Hero Core

5 Spectumetroiberzerkvania?
It’s always nice to see another retro-styled game pop out with great gameplay, and Hero Core fits the bill nicely. While it looks like a Spectrum title, or possibly something spawned from the glory days of the 286. The pleasantly pixellated black and white graphics are a joy, and the screenshots really don’t do justice to the smoothness of the animation that the game presents.

The gameplay is something rather unique. While Hero Core is, at its root, a Metroidvania title, the free four-way scrolling made possible by the fact that your character is in possession of an infinite-fuel-source jetpack means that the maneuvering is more like a four-way scroller, IE Berzerk. The game is still presented as a platformer, and you can only shoot in two directions, but this slight tweak on the formula is still enough to be memorable, and since it means fewer twitchy jumping puzzles, it’s a change that I’m all four. Plus – Jetpack! Do I really need to justify this? Jetpacks make everything better, just ask Mario, Cliff Secord, and Tony Stark.

Between Hero Core’s big, well-designed levels, the even, challenging difficulty, and the breath-of-fresh-air retro stylings, there really isn’t a good reason to not download it, and at a mere two and a half megs, you can smuggle a copy into just about any computer.

5 ANYTHING but minimalistic.
Hero Core is a game that will certainly frustrate those who didn’t grow up with or who aren’t familiar with retro gaming. Back in the 80s/90s, there were a slew of games that had absolutely PUNISHING difficulty. I don’t know what it’s like everywhere else, but in my neck of the woods, punishing difficulty in retro games has come to be known as, “Nintendo Hard.” Making things worse, some games didn’t exactly TEACH the player how to play the game; games like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where you’re just thrown right into the game without any clear indication of what you’re supposed to do.

While Hero Core can and will have a high difficulty curve (particularly in the Hard and Annihilation difficulties) and doesn’t hand-hold, but Daniel Remar does it again when it comes to ingenious level design and slowly introducing new gameplay mechanics.

Most people would consider Remar’s Iji his magnum opus, I stand by my opinion that Hero Core is his most outstanding work. As simplistic and minimalistic as the graphics may be, the rest of the game offers a rich, deep, and engrossing experience that is almost nonexistent in gaming today. You play as Flip Hero (a funny name considering he’s the hero, and really all he does is fly around and flip back and forth), a robot created alongside many MANY others by Cruiser Tetron, a huge warmongering robot who continues to produce his robotic legions, despite the fact that the war he was created for has long since been done. Tetron’s “base” is located in a huge asteroid, in which there are 9 different areas, each with their own boss creature and thousands of robots trying to stop your forward progress. All the while, a “Hunter Killer” is on your tail, popping up at random times.

The game is quite large, taking about 30-60 minutes to complete the Normal difficulty. Of course, once you start getting into the Hard and Annihilation difficulties, that number will go up. Hard mode introduces an entirely reworked map, new (and more difficult) enemy patterns, and blisteringly difficult battles. Annihilation puts Flip Hero into a side-story mission, where he has to investigate and clear out the starship Ciretako. If you had a hard time with Hard mode, I’d say skip Annihilation until you’re a bit more skilled with the game.

So, what does Hero Core have to offer you, besides being one of the best independent games next to La Mulana and Cave Story? Fun and engrossing gameplay, simple but effective graphics, a fantastic soundtrack, a variety of unlockable difficulties and even an endless mode. If you like a challenge, enjoy retro games and want to experience something truly amazing, I’d suggest checking out Hero Core. It stands as one of the best indie games ever made.