Underhero

I wanted to like Underhero. I kept coming back, telling myself I just needed to “get good.” But after more than five hours of frustration, I’ve realised the game isn’t challenging, it’s just unfair. The story is actually really engaging. You play as a minion of the evil king who breaks the status quo by killing the Chosen Hero instead of letting him kill you so he can save the world. You take his talking sword and end up going on an undercover adventure to save the land yourself. The game is comedic in tone, and this leads to a lot of interesting and hilarious scenarios. An early example comes while trying to fix an elevator so you can get to the top of a tower and fight the Moth Queen. You end up accidentally flooding the tower with beer instead, and swimming to the top. That's really where the fun ends for me. The sound of the game is grating. While having conversations they are randomly punctuated with these horrible "hit" and "scrape" sounds that torture your ears. It's like the aural version of being repeatedly punched in the face. The music is okay. It's very generic platformer music. They seem proud of it, since the main collectible in the game are tapes so you can play the various tracks in the game. I hate this. You spend ages trying to get to a difficult chest, hoping for something useful like an attack or health boost, only to find another of these useless tapes. One chest literally has you go backwards through an entire level just to open it and it turns out to just be another one of these ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ tapes. If I didn't hate the music before, I do now. Then there's the combat system. It seems simple enough at first. Each button does something different. There are several attacks, including a hammer, a sword, and sling. There's a shield for defense. You can also duck and jump, or drink potions to restore health. You can even use gold to bribe enemies and avoid the fight altogether. These mechanics are introduced to you one-by-one and the early battles are easy. It's actually a well done tutorial. Unfortunately, the difficulty steps up really quickly. Each enemy type can only be fought in one specific way. Talking to your sentient sword can help you figure out how to some extent, but there were several enemies I had to look up how to fight online because they would slaughter me. Take the spiders. They have two attacks. One poisons you and saps your health. The second is a web attack that holds you in place. If you get poisoned you might as well reload right away because death is inevitable. Jumping or ducking cannot avoid these attacks. You can get lucky by jumping if you time things right, but not reliably. They attack so fast that getting off sling shots between just opens you up to more attacks. Elizabeth II (the sword) tells you to use your shield. So you do. Only to learn that it doesn't block the web attack, only the poison attack. Then you get poisoned while trapped in the web. Then you die. Then your shield breaks, and you can't repair it mid-battle. You're dead. I died so many times trying to fight these things. Then there's a part of the game where you have to fight three of them at once. This fight was impossible. No matter how much I dodged or relied on my shield I would be overwhelmed. You can't bribe these enemies either, you have to fight them. It wasn't until I looked it up online that I figured out what you're supposed to do. You need to parry their attacks. This means pulling up the shield just before their attack hits. This deflects the attack back on them and doesn't damage your shield. I was able to win, but this demonstrates the problem with these fights. As I said, each enemy has to be beaten in a very specific way. Once you know the specific set of actions you need, the fights are easy to win. But they also become repetitive and tedious. It takes so long to kill each enemy that you get bored going through the same motions over and over. Another problem is that it is too easy to use a potion. I have wasted so many potions when I am at almost full health by accidentally pushing left. This is especially problematic in boss battles, where you have to chase them, enter combat, do some damage, then chase them again. If you happen to be holding "left" when you enter combat, bye-bye potion. And potions are sparse in this game, so you really feel that loss. What killed it for me was the first fight with the Nemesis. You have to avoid his attacks and engage him in combat. Once in combat the only way to do damage is to first parry his attack. Only he does two different attacks with different timings and its impossible to tell which one he's going to use until its too late. The only way to beat this guy is to get extremely lucky. I don’t think a game has frustrated me this much in years. I gave it my best shot multiple times, but at this point I can’t play for more than five minutes without rage-quitting. Maybe it gets better. Maybe I’m missing something. I know a lot of people love Underhero. I just don’t see the appeal, and I don’t want to anymore.

The bad: -Gameplay can be janky, it will take being hit a few times to figure out an enemy's attack pattern to be able to effectively dodge and attack. -You do extra damage if you get groovy when attacking, which the game says happen when you press the attack button in time with the music, but it's not really explained well and in practice I find it very random. Or maybe it's because I'm tone deaf idk I've always been bad at rythm games. -Some enemies are really annoying, like those ghosts in zone 2. At one point you have to cross a whole tower full of them and if you touch them you get teleported to the beginning and has to do the whole thing again. The good: -The soundtrack is awesome. Sometimes I let the MC idle to listen to the really lovely soundtrack. Reminds me of some classic JRPG music. -Despite the janks it's a fun game to play. Each world have its own mechanic and enemies that keep gameplay (which is mainly platformer with some combat) from being tedious. -The story is very interesting with lots of sweet emotional moments, and the characters are very likable. It went to places I did not expect even though I could tell it was going to have meta elements, and the ending got me teary. I did no expect to get so attached to these characters. In conclusion, a really good game that you should play if you like RPG.

[h1][b] Reseña de Underhero[/b][/h1] [h2]Resumen del Juego[/h2] Underhero es un RPG indie de aventura en 2D con plataformas y combate por turnos… pero con la herejía deliciosa de ponerte en los zapatos del “villano”. Sí: el tipo que normalmente sería un esbirro desechable ahora carga con la historia, los chistes y el peso de un mundo colorido que finge ser adorable mientras te suelta puñaladas emocionales (con sonrisa de pixel). La primera impresión es: “esto parece tierno”. Luego empiezas a pelear por turnos, a resolver rompecabezas y a avanzar de forma bastante lineal, y te das cuenta de que el juego sabe exactamente lo que hace: burlarse de los clichés del rol japonés mientras los usa sin vergüenza. Es comedia con propósito, y cuando la trama se pone seria, sorprende… para un juego que parecía un peluche. [h2][El Jefe Final: Lo Épico vs. Lo Que Te Hace Rodar los Ojos][/h2] Lo Bueno: Combate por turnos con personalidad y buen ritmo para un RPG 2D Historia “buena trama” de verdad: comedia que no se cae cuando toca ponerse seria Pixel art colorido y adorable que no se siente genérico (la mayoría del tiempo) Gran banda sonora que carga escenas completas como si fuera el protagonista Protagonista villano: el giro que muchos prometen y pocos sostienen Lo No Tan Bueno: Progresión bastante lineal (si buscas libertad total, aquí vienes a obedecer) Plataformas y rompecabezas: cumplidores, pero a ratos más “relleno simpático” que reto real Compatibilidad parcial con mando (sí, “parcial”: el adjetivo más honesto y más triste) Si no te entra el humor, la magia se desinfla rápido [h2]Tabla de Evaluación[/h2] [table] [tr][th]Aspecto[/th][th]Puntuación (0-10)[/th][th]Comentario[/th][/tr] [tr][td]Jugabilidad[/td][td]7[/td][td]RPG por turnos + plataformas: sólido, sin reinventar la rueda.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Dificultad / IA[/td][td]6[/td][td]Más accesible que cruel; rara vez te exige sudar.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Contenido[/td][td]7[/td][td]Aventura con variedad suficiente entre combate, puzzles y avance.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Gráficos / Video[/td][td]8[/td][td]Pixel art bonito y expresivo, muy bien presentado.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Historia[/td][td]8[/td][td]Trama con identidad y buen timing entre chiste y golpe narrativo.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Ambientación[/td][td]8[/td][td]Mundo 2D con encanto y coherencia, se siente “hecho a mano”.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Efectos (VFX)[/td][td]7[/td][td]Efectos cumplidores, sin el show exagerado de otros RPG.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Música[/td][td]9[/td][td]Banda sonora enorme: de lo mejor del paquete, sin discusión.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Voces[/td][td]6[/td][td]No es un juego que se apoye en actuación de voz; funciona, pero no destaca.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Diversidad[/td][td]6[/td][td]Variedad de situaciones y tono, pero no rompe moldes en representación.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rendimiento[/td][td]8[/td][td]2D pixelado: debería ir fluido y normalmente cumple.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rejugabilidad[/td][td]6[/td][td]Lineal: lo rejuegas por cariño, no por rutas radicalmente distintas.[/td][/tr] [tr][td][b]Total Puntuaciones (Muy Bueno)[/b][/td][td][b]7.2[/b][/td][td]Un indie con alma, música top y un giro de villano que sí vale el viaje.[/td][/tr] [/table] [h2]Conclusión (Muy Bueno)[/h2] Underhero es de esos indies que parecen chiste y terminan siendo declaración de intenciones: un RPG de aventura en 2D que mezcla plataformas, combates por turnos y rompecabezas con una narrativa que sabe cuándo reírse y cuándo apretar el corazón. No es el juego más libre ni el más desafiante, pero sí uno con identidad clara y ejecución consistente. ¿Vale la pena? Con comunidad enfocada en un solo jugador y 682 recomendaciones totales, está claro que no es un secreto escondido: es un “buen” conocido que se ganó su lugar por historia, música y carisma. Eso sí: si te dan alergia los juegos lineales o el humor meta, aquí no hay antídoto, solo más chistes. [h3]Recomendación de Compra (Recomendado)[/h3] Puntuación Total: 7.2/10 Número de jugadores activos al momento de hacer esta review: 1 Descuento máximo registrado: -75% Veredicto: [i]Recomendado[/i] Si quieres un RPG indie con encanto, buena trama, estética pixelada bien trabajada y una banda sonora que humilla a producciones más grandes, entra sin miedo. Solo ven mentalizado: tú no eres el héroe… y el juego tampoco pretende complacerte como uno.

Not for me, too rough all around. I don't know if the great games of this type released in the last years have ruined this genre for me, but I just couldn't get into Underhero. The art direction and sound design feel off, the plot tries to spin around some concepts but ends up all over the place with no real direction, animations are not fluid, especially movement and particle effect-related ones, most character and mob designs are goofy af, the level design is not the best, and the dialog is rough. The scaling also felt off at times. The combat is interesting but tries to do too many things. It's timing-based with stamina to balance it out. There are a lot of actions the player can take each time, but after some battles, you will realize there's really only 2/3 actions you should take when inputted correctly. There's dodge, parrying, and different attack variations. You can talk and bribe enemies, but I haven't explored these features very much. Your character can level up, and when it does, you can choose to upgrade your attack, stamina, or health. It feels like it tried to incorporate too many systems, and some of them don't work great together. Movement also did not feel great.

[h1]Read this for my reasons for not recommending this[/h1] I want to love it, I really do. It does a lot of things great, I especially love the combat. It is like real time turned based and [i]if given more polish, it could be one of my favorite[/i] combat in a game. That phrase (in italic) could be said for the entire game. So much of the game is just walking and/or jumping from one side of the room to the other. It almost feels generated and added to pad playtime. I'd love it if there was more to do than just walking, I really do. However, as it is, I just don't think it is worth your time. [h2]Read this for more details[/h2] The combat can be very fun if given more care! Instead of jumping or ducking, using the shield to block or parry is just far too superior. It's objectively better due to the generous timing window for parrying. It really doesn't give you much motivation to level anything other than ATK. The game also isn't hard by any stretch of the imagination, I died once to the "rival" but once you know any bosses telegraph, it becomes easy. I love the idea of timing your attacks to the music (I've even thought about making a game like that), but it is hard to tell which layer of the music I should time my attacks to and whether I should take into account the wind up time between the release and the hit. I mentioned how it is mostly just walking and wasting the players' time and you might say that Super Paper Mario does that, but at do it tastefully that I can't elaborate without spoiling a section of a almost 20 year old game. Speaking of SPM, the ending's [spoiler]3D mechanic[/spoiler] is pretty cool, under suffers from being underutilized because it is in the end. I also think the story was whatever when world 4 started. The change in tone needed to built up, instead of being sudden. (I lumped this here since I don't think it needs a paragraph) If it is more polished, had more time to ramp up the difficulty, and gave more time to flesh out the story, it'd potentially be my favorite game for at least a year or 2.

На первый взгляд вроде бы ни че так, но не зацепило. Боевка достаточно интересная. Однако музыка очень не очень. А так вцелом отдает каким то детским вайбом что ли. Трудно описать, в чем конкретно это выражается, но интереса проходить дальше никакого не вызывает.

One of the best stories i've ever gone through, I can only hope for a sequel someday, Please let there be a sequel...

I really love this game, even if it isn't perfect. First of all, the sprite work is top notch. It looks great and has so much charm. The enemies and characters are so expressive and they all make funny little sounds and have creative attacks. While there isn't much, a lot of the games music is pretty great especially since its dynamic. I love this games combat, even if it is a little simple. Its super fun and engaging and I really love the twist on the turned base genre which I have a fondness for, but I personally wish it had more depth. The level design wasn't really that great to be honest. The forest world was definetly a good introduction to the game but then after came the snowy world which I didn't really like at all. Every area outside the mansion felt like just a straight line filled with stupid tree parkour. The mansion was also a pain to explore filled with dark mazes that had time limits. After that the jungle and factory worlds are better even if they both have their pains. The worlds in this game like to use a lot of backtracking and mazes in the design to extend their playtime which im not really a fan of. a lot of rooms also sort of look the same contributing to getting lost. The bossfights all except for the grey kid all felt sort of underwhelming feeling like mario bosses being pretty simple and not really using the mechanics in creative ways. I was especially disappointed by the battle with lord stich because of how hyped up it was and how cool the music was, but it was easy and ended early. I really enjoyed this games story and the twist was very well done. The only disappointing thing is that it takes forever to get to the good stuff, and before that, its pretty uninteresting which I was fine with, but other people might give up on the game early. I really hope this game gets a sequel because it has so many interesting concepts and I hope they deepen the combat, fix the level design so it doesn't feel so flat. I really don't blame the developers for the issues with this game because to my knowledge it was their first (which is pretty impressive btw) but I do want to say them because I really enjoyed this game.

Peak cinema, найкраща інді гра яку я грав, дуже захопливий сюжет та різноманітні боси, рекомендую

Overall very dull, the few moments moments that aren't dull are usually disappointing if not rage-inducing. As the store page mentions, "Enemies consider you their ally", so you can talk to them before deciding whether to attack them or not... except that's not really true: you can talk to them once in "combat" but you can't leave without killing or bribing them, you can't just walk away even when story-wise there's no reason for them to stop you. The whole system feels odds, especially towards the end as World 4 is populated exclusively by enemies you can't talk to or bribe then World 5 is populated by enemies you're heavily encouraged to bribe and not kill [spoiler]despite learning at the end of World 4 that those guys are disposable clones just like every other enemy you killed before, so why is it suddenly a big deal?[/spoiler] The story is a mess, up to the end of World 4 the whole thing is super generic and would play out almost identically if you were controlling any generic hero, World 4 introduces the twist spoilered above (which doesn't really impact anything and seems to exist just to make you feel better about your past actions), and the last twists in World 5 and the ending turn the whole thing way too meta in the least interesting way possible while also introducing serious contradictions: [list] [*][spoiler]What even is Mr. Stitches' plan across the game? Everything he has you do from World 1 to 3 is nonsense in light of him trying to keep the Hero cycle going and the ways in which he did so in the past.[/spoiler] [*][spoiler]How is a cycle even supposed to go normally? Some parts of the game say the Hero is supposed to win and Mr. Stitches returns at a later time, some parts say that Mr. Stitches defeats the Hero...[/spoiler] [*][spoiler] First Puzzleman tells you in the quiz show that defeating Mr. Stitches will not end the world, then tries to end the world after you go and do that, sure he could have been lying the first time but then his whole claim of nudging you in the right direction with the quiz show is nonsense; However you look at it, the whole reveal of Puzzleman as the big bad is incoherent[/spoiler] [/list] On the rage-inducing side, you have things like a rhythm minigame with controls so bugged and poorly explained it takes a community guide to even know which four buttons you're supposed to be using (for bonus rage, one of those four buttons isn't used anywhere else in the game) (for bonus bonus rage, remapping your keys and using a controller both make the minigame unplayable, each in its own unique way of course).