Daniel Remar, creator of Iji, recently published another game called Hero Core. I was such a fan of Iji that I tried out Hero Core basically on the reputation of it’s author, and I have to say I was not disappointed in the slightest.
Hero Core is an intense action shooter borrowing concepts, graphics and sound from the olden days of gaming. What makes it interesting is that it also has elements of exploration and upgrades, often described as the Metroidvania genre. As the creatively named Flip Hero, you land on the asteroid base of your nemesis, Cruiser Tetron, explore its caverns and factories, defeat bosses, and earn upgrades that enable you to explore further and further until you are face-to-face with Tetron himself.
But the way that Hero Core approaches this style of gameplay is absolutely brilliant. For most of games of the Metroidvania genre, there is an explicit secondary goal not just to beat the game, but to collect all the items as well. Hero Core certainly accomplishes this – the “best” ending is only achieved by getting all the hidden items – but yet in Hero Core, this is not the same level of challenge as in other games. By default, the map shows you where the next boss to fight is, and will also show you the location of the hidden items if you find a secret that’s out of the way but likely to be found by anyone who is relatively thorough. Tetron himself, while not a cakewalk, is also easier than some of the later bosses if Flip is fully powered up.
The relative ease of accomplishing the secondary goal, however, is an implicit but strong hint towards the tertiary goal of Metroidvania games – what is the least number of items you can obtain and still win the game? This is where Hero Core shines. In most Metroidvania games, there are usually some opportunities for a skilled player to skip powerups and sections of the game, but for the most part it involves players trying to find unintended holes in the game. Yet Hero Core is built around this concept. The entire map is non-linear; in particular, Tetron’s lair is accessible from several different areas in the asteroid, including areas you reach well before the end of the game. There are a few powerups that open up access to new areas, but most of them simply make it easier to survive. As a result, the only thing keeping you from advancing is whether you have the skill to make it where you’re not supposed to.
So all in all, I think Hero Core is an absolutely admirable game. It brings in many of the things I liked about Iji – the upgrades, the secrets, the replay value, the intense and memorable boss fights – yet still stands as its own game. I have only beaten it twice – once with the best ending, once without – but rest assured I will rise to the real challenge of the game!
Tags: indie game review