I picked up, but still managed to give an electrifying beating to all the temple's beasties.

I defy you to think of a game that wouldn't be improved by this weapon. Valorant? Absolutely, give me a new agent with a whopping great melee weapon that ignites enemies when you whack 'em. Crusader Kings 3? Of course! I don't need to send in the troops, one single troop armed with a giant zappy mallet will do the trick. Even Hades, one of the best roguelikes ever (and our 2020 game of the year), doesn't have a hammer and would surely benefit from one. Zagreus does have a heavy two-handed sword, but it's just not the same.

Thing is, there probably are better weapons to use in Curse Of The Dead Gods, but I don't think I'll ever find them. I could have the best combo going and still throw it all away to give into the temptation of the lightning hammer. It's reached a point where if I don't find one in any weapon rewards, I start to get a bit antsy. I can stop using it any time I want, you know. I just don't want to. In my defence, I haven't lost a run with it yet.

Lots of other things make Curse Of The Dead Gods is a pretty good dungeon crawler too, of course. It's certainly not my favourite, but even after I end a session feeling a little indifferent towards it, I find that I keep going back for just one more run - even if it is just to try and get some sweet hammer time in.

If you're interested in trying Curse Of The Dead Gods yourself, it left early access last week, and you can grab it on Steam for £17/$18/€18 in its launch sale.