The Hero We Need

Embarking on this gaming journey, I was filled with excitement and anticipation. I had perused the screenshots, read through the reviews, and despite coming across a negative one, I was determined to write a positive review in support of the game. However, my experience was anything but positive, and it is with a heavy heart that I must recount my step-by-step journey through this game, highlighting the issues that made it impossible for me to recommend. My journey began with the tutorial, where I encountered the first game-breaking bug. The first screen I get is a camera-locked tutorial that unlocks on spacebar press. I am completely restrained from exploring on my own. It's cool, though, I'm going to like this game even if the tutorial is janky. I press space, get introduced to the time changing system every TD game has. Great! Except, it's on F keys... But look at that, I can go to the controls menu and rebind it! I attempted to re-bind the speed up and speed down controls to my side mouse buttons, but it didn't work. It didn't work - no problem. I keep going, but I can't complete the next step of the tutorial. I was kind of baffled, as I was only 5 seconds into the game. I took a few minutes to study waht was going on - why was the tower flashing "None" and the textbox prompting me to press "None"? Eventually, I realized my "select" keybinding was set to none. Silly of me to rebind my mouse click, right? Of course I go back and fix my mistake. I finish the tutorial, and I go to the next campaign! And then... during the dialogue of the campaign, I couldn't get any towers placed! After a few minutes of frustration, I found out my left click was unbound... Again! So I set it back. And, yes, it unbound again. And again. I pressed restore to defaults, went to play the game - and it unbound again. Hmm. The experience itself was already... Interesting. It's okay, though. The game's aesthetics are captivating, with beautifully stylized graphics and a charming atmosphere. A full reset will do the trick, and I can experience this tower customization TD. I go into the first real campaign, and I take a look around. The stylization is beautiful and I want to appreciate the work that went into this - wait, why are those trees all janky? I quickly noticed the camera "seeing through" or occluding random objects, rendering trees and other side objects unsightly at random times instead of only doing so when the character stands underneath a specific object. Well. They're just graphics. I'm here for the tower customization. As I begin to play the second level, I wonder - is this a TD game, an RTS game, or an Action Combat game? This game is doing too much - or at least, doing too much unwell. I'm sold on customizing towers and doing the tower defense gameplay loop. But, I've got some units on the left who need to be micromanaged to chop wood, chop stone, create towers, and repair towers. So, I guess I'm going to have to command these units. I start with 3 workers for 2 resources. Obviously, my resources are going to be out of balance, and I'm going to have to juggle one worker between the two - hopefully having that worker do my tower tasks so that my resource income stays consistent. I'm trying to shake off this bad vibe of having uneven resources. Into the first campaign level, I end up having 1 person on wood and 2 on stone; Then, when I build a tower, guess who decides to volunteer as tribute, stop doing their job, and run over to the tower? My wood cutter. 0 Wood, 2 stone. Okay, so now I'm not only having to micromanage resource collection, but I have to watch the AI as well... I'm starting to get a little upset. So much of my mental bandwith is just managing two redundant (more on that later) resources. I'd like to get to the tower customization. The time controls are clunky, especially considering I can't change them to what I'm used to, but I deal with it. I set my hero to go attack the mobs and get ready to start looking at my customization options - wait, what's that? He does some kind of smash or something, and the mob shoots across the screen to the exit, and I lose a life. What?! You mean, not only am I managing these workers on these nodes (and, again, I have 3 for 2 nodes), but my hero is throwing mobs to the exit? I'm kind of shocked. I watch the 2 towers I ahd enough resource to build for the first wave shoot at some enemies. And... they didn't even clear the first wave. Another life gone. I'd like to build another tower, but I am instead sitting here waiting for resources. Well, I'm already losing lives and can't do anything, and who cares about these unbalanced resources and this warrior knocking baddies into my exit. Just let me see the tower customizing. Well, welcome to customizing. I start with one option for upgrading. Woo. I put in some fire rune - and really, I can't tell the difference of what's going on with our without the rune, because I'm so distracted with getting this hero to do the right thing - and is he even using his abilities? No? I have to manage that, too. And his positioning - wait, I have to watch to make sure he's facing the right way, at the right distance, with the right angle, to use his sword slash - and is he getting his actions locked in the swings? What is going on here? Why am I doing an action combat in a TD game; And I can tell its mandatory, because the towers can't even clear the mobs without him. I'm sitting there upgrading some towers, waiting for resources to come in, shuffling workers around, watching my hero run into enemies and let them run right past - or worse, blast he blasts them to my exit. I'm thinking... Well. I wanted this to be a great experience. But I just can't recommend it in its current state. It would be nice to scrap all the micromanagement and let me play the TD game. Or, at least make the AI intelligent enough so I can pick where I want to put my attention. I complete the level and unlock a beam rune. I mean, cool. I wish that was the main experience. The main attraction. I take a breath on the campaign screen and think about the game. Is there even a reason to be collecting trees and stones? What's the difference between that and just generating 1.5 per second, or some other constant number, automatically? There's a layer of complexity added requiring my manual input and decision making - for what reason? It's not like I even have a real, interesting choice to make. Just get rid of the system if it's detracting from the primary experience of making towers. And if that's supposed to be the point of the game - managing resource intake - then the 3D implementation of selecting your character and moving it to the right place, while you're managing waves and hero positioning and cooldowns is way off. Perhaps an assignment menu between rounds? It still begs the question of why, though. Why add in so many opportunities to fail? I mean, in a game design perspective, why add in so many systems? 3D Is already hard. Combat is already hard to get right. AI is hard to get right. Tower and wave balance is the bread and butter of TD games; You can spend your entire development budget innovating there. Why spread yourself so thin with all these different areas? It shows. Ultimately, my experience with this game was a far cry from the enjoyable adventure I had envisioned. I cannot recommend it in its current state, and it is my belief that removing some of the micromanagement or improving the AI would significantly enhance the gameplay; It's doing too much, but I suppose with more development time all the systems could work together - I guess. In the end, it's my opinion the game's focus should be re-evaluated, and its mechanics should be streamlined to provide a more engaging and coherent experience centered first and foremost on Tower Defense.

It's such a pleasant surprise to see so much polish for an early access title! Nice, charming, stylized graphics, fast paced action and even a voice acted story line in a tower defense game? Sure, it has some rough edges here and there, and it needs some more content, but the potential is huge for this one.

Game starts by telling you its in Beta, but no mention on the store page. Gameplay is extremely bland, upgrading towers doesn't even seem to be a thing, you get an uneven amount of resource right off the bat, forcing you to manually fix it.

I've played a lot of tower defense games over the years and am always on the hunt for a new one. Its a challenge to bring new ideas to the genre, and I'm excited to see this small team work to do just that. It's clear they're passionate, taking the time to respond to messages and questions on their discord. I see great promise with this title and look forward to watching how it develops!

Good game that is easy to get the hang of and hard to put down! This is my first venture into tower defense type of games and I find it to be well polished delivering a smooth experience. And I rather enjoy watching my towers obliterate rows of enemies in the final waves :) I have been playing it on Steam Deck and it runs without any problems. I recommend turning down graphics one notch in the settings.

An Unpolished Gem perhaps? Welcome to the world of 'The Hero We Need,' a game where potential and disappointment collide in a hilarious spectacle! While the game does hold promise, it's clear that the developers still have some work to do before justifying the lofty price tag. Allow me to explain. Graphics Gone Wild? Prepare yourself for a roller coaster ride through the graphical wonders of this game. On one hand, we have heroes with capes so lush and flowing they could compete in a Pantene commercial. On the other hand, the maps seem to be stuck in the Stone Age, feeling hand-drawn and lifeless. It's like having a Picasso hanging next to a child's doodle. Consistency, dear developers, consistency! The Pixelated Chronicles! Don your ultra HD glasses, because you'll need them to navigate the murky waters of pixelated text and tiny icons. While the heroes shine like diamonds, the poor text and icons suffer from an identity crisis, unsure whether they want to be sharp or pixelated. It's a visual roller coaster that's more confusing than a Rubik's Cube. Heroic Mishaps? Meet our heroic prince, the master of confusion and selective hearing. Selecting him is a game of chance, as he might not even bother acknowledging your choice on some occasions. You can waste precious time thinking he's on the move, only to realise he's chilling on the sidelines. And don't get me started on his limited fighting range – his sword is like a hula hoop of justice. Monsters just walk away, leaving him to ponder his life choices. Why, hero, why? Dialogue: The Good, the Bad, and the Missing!! Amidst the chaos, we find solace in the game's witty and charming dialogues. The voice of the hero prince, reminiscent of the talented Matt Berry, provides a few laughs. But wait, where's the mayor's audio on map 4? Poor guy got the silent treatment, while others are yapping away. And speaking of dialogues, they seem to have commitment issues, refusing to disappear unless you manually close the dialog box and kick them out. It's like having a clingy ex in the corner of your screen. Lost Workers and Misplaced Priorities! Ah, the wonders of automation! Workers in this game are experts at choosing the most inconvenient trees and stones to mine. You give them a simple task near your towers, and suddenly they sprint to the opposite side of the map like it's a marathon. They could teach Usain Bolt a thing or two about running unnecessarily. It's a game of resource-gathering gone wrong. The Need for a Time-Turner! In this wacky world, where heroes swing swords in the wrong direction and workers have alternate marathon routes, we could use a little time management here. Why not include a slower setting to compensate for the sluggishness of item selection and hero movement? At least then, we'd have more time to ponder our life choices and the absurdity of it all. The Mysterious Case of the Undying Hero! Magic, wizards, and electrifying towers abound, but our hero seems to lack the basics – like health regeneration! He battles valiantly, but a simple potion or healing method is nowhere to be found. By the last few wave of a map, our dear hero is just a swipe away from disaster, and we're left wondering why he can't find a healing spell in this magical realm. Conclusion: The Hero We Need is like an uncut diamond waiting to shine. It has a great concept and charming dialogues, but the rough edges are far too prominent for a game with such a hefty price tag. With triple-A titles available at a slightly higher cost right now, it's hard to justify the investment in its current state. We eagerly await the future, hoping the developers will polish this gem and turn it into the sparkling masterpiece it deserves to be.

Really well polished for a game that isn't even out yet. Seems like a well made tower defense game.

Just completed the first seven levels, great fun! Try to beat my score :p

I've been waiting a while for a game like this. The Hero we Need is nearly exactly what you'd expect in the best of ways. Scratches a similar itch to Bloons. While some things are rough around the edges, the devs are incredibly approachable and quick with fixes. The way you build towers in this game is super unique and I can see myself putting a bit of time into this. I am super excited for things to come!

Found this via Reddit and have to say I love the direction this is going. Super fun, still buggy but look forward to the updates !