Hero Core

Indie games are cool. We all agree on that, right? Often these titles can be picked up for almost nothing. In Hero Core's case it is excatly that. Game can be downloaded freely from developer Daniel Remar's site. 

Game-play is a combination of shooter/platformer action. Protagonist Flip Hero flies around in a asteroid base in his jetpack. Story is simple, his nemesis Cruiser Tetron must be stopped. He encounters vast range of monsters during the way which he need to kill to be able to continue. Flip can also upgrade his arsenal of weapons to handle more demanding monsters and blockages he is facing. 

Graphically game is very plain. Black and white are the only colours used. Flip Hero is simple sprite that has only two animations. Going left and going right. Inspiration to C64 and even older consoles such as Atari 2600 can be seen in the graphics. Which for sure finds home for certain aged gamer. Soundtrack which can also be downloaded freely consist of 15+ chiptune tracks. Like with fine single malt enjoying this is a acquired taste. Acquired over the years if nothing else. The songs sound as it would have sounded if the game had been released in the 80's. Which is a good thing.

 

Save points are distributed well and these will come in handy. As with many such remake retro games Hero Core is rather challenging. The learning curve is gentle, but after certain point will become challenging. Not to mention on Hard difficulty where enemy pattern changes completely. On multiple occasions the enemy and the bullet count on screen draws comparisons to bullet-hell even. Game can be completed in few hours, but there is multiple endings and collectivables as well as even HARDER difficulty level that gets unlocked. Also couple of extra modes are unlocked after completing the game

For a game that cost absolutely nothing it shouldn't be a question if this should be experienced or not. The minimalistic black and white presentation might turn the majority off. Which is a shame since despite the dated look and feel the quality can be found in every aspect of the game. And lastly Hero Core has the coolest save game file ever.