Thanks. I’m aware of the beta branch, but, in general, am not keen on using them.
Typically, devs use the Steam platform to test and refine the beta, and then release it on all platforms. It’s just odd they’re releasing console updates first, knowing the consoles will have to be updated, again, once the PC update’s released. So the recent changes being made to that beta branch aren’t in the 1.0.2 console versions.
Whoa, some of those are significant. Looks like I’m firing up the beta branch.
-Tom
Whoa. I am very surprised that PC is lagging behind. They originally said Switch would be the last and mine has updated. And yes, some of those are significant changes. :)
I’ve also noticed the reviews change to being pretty positive on folks with some play time under their belt and folks very scathing who only have minimal time with the game.
For me, I’m still loving it. There is a lot to unlock. And I sort of get nostalgic/frustrated at times by the sure BS that I get in even early maps now. But my tools (both unlocks and game understanding) are also pretty beefy at this point. ZThis game is like Swords and Soldiers. However, instead of taking a fresh sideways look at an RTS, it is doing it for rogue-likes.
Is it just me, or are unlocks kind of arbitrary/meaningless progression (besides heroes)? I’ve only played a few runs, but all you seem to unlock is the name of the item and what it does.
Items can’t appear in the game until you unlock them.
It seems to be a pretty deliberate progression. It’s just not the progression from other genres that folks are used to. You get a new character…cool. But he specializes in a spell type you have never seen. Darn. But then you get enough souls to unlock a new vendor on maps…that sells that spell type. Cool. You also unlocked mean dudes that make life miserable. Darn. Combine new spells with character…cool. And so the cycle goes.
I think people are just thrown off by the way you unlock things as it means they can show up rather than just getting something forever. However, it’s not like I can carry every spell and item in the game ever. But, I can pick out new ways to combine these few toys out of a pool of ever more interchangeable toys over time to best deal with the few bads out of ever expanding pool baddies that the game sends my way on this run. Plus this live-fire upgrade math is never as simple as +2 sword over the +1 version. It is that moment when you realize that THAT lightning spell is a better choice than this critical hit item on THIS run because of X or Y. Some of which you just unlocked. And that is the game.
They are anything but meaningless. You can’t loot or buy the item till its unlocked. And believe me, you want these unlocks. Once looted or bought for the first time you’ll then get the stats on future playthroughs, and knowing precisely what an item does before sticking it on a character is critical to future success.
And back to my own games, I just ended up with a spell & passive skill combination that more or less carried me all the way to another victory. I got the spell that buffs a character with a water spell that fires off water bombs at random enemies. I was able to slot this spell on my rogue character in the passive slot that buffs ALL characters with a buff if one is buffed, meaning I was machine-gunning the board with water bombs every time the buff refreshed, which was quite often thanks to a) items that buff spell refresh speed, and b) my bard guy had a flying skull that also fired his own water bomb every few seconds. Easiest game ever.
Well, I’m still chugging along in Has-Been Heroes. Because I’m playing on the Xbox, I’m told what percentage of players acquire certain achievements as they progress (I think Steam does the same thing, no idea about Playstation or Nintendo Switch).
I find it interesting that less than 4% of Xbox players are completing multiple run-throughs of this game (6% had completed three playthroughs and 3.99% had completed four attempts by the time I’d finished mine). I mean, on one hand I can understand if they’re put off by the seemingly repetitive tedium of the early levels as they learn the ropes–because those first few hours really can make the game seem rather shallow if you don’t really pay attention to the many layers and actions happening around you–but the game really starts to pick up and pay off after that first early game completion and subsequent armload of unlocks.
Now that I’ve found my groove, I’m loving how many different ways there are to configure and equip my party each game. I end up feeling so damn spoiled on some attempts, and it seems to be only these times that I actually complete a full run. But even when I haven’t managed to find, afford, and properly equip the perfect combinations of items and spells, I still have so much fun during the actual hunt for said items. When it comes to games, I tend to be a treasure hunter/explorer at heart, and this game does a great job in rewarding those types of efforts; assuming you manage your candles and map traversal properly.
I also love that there’s just so much to learn (and subtle tricks to exploit) each playthrough. One example being my inability to directly damage certain monsters very well recently, and finding myself relying on chipping away at their health by constantly swapping my team member’s lanes every attack so that they’ll strike all minions in a lane for minor damage on their return to the left side of the screen. This type of interaction/attack just seems like such an easy thing to overlook, but seems so crucial and helpful during certain bad match-ups.
If I had one complaint it would mostly boil down to the outright difficulty jump of one type of encounter, where all the mobs are moving at a faster than normal rate, even when there doesn’t seem to be any speed-buffers around anywhere. But aside from that, I’m having a ball. And I’ll also say that some of these boss battles are just obnoxiously long, but based on how much faster I’m blowing through certain encounters now that I’ve learned the trick for them, I’m just going to chalk up some of these 15-20min time sinks as inefficiencies on my part.
I’ve been playing this game completely blind, learning little tricks and figuring out certain things as I go, and I think this has greatly helped the experience for me, because it helps keep me feeling like I’m accomplishing something useful (on this endless grind) by figuring out tidbits of knowledge I can take with me on my next attempt. And though I’m sure I’d be much further along had I spoiled everything by doing stuff like looking up spells and items ahead of time before just randomly sticking them on a character (before their stats are unlocked and shown as in subsequent playthroughs), I find this experience so much more rewarding during the endless grind.
Fun game, glad I picked it up.
As a side note, I can never, ever remember the damn name for this game. I keep calling it Half-Ass Heroes, or Old Man Heroes, or any number of variations while trying to recall exactly what this thing is called during casual conversations I’ve had about it. I don’t normally have that problem with game titles. Bugs me.
How about, “old, half-assed hero dudes”? Has a nice ring to it.
Love the ending!
I’ll have to watch that. I do see the game being lambasted various places, but I’m still plugging away at it. HBH is not a perfect game, and I think it’s only my tendency to become obsessed with certain types of games that keeps be playing, but I am having a good time with it that 85% of the time I don’t feel like the intentional randomness of it all plays a direct over all role in my bitterly fought demise.
I finally completed my second game after waiting for v1.0.2 to be released. I’m 2/2 on my runs (excluding the tutorial run), but I’m certain that won’t last! Here are my stats with only 18.6% completed:
I’m 0/2. Reached the final boss in the first run (but failed), and then struggled with the first boss in the subsequent run. I’m loving the game though. Really interesting combat design.
I seem to have stalled out on the fifth or so pirate. I do really well on nearly the whole run, but the last stage is a huge spike in difficulty. As in, a HUGE spike from any other spike I have encountered after all the runs getting through the first four pirates. I have most of the default characters unlocked, but generally they don’t seem all that good yet (I need to unlock more spells to make them shine). I actually think the second guy (luchador) is the best “upgrade”.
Still a great time burner.
I’d really like a screen or popup that shows the actual current character stats. Like how much damage a character is currently hitting for, how fast their melee recharge is, etc. But I can’t find anything like that. Having to piece together that information by looking at each item individually seems like an absurd waste of time, especially since the game doesn’t tell anywhere exactly how stacking bonuses works.
Is this really not there, or am I just missing something? (Given how intentionally user-hostile the game is, I bet I know the answer. But thought I’d check just in case).
Are the values not adjusted dynamically? I might have been assuming that’s how it worked, but I guess it would be pretty obvious if that was the case.
By the way, it’s a nightmare getting stats when playing this with a gamepad. I can’t imagine not having a mouse to hover over the teensy inventory icons to see their stats. The PC version wins again! :)
-Tom
It’s not that the numbers don’t adjust dynamically. It’s that I have not found any place in the UI that looks like anything like a character summary. Literally the only numbers I have found in the UI are the individual item stats. (I guess your question suggests there is a summary; where is it?)
Also, I have now realized that even summing up the item stats would not work. The characters have different base HP, and it looks like items grant some amount of extra HP in addition to their actual. So I don’t even know how many HP any my characters have at any time.
I think the controller is fine for showing the item stats; the size of the icons doesn’t matter at all; it’s just a discrete grid that’s perfectly navigated with the gamepad. The other thing where I’m liking the controller is the core combat. When you get into the flow, it almost feels like a rhythm game.
Just picked this game up for the Switch, and despite the terrible popups and tutorials I"m getting the hang of it and enjoying it. Only an hour and a half in though so we shall see but so far worth my $10 for sure.
I am eyeing this, as cheapskate me noticed it was going for 50% off on Steam.
The last exchange in this thread leaves me pondering though.
Basically, I can only play properly gamepad games in my current condition, so I’d like to know if this one is enjoyable playing without any mouse help at all.
0 voters
I play it on Xbox with a controller, and it’s a natural fit.
I don’t know the details of your condition, but be aware that although it’s pausable, there’s a ton of short/quick, repetitive motions in this game. And some encounters are extremely long if you don’t arrive with a good build/setup.
