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The Hero Unmasked!

by Christopher Huang

Superhero
2017

Web Site

(based on 3 ratings)
1 review

About the Story

What's this? Front and center on the main shelf of your local comic store sits the full series of the "Hero Unmasked!" storyline from The Swashbuckler! The first three issues are even free to read!

You know the gist of the storyline. As it begins, you have everything you've ever wanted. Your TV news show is the highest rated in the city, and you're engaged to the mayor, with two weeks until the wedding. But when superpowered criminals kidnap the Swashbuckler, you realize the awful truth: the person in the ransom video is your identical twin, and everyone thinks it's you!

Now, you must draw the Swashbuckler's laser sword and wear the Swashbuckler's mask to bring down three of the city's most wanted super criminals before time runs out.

How is this going to work? Can you keep up the charade? Do you want to? When you meet the Swashbuckler's sweetheart, will you remain faithful? To whom?!

Who is really behind the mask?

"The Hero Unmasked!" is a 300,000 word interactive novel by Christopher Huang. It's entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

• Play as male or female, gay or straight
• Infiltrate high society events and root out criminal hideouts
• Uncover the true identities of Caledon City's superpowered criminals
• Disarm a bomb and save the city's finest from destruction
• Maintain the masquerade as you learn about the Swashbuckler's secret hero life
• Find romance with a journalist, a pyromaniac, or a vampire
• Become a powered hero in your own right


Game Details

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A solid superhero mystery game with a satisfying narrative arc, August 18, 2020
by MathBrush
Related reviews: about 2 hours

Some Choicescript games stand out to me in different areas. Choice of Robots has a real sense of freedom. The Martian Job has beautiful wordcraft. The Treasure Seekers of Lady Luck has memorable and original characters.

This game had perhaps the most satisfying story I've played so far. Part of that is my personal tastes. I love mysteries, and Christopher Huang is one of my favorite mystery authors. This game is a superhero game, but it definitely has a mystery feel.

You play as a news reporter who must assume the mask of the hero when your (Spoiler - click to show)twin brother gets kidnapped. You have to face off against three superhero villains to get to the core of the plot.

The story has a definite narrative arc with a good buildup and one of the best denouements I've had in Choicescript games, which usually end quickly.

If I had a gripe, it's in the game having a lot of romantic options but having you start off engaged (though not married). It seemed kind of underhanded, though (Spoiler - click to show)upon replay I felt better about it.

I felt like I had real agency in the game. And Christopher Huang nailed something that I've found lacking in many choicescript games: making failure feel worthwhile. Failure in this game doesn't lead to messages implying "you are bad at this game". Instead, it leads to dramatic tension, the 'calm before the storm.'

Stats aren't superpowered in this version, making this less of a power fantasy. But that makes sense, considering you're a civilian that only recently took up the mask. There seems to be no way to manage your stats to pass every check somehow. But it's okay.

I can see why some people might not like this game. But it has all the things I personally look for in a game.

I received a review copy of this game.

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The Hero Unmasked! on IFDB

Recommended Lists

The Hero Unmasked! appears in the following Recommended Lists:

Best superhero games by MathBrush
These are games featuring superheros, with my thoughts on them. I haven't tried the Frenetic Five games yet.




This is version 1 of this page, edited by R.E.Towers on 25 January 2018 at 8:29pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page