Heroes

5 star: (5) 4 star: (17) 3 star: (2) 2 star: (0) 1 star: (0)

Average Rating: Number of Ratings: 24 Write a review

- egostat (1st Level, Abyss), May 3, 2023

>INVENTORY - Paul O'Brian writes about interactive fiction

The intersection of landscape and character in IF is a highly fertile one, and Heroes reaps a great harvest from it... [T]he game's gimmick is this: set up a fairly simple landscape and a basic goal, then allow the player a choice of five viewpoint characters, each of which share the landscape and goal...

I can't say enough about how much I loved this. Because the characters are each limited to their own viewpoints, but we are able to see them all, the game gives us a far more complete and interesting picture of the area than any single viewpoint could provide. In addition, because we have seen the area through other eyes, we gain insight into the viewpoint character by noticing what that character does and doesn't observe.

SPAG

It's a good game, but one that over-reaches -- if it wouldn't have tried to make the player go through all five possibilities, but instead just offered them as alternates, it would have worked much better. And I'd advise anyone who tries it to take it that way -- play the game in your one or two favorite flavors, ignoring the rest. That way, you'll be playing a solid, enjoyable game, that someone worked extra-hard on to provide additional paths to, but you don't need to work extra hard just to see them.
-- Eytan Zweig

SPAG

Technically and artistically, Heroes succeeds admirably; the few bugs in the competition release appear to have been cleaned up, and the POV-shift is nicely done. The game does commit some design sins, but I appreciated the artistry of the multiple perspectives and the layered plot sufficiently that I gave it an 8 in this year’s competition.
-- Duncan Stevens

- Zape, April 18, 2021

- William Chet (Michigan), July 20, 2020

- kierlani, June 23, 2020

- Anders Hellerup Madsen (Copenhagen, Denmark), April 8, 2020

- Vigorish (Bradenton, Florida ), November 15, 2018

- Naeemah, December 23, 2017

- hoopla, March 29, 2017

- Witchy W, August 10, 2016

- NinaS, July 3, 2016

- E. W. B., February 23, 2016

This is one of my favorites. You play as one of four characters who stole a gem from a dragon, and then lost it. You want to get it back. You can also be the dragon.

There is the adventurer, who plays as a Zork-type PC, gathering items and chatting with guards; the thief, who remains hidden and has special tools; the wizard, who can use spells; and the royal, who can command everyone and has an entourage. The dragon does, you know, dragon things.

The game is hard, but you can switch between characters at any time, and one character can see things that will help another.

Location and object descriptions are different with each character, giving the game a really varied feel.

By far, this game is the closest to a straight-up D&D type setting, which I love.

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- Aryore, December 12, 2015

- Sam Kabo Ashwell (Seattle), April 7, 2015

- Thrax, March 11, 2015

- KidRisky (Connecticut, USA), June 1, 2014

- Floating Info, February 23, 2014

- Mr. Patient (Saint Paul, Minn.), December 24, 2013

- Edward Lacey (Oxford, England), December 12, 2012

- DJ (Olalla, Washington), September 11, 2012

- Digibomber, July 29, 2011

- Squidi, May 15, 2011

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