The Desolate Hope

The Desolate Hope is a 2012 game created by Scott Cawthon, in it, you control a walking coffee machine who must figure out the origins of a mysterious computer virus that appeared on an unmanned space station somewhere in the galaxy, and kill it in the process. The game has a mixture of platforming and RPG elements, specifically, the levels are 2D platforming sections, while the boss battles (the real meat of the game) are RPG-styled battles.

Overall, it's a very melancholic game. When you boot up the game, the menu has a sad song playing over it, and there isn't anything on the it except the view of a lonely space station. The game has no humans in it, as a matter of fact, most of the characters in the game believe humanity just abandoned them, either because of a loss of interest in their project or because of a mass extinction. The Derelicts (sentient supercomputers tasked with simulating plans for human habitation of other planets) aren't allowed to go into their sleep modes, meaning most of them have essentially gone insane and have retreated into their simulations to live in their own worlds. The outside of the space station is lonely, dark, and desolate.

I'll say it right now, this is the best game Scott Cawthon ever created.

Five Nights at Freddy's, for all the riches and fame it brought Scott, doesn't hold a candle to The Desolate Hope in my opinion. Five Nights at Freddy's got the success The Desolate Hope deserved. To keep it brief, I'm not saying I dislike Five Nights at Freddy's (at least, the first 3-6 games, but that's a story for another time), but I believe The Desolate Hope has more creativity, love, passion, character design, and better gameplay compared to Five Nights. The character designs and the look of the world are just better in The Desolate Hope. If you like Cawthon's unique artstyle, you'll see how much it shines here. Arguably, he had more creative power here than in Five Nights. Since Five Nights was restricted to an 80's pizza place, he had more restrictions as to what he could put in the place and why, while The Desolate Hope, with its in-game simulated worlds, allowed him to be more expressive with his work. They're truly beautiful places, I must say.

Moreover, the Derelicts in the game look way better than any of the Five Nights animatronics. They're big and all have unique designs that are leagues more interesting than any of the Five Nights robots.

The gameplay is also great. While I do admit the 2D platforming sections aren't the most unique or spectacular part of the game, the boss fights more than make up for it. They're fast-paced, colourful, absolute bullet hells, and I love it. In this game, you either think on your feet, or you die trying. Not to mention, the bosses also all have unique and interesting designs.

The music selection is good. While the game's soundtrack is all licensed music, Cawthon chose a great selection for the game. Every song fits its setting perfectly, from the mysterious sounding soundtrack in Miradmoore to the melancholic menu music. Plus, he's just one guy, unlike some companies who have millions of dollars, yet still choose to use licensed music for their game (if you know, you know ;))

I'd tell you about the ending, but that would ruin the entire story. For now, just know that you're a robot looking to destroy a virus.

Tips & Tricks

If you think you'll pick up this game some day, or even are picking it up right now, read these tips and tricks, tried and tested by yours truly.

• While the game has some amount of grinding (what RPG doesn't?) I can help you alleviate some of the stress of it. The game runs on a day/night cycle, and you only have 15 in-game days to complete the story before its game over. To make grinding for resources easier, spend some time in the sub-games (the little panels that appear in the simulations). Time doesn't pass in these panels, meaning you can grind away for hours on end without fear of getting kicked out.
• On the topic of sub-games, walk into and shoot all of the walls. Some of them are breakable/you can walk through them.
• Get Amos as soon as you can. Amos is the dead, frozen robot in the icy room. You can actually have him help you in battle (he isn't a permanent member, but he will pop up randomly and have some OP/essential attacks). To get him, go outside during the night and collect items for the robots/resource pods 3 times, press the button that says "Return to Station" to get back quickly once your done. On your 4th go, instead of random trinkets to pick up, the place will be completely empty and pixelated green aliens from the sky will show up in specific spots to shoot you. Just keep walking until you hit the very end, there, you'll find a wrench. Take it, and when you're back at the Lun Infinus, use it on Amos. A message will pop up, and from then on he'll randomly appear in battle for you.
• Pick the "automatic minigame play" conditional. This will make it so that the minigames play themselves and give you free resources.

Last Updated: May 15, 2024
Page Created: March 5, 2024