- Publisher: GameTrust
- Release Date: Mar 28, 2017
- Also On: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
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- Critic score
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Apr 10, 2017In the end I became dangerously addicted to Has-Been Heroes. I couldn’t put the game down because of how much depth there is to the gameplay. Chaining melee and spell attacks across the 3 heroes and landing a ton of damage on an enemy is incredibly satisfying. Or that rewarding feeling you get when finally figuring out a strategy to defeat the boss and progressing further into the game. Make no mistake, Has-Been Heroes is a hard game and not for the faint of heart but if you enjoy a fun, rewarding challenge, at $20 it’s a must have for your Switch collection.
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Apr 13, 2017Has-Been Heroes, best enjoyed in short bursts, is a clever take on roguelikes and a strong argument for the Switch’s easy portability.
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Aug 13, 2017Has Been Heroes is a tough game and not for everyone. The longer you play, the more items and stuff you will get. But you will suffer. Just hang in there and keep playing.
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Mar 27, 2017Despite some flawed execution, the core concept of Has-Been Heroes is strong enough to recommend the $20 downloadable title. It isn’t quite the endlessly re-playable adventure implied by constantly changing maps and a rotating cast of characters, but the bite-size dungeon crawling action is perfectly suited to a portable option like the Nintendo Switch.
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Mar 24, 2017I 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”.
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Apr 18, 2017Has-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.
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Apr 3, 2017Has-Been Heroes could be better if it had more depth, far more addictive if it wasn't as repetitive, and, most of all, an unquestionably worthy purchase if the gameplay didn't rely on randomness as much as it currently does so. Long story short: very one-more-try-ish, but also in definite need of some tweaking.
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Mar 28, 2017Has-Been Heroes has the bones of a great strategy RPG, but it doesn't let you get close enough to love it.
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Apr 13, 2017Without narrative hooks, valuable prizes and more diverse in-game situations, Has been heroes overstays its welcome after just a couple of hours, also let down by horrible difficulty spikes and an unfairly procedurally-generated maps. Try it again, Frozenbyte.
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Apr 4, 2017Has-Been Heroes is, at least, a great fit for the Switch. It’s the sort of game you can play while half-watching a sitcom in the background, rather than one to which you’ll want to give your full attention. By the same token, playing the game with intense focus starts to feel like a waste of time after the first few hours. It’s a demanding game that gives very little back for the time and effort it eats up. The game’s name does not lie--it’s best to let these has-beens be.
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Apr 4, 2017Has-Been Heroes is a game that is full of great ideas but gets dragged down by poor execution. The way it combines RPG and roguelike elements with basic tower defense gameplay has so much potential that it unfortunately can't live up to in the face of imbalanced difficulty curves and unwieldy controls. It feels much more like a proof of concept that, with time and updates, could some day lead to a great adventure.
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Mar 30, 2017Has-Been Heroes is an interesting attempt at a new kind of puzzle/strategy/brawler hybrid, but it’s never as much fun to play as it looks like it should be. It’s a game that has good ideas and strong visual design in its favour, but it never manages to balance the high difficulty level with rewards that make the hardship worth your while.
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Mar 28, 2017Has-Been Heroes has a genuinely inviting and involving combat system that requires real strategic thought to master. However the rest of the game just doesn’t pull together to form a cohesive whole, with brutal difficulty, frustrating permadeath and an under-utilised premise all serving to taint the end product. It does at least benefit from the Nintendo Switch’s portability, and this is where it’s at its best, but at home you’ll likely be turning it off far quicker than Frozenbyte were hoping for.
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Apr 6, 2017Has-Been Heroes includes good ideas but is let down by an insanely high difficulty level and a lack of reward. You'll enjoy it in bite sized chunks via handheld mode to begin with, but you'll quickly grow tired of feeling like you're making no progress.
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Apr 21, 2017Has-Been Heroes is a brilliant idea that overreached itself in difficulty. A mix of incredibly complex strategy, RNG, weak tutorials, poor UI explanations, and a limp story drag a strong concept into the mud. If you’re patient, skilled, and attentive, you might be able to master the core concepts of Has-Been Heroes and relish the goodness hidden beneath the bad design choices. But had I not been reviewing the game, I would have been done after just a few hours. I just don’t like skeletons that much.
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Mar 24, 2017If it wasn't clear, I don't think Has-Been Heroes is fun. If anything, it is tedious. The difficulty spikes pretty quickly and only seemingly gets harder as you go on, the unlocks are anything but rewarding, and the gameplay, while functional, often leads to unfair deaths.
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Apr 13, 2017Hard and unforgiving, Has Been Heroes has the potential to create the videogame equivalent of Jack Torrance in anyone who plays it.
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Apr 6, 2017Has-Been Heroes is a reasonable game to play on-the-go thanks to the portability of the Switch. But the game itself tries something different but in the process, falls apart. Perhaps with more intuitive controls, or a more compelling sense of level design, Has-Been Heroes would be a great game. But in its current state, Has-Been Heroes is unruly to play, generic to look at and quite simply not fun. It’s disappointing as there is potential here, but Has-Been Heroes squanders it.
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Mar 28, 2017A heavy dose of randomness coupled with a lack of permanent progression makes Has-Been Heroes a chore to keep playing. Though there’s a good strategy idea buried in its multi-lane gameplay, the high-risk, no-reward setup isn’t satisfying enough to make up for its otherwise mediocre aspects. Coupled with repetitive enemies, forgettable assets, and bizarre controls, Has-Been Heroes is a game that can go right back into retirement.
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Apr 2, 2017A tedious trawl through the worst aspects of roguelikes, turn-based strategy, and bad interface design. Only somehow less fun than that sounds.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 81 out of 133
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Mixed: 29 out of 133
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Negative: 23 out of 133
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Mar 28, 2017
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Mar 28, 2017
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Mar 28, 2017