The Hammerwatch series really scratches an esoteric itch that's hard to describe. It has elements of games like Gauntlet, Diablo, top down Zelda, just to name a few influences. Hammerwatch 1 and Anniversary are much more Gauntlet influenced, where Hammerwatch 2 (my personal favorite) is a lot more ambitious going into full RPG territory complete with towns, dungeons, crafting, etc. Heroes of Hammerwatch on the other hand, is a rougelike spinoff series, with it's own sequel in the works.

So, that's really the issue isn't it? Hammerwatch as a series is kidna all over the place, a lot of fans of Heroes were left confused by the rest of the series, as Heroes is the only rougelike among them at the moment. and even Hammerwatch 1 and 2 are pretty wildly different in terms of scope, but I think that's more of a natural progression, think Diablo 1 to 2 where they went from a single town/dungeon to an exploration focused world with many dungeons.

Personally, I love Hammerwatch 1 and 2. The more traditional experiences. I think they represent a perfect modernization of Gauntlet, bringing in elements from many other top down and isometric RPGS and just creating something really aesthetically pleasing and fun to play. Hammerwatch Anniversary is the definitive way to play Hammerwatch 1 and even includes the main campaign from Heroes of Hammerwatch all upgraded to the visual style and gameplay feel of Hammerwatch 2. Very visually appealing, and impressive at time, and extremely fluid and fun to play. If you are a fan of top down and retro RPGs, the Hammerwatch series are some of the best I've played.