Sliding Hero

Don't be fooled by the Metroidvania tag, it is a puzzle game, which means it is repetitive and with no fast action. As for the game itself, it is an interesting concept, a mix between sokoban (box pushing puzzle) and a bit of RPG. Overall, It is a good indie game.

A surprising mix of a sokoban-style puzzle game with a metroidvania with amazing character art and a mystery behind it all. You can only move by sliding in a straight line and almost every room/screen is a sokoban puzzle where solving it brings you closer to the next tool needed to progress. Puzzles are challenging, but not to the point of frustration. This is where the metroidvania part shines. If you're struggling with a room, it won't take long for you to realize you're missing something so you can try exploring other areas first. Now, rewarding exploration is a big part of metroidvanias, but since Sliding Hero is primarily a puzzle with a somewhat linear progression, the collectibles you'll find are pieces of lore or a wide variety of colorful costumes for your character(which can also be accompanied by more lore). They might not feel like your good-old metroidvania upgrades, but since this game has a big narrative mystery going on, finding tidbits of lore here and there is still rewarding on its own. On the other hand, for what I think could improve. First, the music could use more variety. Some areas take a long time to solve and the music can become repetitive. Another thing is map clarity. The map is quite large and it's not always clear which area is which. Since movement is restricted to straight lines, backtracking to previous areas filled with obstacles can be a bit bothersome. Fast-travelling helps mitigate this issue a little, but not enough, since you can make a mistake and making your way back can take a while. I believe a way to teleport back to the last fast-travel point would be of great help with this. Finally, some way to keep track of your current objectives would be pretty useful too. Kudos to the developer for being very helpful and sorting out bugs fast. Indie development is difficult, but what's great about it is that it can bring to life such an unique mix of genres like this. I'm definitely looking forward to the their future titles.

> Sokovania? Metroban? ## Why - A Metroidvania with Sokoban-style gameplay is unique - Plenty of variety, with new weapons & enemies introduced semi-frequently - Character portraits in conversations are stylish, and overall a nice GBA-esque aesthetic ## Why Not - A lot of collectibles/story which I didn't have a reason to care about - Map is janky and makes it hard to distinguish areas - Very unclear where you should go for primary objectives at times ## Impressions Sliding Hero eschews the classic 2D platformer formula for Metroidvanias and instead asks 'what if the only way to move was sliding until you hit something'. As a result the main gameplay loop is solving puzzles rather than challenging platforming or combat, and that certainly lets it stand out from the crowd. Overall I think the dev did a great job translating Sokoban gameplay to the Metroidvania genre; you unlock new abilities in the form of different weapons by praying to long-dead warriors and use them to progress through self-contained puzzle rooms. To clear a room you might need to access and hit a series of different levers, move a block to a specific spot or simply kill all the enemies. Some rooms add environmental hazards like holes, spikes or teleporters while others require a combination of clear conditions. The difficulty felt a little uneven at times but overall did a decent job of straddling the 'satisfying to solve but not frustrating' line. I have a few minor quibbles with the puzzles; for example some rooms require you to sacrifice some health in order to complete them, which is fine, but stacking multiple of these in a row which add up to more than your max health is... a choice. This leads to you having to backtrack to a fountain, then slide right back through the empty rooms as they stay solved. There are also a few puzzles which require more than one 'loop' to solve, i.e. you're intended to hit the reset button at some point and take advantage of their new state from the beginning. It would've been nice if this was introduced a little more clearly as a mechanic. Overall though the core gameply was pretty fun, even for someone like me who isn't the biggest fan of puzzles. The visuals are also quite nice, character portraits are particular standouts for their level of detail while the GBA-style graphics add some interesting flavour (mostly in the form of extra _eyes_). The only real letdown is the story and collectables; neither of which interested me at all even ~8 hours in. That's what lead to me dropping it before finishing; since I'm not really a puzzle game guy I needed some secondary motivation and neither the story or ability to collect cool/interesting stuff were up to the task here. Overall a solid game despite some rough edges; if you're in the overlap of Metroidvania and Sokoban enjoyers you might love this. If you don't care about story or being rewarded for exploration and like puzzles, definitely give this a go.

Still early stages, but really enjoying myself! Fun puzzles, strange world, cool art!

Great game, I've always liked this type of puzzles where the character moves like sliding on ice so finding an entire game entirely dedicated to them made me very happy, and even more happy when I realized how good the game is, combining clever standalone puzzles with the satisfying exploration and progression of a Metroidvania. The mysterious atmosphere, the great pixel art and character design also add quite a bit of flavour, giving it a very distintive feel. It also has a very good length, I reached the ending in 15 hours, then spent few more to reach 100%, but it never felt repetitive since the good variety of enemies, weapons and gimmicks (plus some boss encounters) never failed to keep the game fresh and interesting. As mentioned in other reviews, the game had several bugs at launch and was missing some polish but the developer addressed every issue quickly, making fixes and improving qol features.

Very clever puzzle design for a fascinating, labyrinthine yet connected world! Each room is a stand-alone kind of puzzle per se, allowing for easier navigation once solved. Once the gameplay clicks, also thanks to tis many upgrades, each one deeply influential to the solution, the game becomes really satisfactory, too. Some rooms specifically are just plainly hard, too - and it's always a joy to hear the happy jingle at the end! Character art is incredible (there is lots of artwork, mainly but not exclusively seen during dialogues and the compendium) and the somber, yet fascinating atmosphere evoked by the music and the overall retro-styled, but rich ambience will keep you in the mood for the whole storyline. I have played both the demo and the game since launch; several bugfixes and QoL measures are being added each day by the developer, who is very dedicated to the project and comunity!

Encountered a couple of bugs, but overall had a great time.

Great puzzle design. Dev is super responsive.

If you enjoyed ice puzzles in Pokémon games, then you are in the right place. Sliding Hero takes that same ice-skating-like mechanic and explores it like nobody's business. In this game you are Luca, a venetian navy officer who finds himself shipwrecked on a misterious island, inhabited by a handful of sinister figures, whose intentions are never fully clear. In good old Metroidvania fashion, you have to go back and forth exploring the island, collecting stuff, unlocking abilities, and then backtrack to do unfinished business. The "spin" is that won't be doing it in an action rpg style, but instead you will be solving sokoban-like puzzle, slashing the enemies in a precise pattern, sliding through the room until you find an obstacle. Every enemy has stats and some of them even have special attacks that you can use to your advantage. You might also have different kind of weapons (which you'll unlock during the course of the game) to interact with enemies in a unique way. Slinding Hero captures the player with its minimalistic and intuitive mechanics, not to mention its stunning visuals: from the sharp Hades-esque character art to the retro-style pixel art of the overworld, this game really is a joy to watch. The environment design is fascinating and immersive, and the grids are very well-thought, which makes backtracking way less painful that it may look at first. Also, the eerie but almost gentle music and the lighting effects add a sentimental finesse to the experience. But bisides all of those sparkling details, the core of the game are the puzzles... and boy are they good! Each and every one of them is uniquely designed: sometimes they are very streamlined, but most of them are very challening, even frustrating at times, to the point that you may think you can't solve them (tip: if the statues in the room all dropped a weapon, you can). It's a really solid and compelling gameplay that changes the focus of the "struggle" in a risky but ultimately successful way. Storytelling-wise, Sliding Hero takes the souls-like road, relying on cryptic dialogues, landscape details and item descriptions. Maybe you can't really grasp what's going on on this gloomy, luxuriant island (even though you would reeeeally like to), but the emotions certainly hit where they are supposed to. So, is it all great? Even though I loved this game, I wouldn't say so. Besides the bugs (which the devoloper is relentlessly working on), some features I feel like they are a little flawed. The interface can be hard to read, namely the map and the teleport, and also the items that you will collect not showing their name when you get them. The areas of the island don't have any name displayed, which takes away from the immersion, and combined with the fact the game itself is not so "talkative" (not in a clear manner, at least) can make the first few hours of gameplay a little confusing. And even though the tileset is a real masterpiece of its kind, there were a (very) few times where the tiles where a little hard to read and made the puzzle look impossible at first. Overall, I would recommend this to all the Metroidvania enjoyers who are looking for something unique and compelling, a game that can be almost relaxing in a way, but never misses to grab your attention onto the screen.

很好玩，游戏非常有挑战性