ZHEROS

 Xbox One
User Score
4.4

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 40
  3. Negative: 18 out of 40

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  1. BetterCallSalt
    Jan 17, 2016
    5
    Although fun at first, this game becomes rather dull and repetitive pretty quickly. The artistic style is OK but the gameplay offers nothing new than your average indie platformer. I'd give this a skip for far better options unless you get this free with Xbox Live's Games with Gold.
  2. TheHonestJack
    Feb 26, 2016
    5
    You know, for a game that focuses on "fast paced action", this game is suprisingly slow and boring. You have some neat combos and weapons, sure, but not nearly enough to deal with the slow slog that you'll have to put up with each level. The graphics are surpisingly unimpressive as well, and the whole design of the levels is just bland.

    While not really bad, I woudknt suggest wasting    You know, for a game that focuses on "fast paced action", this game is suprisingly slow and boring. You have some neat combos and weapons, sure, but not nearly enough to deal with the slow slog that you'll have to put up with each level. The graphics are surpisingly unimpressive as well, and the whole design of the levels is just bland.

    While not really bad, I woudknt suggest wasting your console storage on this lackluster game.    … Expand
  3. onesense
    Feb 12, 2016
    9
    Had a lot of fun playing Zheros, a nice job indeed from Rimlight Studios. Particularly appreciated Mike and Dorian characters. For beat 'em ups lovers, a not to be missed title
  4. Peptide
    Jan 20, 2016
    2
    Let me explain why the score is so low. (And yes, one of the reasons I'm writing this is in the hopes that the developers will read it)
    I have always loved brawlers like Streets of Rage, Final Fight, any Turtles game, so I had great anticipation for this game. As always I played on Normal. I don't mind difficult games or even games where I have to repeat an area after dying, but this    Let me explain why the score is so low. (And yes, one of the reasons I'm writing this is in the hopes that the developers will read it)
    I have always loved brawlers like Streets of Rage, Final Fight, any Turtles game, so I had great anticipation for this game. As always I played on Normal. I don't mind difficult games or even games where I have to repeat an area after dying, but this game was aggravating. Yes it gets difficult after the first few levels, but it also get frustrating as new enemies are introduced and the high learning curve that it takes to learn how to beat them causes many of your deaths. Then on top of that you ALWAYS have to start back at the beginning of the level losing all your kills, score, and stats that you accumulated. Most gamers who like brawlers/beat-em-ups do not mind the thumb-mashing repetition. But when it happens as the result of poor enemy design, and poor health mechanics, that is just old-fashioned frustration.
    Then....the nail in the coffin: I consider myself to be a casual completionist (I know that sounds like an oxymoron). I don't have to collect everything but when I see alternate paths, I usually like to have the option of going back and making sure I explore each of them. In this game, when you see a split, it is usually because one path leads to the bonus star, and the other leads to the level's end. As with a lot of games you can't tell which one is which. That is fine, but once you choose a path, a force-field goes up and you cannot backtrack. On level 5 I took a path and saw just a little ways up that if I took the other path, I could get the bonus star. It would NOT let me go back. The only way to get back there is to literally replay the level. This is just lazy game design as the Xbox One certainly has the tech specs to allow for an entire 2D level to be held in memory.
    My apologies to Rimlight. The game is cute and could have had the potential of rating a 6, 7, or 8, but these MULTIPLE issues make it an effort best forgotten. Try it if you get it for free but that's all. Avoid it if you have anxiety issues.
    PS: Not much better on "Easy".
    Thank you.    … Expand
  5. SkyRattlers
    Feb 3, 2016
    2
    One of the free Xbox gold games for February. I was excited to see that it had couch co-op! But that's where the excitement ended. Only took one hour for my friend and I to throw in the towel on this game.

    We wanted to like it, we really did. We don't mind the retro feel and the simple mechanics. But the fighting was just so unreliable. You couldn't adequately defend yourself in combat.    One of the free Xbox gold games for February. I was excited to see that it had couch co-op! But that's where the excitement ended. Only took one hour for my friend and I to throw in the towel on this game.

    We wanted to like it, we really did. We don't mind the retro feel and the simple mechanics. But the fighting was just so unreliable. You couldn't adequately defend yourself in combat. No matter what approach we took our health was constantly being drained by some bot shooting us while we were battling one of his friends, or the new bomb dropper enemy who seemed to be allowed to break our combos whenever he felt like it. If it weren't for the near constant health vials we would never have made it through a level.

    As it was we only made it as far a the 4th level before quitting. By then we realized it wasn't just bad fighting that was the only problem. The powerups for the skills seemed broken. With two players in the game we were doing our best to share the loot evenly. But this meant that after the first level was over we were never able to fill our reward meter high enough to earn any more points to put into our skills. And we were exploring and smashing everything in sight. It felt like the game forgot that when two people are playing you have to double the rewards. So there we were fighting harder and harder enemies using our basic skills....no upgrades. Bad design...

    The final straw for us was when we hit the laser beams on the 4th level. I died trying to make a near impossible leap over one set of double laser and of course my body lands right underneath one of the lasers. My friend had no way to revive me. If he came close to me to try the laser would just zap him.

    My advice to xbox gold members...don't even bother downloading this free game. It's a waste of space on your hard drive.    … Expand
  6. Troublewalking
    Jan 24, 2016
    7
    I got this game as part of my Xbox gold account. After seeing the reviews on here I decided to give it a shot. Considering that it's an indie game it's a pretty solid little brawler. Now it's certainly not Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles of the 90's (Playing this made we want a new TMNT). But it shouldn't be compared to that, as it is a low budget indie game. Not a top AAA brawler. As anI got this game as part of my Xbox gold account. After seeing the reviews on here I decided to give it a shot. Considering that it's an indie game it's a pretty solid little brawler. Now it's certainly not Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles of the 90's (Playing this made we want a new TMNT). But it shouldn't be compared to that, as it is a low budget indie game. Not a top AAA brawler. As an indie brawler I came in with low expectations. But the game is pretty solid and has some interesting stuff. I intended only to try it for 5 minutes. I ended up playing the 4 or 5 of the first zones areas. You earn RP and get to open new skills. You can choose three areas to upgrade. I read on a review it was tough so I played it on easy. And I had no problem getting through the first 4 areas of the first zone. If you break containers you get extra health and some other stuff. I believe you can play co-op with 2 players. If it had 4 player co-op and you could play online it would be better. If you got this game for under 10 bucks it's fine.… Expand
  7. thekingofdallas
    Jan 25, 2016
    0
    This game was an absolute chore to play through. Ridiculous design. Shoddy audio and horrendous one song soundtrack on repeat. Bland mechanics and repetitive nature just scratch the surface on why i couldn't be paid to download it. "The repetitiveness of levels and enemy encounters, the barebones story, and the constantly frustrating fighting mechanics – the game’s main draw – are all aThis game was an absolute chore to play through. Ridiculous design. Shoddy audio and horrendous one song soundtrack on repeat. Bland mechanics and repetitive nature just scratch the surface on why i couldn't be paid to download it. "The repetitiveness of levels and enemy encounters, the barebones story, and the constantly frustrating fighting mechanics – the game’s main draw – are all a reminder of how far gaming has come. Rather than build on a foundation set by juggernaut titles like The Simpsons and X-Men, ZHEROS copies their blueprints exactly as they were"… Expand
  8. theyocumm
    Jan 25, 2016
    0
    HUD doesn't even fit on the screen. Loading screens don't fit on the screen ratio either. No story. Bugs galore. Little variation of enemies. D-pad and other buttons don't even do anything. Extremely repetitive levels. Cringeworthy music. Just bad. Plain bad. What a joke.
  9. TheQuietGamer
    Mar 9, 2016
    5
    Technically not a "bad" game (at least not in this reviewers opinion), what we have here is a painfully dull experience. All you're really doing in this brawler is pushing buttons and watching your character do things onscreen. It doesn't engage you and the only entertainment value comes from the fact that you are doing something instead of nothing.

    Graphically it's solid, but    Technically not a "bad" game (at least not in this reviewers opinion), what we have here is a painfully dull experience. All you're really doing in this brawler is pushing buttons and watching your character do things onscreen. It doesn't engage you and the only entertainment value comes from the fact that you are doing something instead of nothing.

    Graphically it's solid, but unimpressive. The characters all look plastic and the environments are practically identical. The actual layouts of the levels themselves make it feel like you're playing through the same one over and over again. That's because you basically are. The repeated soundtrack gets stuck in your head and not in that good way.

    The gameplay is as basic as it gets. Simplicity and familiarity aren't always bad things, but in the case of this game it just means that there isn't anything interesting happening. It all works outside of some instant death platforming sections so I can't complain too much. It's just that all the punching and kicking of enemies that fail to make an impression is just boring. It's not bad. Just really, really dull.

    A particular disappointment I have with the game is that it doesn't have any personality. It makes obvious attempts and the developers clearly wanted their characters to feel unique. There's just nothing to make it all happen. There are only two cutscenes and they don't have any dialog. The "plot" lacks any sort of conclusion.

    Part of me really feels bad for bashing the game like this. It's obvious this indie title didn't have the biggest budget. In the end though I kind of have to. These results just aren't good. If you're looking for a cooperative brawler for you and a buddy I recommend looking elsewhere. This game is just too boring and uninteresting to recommend. It's lacking in sort of pop, flair, or substance and your interactions with it only barely qualify as gameplay.    … Expand
  10. Broyax
    Jan 18, 2017
    0
    Jeu offert aux abonnés Xbox Live Gold de ce mois de janvier comme tant d'autres pauvres merdes indés tout au long de l'année mais pas seulement !... car cette bouse sortie en 2015 est tout de même, excusez du peu, affichée au prix très officiel de 20 euros ! 20 balles pour une resucée d'Oni honni déjà en son temps et conspué pour sa débilité de jeu idiot bourre-boutons... sauf qu'ici onJeu offert aux abonnés Xbox Live Gold de ce mois de janvier comme tant d'autres pauvres merdes indés tout au long de l'année mais pas seulement !... car cette bouse sortie en 2015 est tout de même, excusez du peu, affichée au prix très officiel de 20 euros ! 20 balles pour une resucée d'Oni honni déjà en son temps et conspué pour sa débilité de jeu idiot bourre-boutons... sauf qu'ici on peut aussi jouer avec un gros con si on veut. Encore faudrait-il le vouloir : techniquement bien faible, bien aliasé et des temps de chargement bien longs. Beaucoup de "bien" donc... pour ce beat'em up bien répétitif et crétin et bien nul à chier.… Expand
  11. MOLEX3000
    Jun 23, 2020
    10
    Is a hard game and you need to git GUD to play it! Very challenging and fun and also entertaining!
  12. DzmitryBoston
    Aug 27, 2022
    5
    Good visuals but terrible resolution. The soundtrack is so dreadful so I had to turn off the music in the game. What the hell did they think? No story, no excitement, and locations are pretty much all the same.
    You can skip this one probably.

Awards & Rankings

67
#67 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2016
83
#83 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
57

Mixed or average reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 13
  3. Negative: 3 out of 13
  1. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Mar 5, 2016
    40
    For a more exciting game, try playing Scrabble. Alone. [March 2016, p.87]
  2. Brash Games
    Feb 7, 2016
    70
    It doesn’t do enough to make itself stand out among a crowd of side-scrolling beat ’em ups, playing like a multitude of games that have come before it. I can’t emphasise enough that I did enjoy playing ZHEROS, but I did find my attention being drawn to other games waiting to be started that lay on my shelf, as I think this is the main problem ZHEROS has, in that it has released at a time when there are literally stacks of games vying for our hard-earned cash.
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  3. USgamer
    Jan 26, 2016
    60
    ZHEROS is fun to play for a while. Its combo system is entertaining to use, and its graphics look good. However, flaws in its design include frustrating difficulty spikes, some punishing later levels, and occasionally awkward controls, which results in a game that falls short of its potential.
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