Has Been Heroes Reviews
Overall, Has Been Heroes is...ok. If the RNG was fixed up a bit and the difficulty curve was altered so you're gradually introduced to the game, it would be a pretty good rogue-like. As it is now, it's simply too frustrated and luck-based to be up there with other great rogue-likes like Rogue Legacy or Darkest Dungeon.
The world of Has-Been Heroes is too frustrating due to the same type of enemies, random difficulty level and lack of motivation to run it more than once a week. The only exception is the version for the Nintendo Switch, which can be good for short sessions in buses, subways and trains, replacing no less monotonous games for tablets and mobile phones.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Has-Been Heroes is an initially appealing title that quickly becomes bogged down by a lack of good instructions, too much luck-based randomness, and permadeath that never quits.
Has-Been Heroes is as tough as nails and built for people that like to lose over and over again. The combat offers an interesting twist on a familiar mechanic, but never really evolves beyond that initial learning process. Some of the whimsy present in the Trine series has been carried over here, but not enough to balance out the punishing difficulty.
Despite all of these complaints, Has-Been Heroes isn’t a terrible time.
There are some good ideas in Has Been Heroes, such as the way it uses multi-lane battlefields to make us use strategies that involve switching between the strengths of three different heroes to achieve victory. It's a recipe for fun that manages to last for a while. Eventually, though, the heavy emphasis on the luck of level generation, the frustrations of enemy repetition, the poor tutorial, and the tendency to overrun you with tough enemies spoil the whole. Hard games are great, but there are limits.
Has Been Heroes offer an interesting gameplay. It combines turn-based and rock-paper-scissors combat to give us unexciting, too difficult and unforgiving gameplay. It always leaves us unprepared for next encounter and gives us almost nothing in return for our blood.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Has Been Heroes has a unique game play mechanic, but fell short on explaining it properly for new players to the game. I really would have enjoyed the game much more had the system been explained properly. It would have saved me a couple of hours just fumbling around the game’s UI and online resources, and actually just had me enjoy the game from the start. With bland environments, but a rather pleasant aesthetic, Has Been Heroes is an above average game that will keep your attention for a few hours. Even though it has plenty of heroes for you to unlock, I’m not sure I could keep playing for longer than ten hours as I think the repetitive nature would be to much to handle. I would say wait for a sale on this one, as $19.99 might be a little too steep for my liking.
Has Been Heroes is a fun yet flawed rogue-like. The steady flow of unlockable content and frantic strategy are engaging, but the brutal boss encounters that often rely on luck from pickups can be infuriating.
Has-Been Heroes is a solid tower defense experience that borrows attributes from Plants vs Zombies, while putting its own twist on the formula. Plenty of repetition and frustration - exacerbated by too many randomized elements - but the addictive and enduring gameplay shines through on occasion.
During the times Has-Been Heroes clicks you’ll find yourself having fun with it. If you can stick with it through at least one complete run then the game does open a bit and begin to add some much needed variety. Unfortunately the game also has too many hindrances in its gameplay that will put many gamers off getting that far.
Has-Been Heroes heroically treads the line between strategic brilliance and overwhelming frustration to result in an experience that will leave many feeling like toppling the Great Ghoul’s evil army is an insurmountable task. It is in the game’s difficulty and lack of accessibility, then, that sees these wearied heroes falter. Which comes as a great irony when you remember how ridiculously simple their quest had first sounded.
Frozenbyte has released let not his best game, but one of those games that despite all the nuances, want to come back, the game is complicated and not encouraging to beginners, Yes, at first it can seem daunting, but going a little further the understanding of how much energy has been put in unlockable content, the game is more than enough.
Review in Russian | Read full review
It became very clear to me early on that it wasn't that Has Been Heroes was bad. I was just really bad at it. For the same reasons I shy away from bullethell games, I was really really bad at this one. So take everything I am saying from the perspective of someone who appreciates the game, but who struggled and screamed at it several times.
I wish I would have gotten an opportunity to meet more of the Has-Been Heroes, like the anthropologist who became a luchador, and someday I will get there. Most roguelikes cause me to give up in frustration, but Has-Been Heroes is fun enough that I want to keep playing and someday have "teh urn".
Has-Been Heroes is a challenging and charming indie adventure
Has-Been Heroes, best enjoyed in short bursts, is a clever take on roguelikes and a strong argument for the Switch's easy portability.
Has-Been Heroes delivers an excellent challenge for the player and provides the perfect blend of tension and enjoyment. The combat mechanic definitely manages to be both welcoming for newer players, while still providing scope for tactical and strategic decisions through the use of spells, combined with good lane placement. There is not a lot of focus given to creating an epic memorable quest, and sometimes luck plays too big a part in victory - but this is a minor quibble when the main entertainment comes from the gameplay, which is challenging, but rewarding, both in personal rewards and tangible unlockable rewards. For a fairly modest price there is an abundance of content on offer, and with the potential for portable play it is unsurprising a Nintendo Switch port was developed alongside the Steam release.
Like its titular characters, Has-Been Heroes may look like nothing new, but has a charm and unique style of gameplay that should not be overlooked
Overall, Has-Been Heroes is a very enjoyable experience, despite the difficulty level. While I wouldn't recommend this game for younger gamers as they will probably get too frustrated, this is definitely something players with patience can really sink hours and hours into.