Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel early access release date announced at the Golden Joystick Awards 2024

Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel
(Image credit: Grindstone)

I don't know about you, but I'm getting big Vampire Survivors meets Diablo 2 vibes from Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel. A new trailer made its debut at the Golden Joystick Awards, demonstrating the first look at early access gameplay ahead of its January 21, 2025 release date on Steam. 

Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel looks a lot like an old-school dungeon crawler, albeit without all that time spent micro-managing loadouts in menus. Instead what we're getting here is a fast and frantic rougelike where you'll need to use all of the tools at your disposal to survive deadly, unending hordes of enemies across gorgeously gothic arenas. 

Inspired by Norse mythology, the new trailer showcased two of the arenas (including the all-new Muspelheim) that you'll be able to battle across. What really caught my eye however were the four-playable characters, from the axe-wielding Berserker to curse-happy Seeress, giving you plenty of different opportunities to overcome what developer GamesFarm is calling the 'ultimate trial by fire and ice'. The action looks hectic and challenging, and there seems to be plenty of variety on offer with the different characters and progression systems – seeking favor from iconic lords of Norse mythology helping to further hone your preferred playstyle. 

Josh West
Editor-in-Chief, GamesRadar+

Josh is Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar+. He has over 18 years experience in both online and print journalism, and was awarded a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Feature Writing. Josh has contributed to world-leading gaming, entertainment, tech, music, and comics brands, including games™, Edge, Retro Gamer, SFX, 3D Artist, Metal Hammer, and Newsarama. In addition, Josh has edited and written books for Hachette and Scholastic, and worked across the Future Games Show as an Assistant Producer. He specializes in video games and entertainment coverage, and has provided expert comment for outlets like the BBC and ITV. In his spare time, Josh likes to play FPS games and RPGs, practice the bass guitar, and reminisce about the film and TV sets he worked on as a child actor.