Has-Been Heroes

OK, so I've had a copy of this game since its release and only just got round to playing it yesterday (coz mario and zelda), now I watched TotalBiscuit's video on the steam release a while back so knew what the game was and what to expect. After a few hours of play, i'd beat the game once and got so many unlocks and died 9 runs out of 10, coz permadeath. I enjoyed myself.

After this I read the review for the game in SP #3 and the game has been given a score of 2.4/5 = POOR.
Now I hope we all know that there is no definitive criteria for review scores and they represent next to nothing of how good a game is? good.
The review sings praise here and there for the game but it's the last 2 paragraphs that start with; "For all the unique, fun ideas, Has-Been Heroes is let down by it's brutal difficulty" that make me think, huh?
Now I understand that yes, the game is difficult and luck-based more often than not, coz roguelite. Is this one gripe enough to label the game as being POOR though? There are literally no other real 'complaints' about the game in this review other than it's insane difficulty and lack of reward.
Personally it has taken me 10 attempts, around 2.5 hours to get an ending that didn't result in death. So over only a couple of hours I managed to get a feel for the game and eventually beat it, one way I found. That to me doesn't seem like too long a time to learn the game and achieve success. I don't want people to be put off from this game because it can be hard to get to grips with at the start. The game is OK overall, it's not a must have title or anything but still fun. Imagine if Dark Souls got this treatment.

After a rant my point is, do you think it is fair to give a game a low score because of it's difficulty?
I may move this over to general gaming if people think it is better suited there.

 

I don't think it's fair. But the level of difficulty can deter someone away from playing. If reviewers can't complete then they shouldn't review. I wouldn't review say a dark souls game as I ain't the best at that kind of game and would rate lower than someone who plays them regularly.

 

hmm yea no disrespect to the guy but it seems like that is the case with this one. I obviously can't say for sure but seems like not much time has been spent with it. Especially with a rougelike/lite game i'd expect a good amount of hours put in before a review would have the accurate information and perception.

 

I haven't played Has Been Heroes yet despite owning it. It sounds intriguing, and I do want to get around to it, but it might be a while.

I think it's ok to consider difficulty when reviewing a game, both if a game is too easy or too hard. Either can affect the enjoyment of a game. Sure, difficulty is subjective, but then so is the review itself. I know there have been games that I liked aspects of, but the "fun" was ruined because it was too easy. The written review should spell all that out though, the good and the bad. If the issue is how much should a review score be docked for the problems surrounding difficulty, I guess I'd say it depends on how much the difficulty ruined the experience. Basically, I think it's ok to give a game a low score because of difficulty if that difficulty (too easy or too hard) made the game overall unenjoyable, despite the positives in the game design.

 

Even though its a rogue-lite and has some RNG aspects too it, it has become one of my favorite games as of late. I like the challenge and don't mind the repetition. As I unlock more items and heroes, having to change up my strategy becomes apparent and the bosses offer descent variety as well.

The reviewers that say it is too hard are just biased, its like giving Dark Souls a bad score because its hard... It seems many are jumping on the train of others and wanting that instant gratification instead of having to grind a little, figure it out and enjoy the reward when you do beat a boss/section.

I hope to see more from this developer.

 

I really enjoy this one as well man, Frozenbyte are working on Nine Parchments which I think will be a great co op for the switch. Should look into it.

 

O nice, didn't know that! It has a gauntlet feel and it looks like a good co-op game!

 

The game was published by GameTrust, a publishing division by Gamestop as a Gamestop exclusive. The retail version came out the same date as digital, i’m 100% sure about that. And it was sold only at Gamestop stores. But you are speaking about the UK and as far as i know, you don’t have gamestop stores anymore? As the time has past I’ve seen the game sold elsewhere too, but the price is, as you said too, much higher. If you like, you can ask this about the creators of the game, frozenbyte. They answer pretty fast at their homepage.

 

Has-Been Heroes is my first PS Vita game and I don't regret it. (Bought the console 2 days ago.)

This is what I think, in a nutshell: the game has been judged too harshly for things that are common in its niche. I have quite enjoyed the challenge, and I suck at it, but I can see improvement, and it's fun to figure things out at my own pace, even if it means tons of deaths. I think it's a fresh addition to the roguelike genre, and it pisses me off that people don't complain about other extremely difficult games (some with permadeath, too), like Bloodborne and Dark Souls, the same way they do with this one.