Hack 'n' Slash Leaves Early Access, Brings Source Code

One of the best ideas in videogames today, Hack 'n' Slash, has broken out of Early Access and is running amok on Steam proper. It's a Zelda-like 2D adventure with the ability to modify the code of many of the objects in the world. This is used for, in equal measure, puzzle solving and comedy, able to unlock doors or make NPCs endlessly rotate on the spot. This release version also brings the last chapter of the game, filled with new puzzles and mechanics, as well as updating previous areas with more content. Naturally, a game so meta also shipped with the source code and now has Steam Workshop support, letting us dig deeper into its innards.

Craig called the Early Access version "great" back in May, saying while it was never teaching him coding, it did make him feel smarter. I've been hankering to give it a shot, holding off only due to the in-development tag. The three trailers that accompanied the first release are particularly interesting, showing off the items that turn the game from adventure to hackathon. One of the best parts of following modding and speedrun communities is seeing the ways they find to exploit older and simple code, and that's basically the entire game here.

Hack 'n' Slash is 33% off on Steam until Tuesday, down to £10.04 from the usual £14.99. A Humble version's on the official site for £12.40. Here's the launch trailer, showing off what the mod tools can do:

The translation kit has already been uploa-BZZT

[rebooting...]

If you're seeing this it's because you've been identified as one of our especially tasteful and clever readers. This is a short reminder that Double Fine are also remastering Grim Fandango and you should be very, very excited. Here's the PAX panel they did about it, and the first two parts of their documentary series. Oh, the joy!