Has-Been Heroes

Platforms

• PC

  Mar 28, 2017

  ---

  NA

  playscore

  NA

  0 Critics

  7.8

  257 Players
• PlayStation 4

  Mar 28, 2017

  ---

  7.2

  playscore

  6.8

  7 Critics

  7.5

  124 Players
• Xbox One

  Mar 28, 2017

  ---

  7.2

  playscore

  6.7

  3 Critics

  7.7

  70 Players
• Nintendo Switch

  Mar 28, 2017

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  6.6

  playscore

  5.8

  16 Critics

  6.9

  125 Players

26 critic reviews · 0 community reviews across all platforms

Critic Reviews

• 

  Nintendo Insider

  7.0

  Has-Been Heroes heroically treads the line between strategic brilliance and overwhelming frustration to result in an experience that will leave many feeling like toppling the Great Ghoul’s evil army is an insurmountable task. It is in the game’s difficulty and lack of accessibility, then, that sees these wearied heroes falter. Which comes as a great irony when you remember how ridiculously simple their quest had first sounded.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  TechRaptor

  8.5

  By the end of my fifth or so run I was thoroughly enjoying my time with Has-Been Heroes. By the end of my tenth run, I was considering all new ways to approach my runs. By the end of the twentieth run, I had to kick myself off the game because I really do have to get to other reviews done, plus write this one tell you that Has-Been Heroes is totally worth playing.

  Reviewed on PS4

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• 

  GameSpot

  5.0

  Has-Been Heroes is, at least, a great fit for the Switch. It’s the sort of game you can play while half-watching a sitcom in the background, rather than one to which you’ll want to give your full attention. By the same token, playing the game with intense focus starts to feel like a waste of time after the first few hours. It’s a demanding game that gives very little back for the time and effort it eats up. The game’s name does not lie--it’s best to let these has-beens be.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  NintendoLife

  5.0

  Has-Been Heroes is a game that is full of great ideas but gets dragged down by poor execution. The way it combines RPG and roguelike elements with basic tower defense gameplay has so much potential that it unfortunately can't live up to in the face of imbalanced difficulty curves and unwieldy controls. It feels much more like a proof of concept that, with time and updates, could some day lead to a great adventure.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  Hardcore Gamer

  6.0

  Despite all of these complaints, Has-Been Heroes isn’t a terrible time. Using skills in tandem to bolster their efficacy is, on its own, a reason to check this game out. The issues lie elsewhere in the design, making this a title to pick up for one or two runs before closing it down and doing something else. It does work in bite-sized chunks, which isn’t exactly a rousing endorsement for what Frozenbyte was trying to achieve. Should the developer want to revisit this concept in the future, the two best suggestions would be to add some real variance to the enemy art design and do something with how attacks are doled out by the heroes. Allowing lane switching when the heroes aren’t attacking would open up the combat in a way that is fun and there doesn’t seem to be a reason that this solution would remove the game’s challenge. As it is, Has-Been Heroes is fine for short bursts, but anybody looking for something that can eat away the hours should move on.

  Reviewed on PS4

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• 

  Nintendo World Report

  8.5

  This is something I haven't beat yet, something I'm still working out the nuances of, and it is constantly trying to tell me I'm not good enough. Maybe I'm just a “kick me while I'm down and I'll still get up” kind of guy but the best compliment I can pay Has-Been Heroes is that it scratches an itch I never even knew I had, and I don't come along games like that often enough. Depending on where you are on the challenge-loving scale will likely determine where you'll stand, individual results will likely.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  EGM Now

  4.0

  A heavy dose of randomness coupled with a lack of permanent progression makes Has-Been Heroes a chore to keep playing. Though there’s a good strategy idea buried in its multi-lane gameplay, the high-risk, no-reward setup isn’t satisfying enough to make up for its otherwise mediocre aspects. Coupled with repetitive enemies, forgettable assets, and bizarre controls, Has-Been Heroes is a game that can go right back into retirement.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  IGN

  6.1

  There are some good ideas in Has Been Heroes, such as the way it uses multi-lane battlefields to make us use strategies that involve switching between the strengths of three different heroes to achieve victory. It's a recipe for fun that manages to last for a while. Eventually, though, the heavy emphasis on the luck of level generation, the frustrations of enemy repetition, the poor tutorial, and the tendency to overrun you with tough enemies spoil the whole. Hard games are great, but there are limits

  Reviewed on PC, PS4, XB1

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• 

  Destructoid

  4.5

  Has-Been Heroes would benefit greatly with touchscreen controls on a mobile device, as the gameplay seems tailor made for it, but alas it doesn't support the Switch's touch capabilities and isn't available on phones. But hey, at least it features HD Rumble, which is easily the most over-hyped and overrated feature of the Switch, so there is that.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  Nintendo World Report

  7.0

  I wish I would have gotten an opportunity to meet more of the Has-Been Heroes, like the anthropologist who became a luchador, and someday I will get there. Most roguelikes cause me to give up in frustration, but Has-Been Heroes is fun enough that I want to keep playing and someday have “teh urn”.

  Reviewed on Switch

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