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Pardon the dust! This page includes some jargon that hasn't been added to the site's glossary yet. I'll be around to fix this later, but sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime. |
Review: Hero Siege
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:When you quit the game, your items, experience, and location are saved. However, your progress in the current stage is not, so youll need to start it over again. Because of this, it might be best to always return to town prior to quitting the game. Time needed per session:Expect to play for longer periods of time, as youll simply move through the levels as long as you survive.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | Yes Blood and gore are a common sight in this game, and while there is an option to reduce the amount of it youll see, it wont clean everything up. But while the combat can be a big issue, the omnipresent references to demons and Satan (some of which are considered a good thing) makes this game conflict heavily with Christian morals. |
Screenshots
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/hero_siege_0.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/hero_siege_1.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/hero_siege_2.jpg)
Game Overview
Live in the town of Inoya could hardly be worse. Horrible creatures are constantly attacking what remains of the village, and its only a matter of time before it falls under the control of Damien, the son of the Devil himself. Thus, the call has gone out for heroes to come and save the day. Unfortunately for them, the heroes that answered their call were just as psychotic and violent as the monsters theyd be fighting.
Welcome to Hero Siege, a game thats designed around the concept of gleefully slaying an uncountable number of hostile creatures and equally insane boss fights. Compared to many games available today, its extremely simple and straightforward, but thats actually its biggest strength. Youre here to have some fun, not get involved in a serious story.
After creating your hero, youre unceremoniously dumped in the middle of town and sent on your way. The town itself is really just a hub that allows you to manage your equipment in a safe environment before you head into the fray. Once you take the portal to the level of your choice, the game proper begins.
Each stage is a huge arena filled with monsters, traps, and treasures. Youre free to wander about gathering up loot, but you do have a goal to work towards. Specifically, you need to slay enough of the local monsters to summon the areas boss. Slay the boss and youll be rewarded with more loot and a portal to the next stage. From here, its a case of rinse and repeat to your hearts content.
This also highlights one of Hero Sieges bigger weaknesses: its based around repetitive grinding, and thats not everyones cup of tea. Add in the large amount of blood, gore, and demonic references, and you have a game that Christian gamers probably wont be comfortable playing. It might be better to skip this game entirely if youre bothered by the content; after all, there are always other games out there.
Welcome to Hero Siege, a game thats designed around the concept of gleefully slaying an uncountable number of hostile creatures and equally insane boss fights. Compared to many games available today, its extremely simple and straightforward, but thats actually its biggest strength. Youre here to have some fun, not get involved in a serious story.
After creating your hero, youre unceremoniously dumped in the middle of town and sent on your way. The town itself is really just a hub that allows you to manage your equipment in a safe environment before you head into the fray. Once you take the portal to the level of your choice, the game proper begins.
Each stage is a huge arena filled with monsters, traps, and treasures. Youre free to wander about gathering up loot, but you do have a goal to work towards. Specifically, you need to slay enough of the local monsters to summon the areas boss. Slay the boss and youll be rewarded with more loot and a portal to the next stage. From here, its a case of rinse and repeat to your hearts content.
This also highlights one of Hero Sieges bigger weaknesses: its based around repetitive grinding, and thats not everyones cup of tea. Add in the large amount of blood, gore, and demonic references, and you have a game that Christian gamers probably wont be comfortable playing. It might be better to skip this game entirely if youre bothered by the content; after all, there are always other games out there.
Points of Interest
Many unique classes
Currently, there are fifteen unique playable character classes. Each character features their own voice overs, playing style, and abilities. Additionally, new classes are added as DLC every so often. With this many ways to play, theres going to be a character youll enjoy playing, and with the huge number of save slots available, theres plenty of room for experimentation. The only downside to this is that there is always going to be a class thats easier than others (*cough*Rednecks*cough*), leading to complaints about the game being unbalanced.
Two game modes
When you create a new character, you have the option of designating them as a Hardcore character. This means that they wont respawn; the character and everything they have on them will be erased when they die in battle. If you dont want to play a game with permadeath, thats fine too; just leave the option unchecked and youll respawn in town. Youll just lose the relics that youve collected.
Additional quests
One way to get more experience and loot is to complete quests that the villagers offer. Most of these are randomly generated along with the arenas, but there are a few storyline quests that become available at the start of the game. There are also two holiday quests that can be done during Halloween and Christmas for prizes and achievements.
Up to seven Acts
Each Act consists of five stages, with the fifth stage ending in a special throne room boss battle. The main game takes place through the first four Acts, with the remaining three Acts available as DLC. The best part of this design is that the towns portal system allows you to start at any stage youve previously reached using that character. This way, you can either jump around to the stages you want to play, or if you havent cleared all of the levels yet, you can continue from where you left off.
No game is ever quite the same
There are score of relics you can find and use to fight the forces of evil, and which ones you find is completely random. Likewise, the arenas always have unique layouts, and the boss for each stage is also randomly chosen. Even though the last stage of each Act has a specific boss, the exact form of that boss is still based on luck and chance. Odds are, youll need to play for a long time to see everything.
Co-op Multiplayer
One of the neat things about this game is that you can play alone or with friends. You dont even need to go online; two players can fight the hordes together using the keyboard and a controller. Playing online is the only way to earn some of the games achievements, as they are based around friendly competition.
Steam Achievements and trading cards
What would be a better way to commemorate your monster slaying skills than with some achievements? There are more than fifty achievements to earn, many of which require you to find and kill a specific incarnation of a monster. The odds of finding those special versions of the games bosses increase on higher difficulties, and naturally enough, theres also an achievement for completing the game on each difficulty. The truly hard to get achievements are the ones that require you to beat the game with a Hardcore character.
As a bonus, you earn crystals whenever you meet the conditions for an achievement. Crystals act as a secondary rare currency in game, so collect them when you can.
Also, if you enjoy collecting them, this game has a series of Steam trading cards available.
As a bonus, you earn crystals whenever you meet the conditions for an achievement. Crystals act as a secondary rare currency in game, so collect them when you can.
Also, if you enjoy collecting them, this game has a series of Steam trading cards available.
Repetitive gameplay
Each stage is essentially the same as the next, the main differences being cosmetic. You have a randomly generated arena, lots of monsters, and some traps. Kill enough monsters, and youll fight the stages boss. Thats the entire game in a nutshell. This might not be enough to keep someone interested long-term.
Death is cheap
Unless youre playing a Hardcore mode character, being killed only means that youre sent back to the town square without any of the relics youve collected. While weaker characters need those relics to survive against stronger foes, powerful characters can bulldoze their way through any of the levels without worrying about dying.
But, thats not quite what Im talking about when I say Death is cheap this time -- Death himself is the final boss of Act II, and in my opinion, his tactics are annoyingly cheap. Compared to everyone else in the game, his attacks are drastically harder to dodge and do so much damage that it can ruin the fun. Several of his attacks can wipe the group almost instantly, leading me to suspect hes programmed this way specifically to prevent Hardcore characters from progressing very far.
But, thats not quite what Im talking about when I say Death is cheap this time -- Death himself is the final boss of Act II, and in my opinion, his tactics are annoyingly cheap. Compared to everyone else in the game, his attacks are drastically harder to dodge and do so much damage that it can ruin the fun. Several of his attacks can wipe the group almost instantly, leading me to suspect hes programmed this way specifically to prevent Hardcore characters from progressing very far.
Equipment makes the Hero
Perhaps the biggest weakness in the games design is how your characters effectiveness is tied to the weapon youre using. Most weapons youll find dont do more than a few hundred points of damage, but there are weapons for nearly every level that cause damage in the tens of thousands. These superweapons quickly transform even the weakest character into an unstoppable powerhouse, and are generally the first things you should seek out when starting a new character.
Unfortunately, this is where the randomization can be a pain, as its hard to find these gems among the many items that drop.
Unfortunately, this is where the randomization can be a pain, as its hard to find these gems among the many items that drop.
Concerns and Issues
Magic and rituals
Various playable characters use their magical powers to fight against the monsters, though some are more noteworthy than others. The pyromancer, for example, simply throws fire everywhere, while the necromancer actively creates undead minions out of dead monsters. The demon spawn goes even further, as all of his attacks are infernal spells of some sort. Also, many of the relics you can collect have magical powers or properties. Of course, the monsters use whatever abilities are at their disposal to fight the players, including magic.
On the darker side of things, youll encounter two types of questionable statues that can be found on the battlefield. If you touch these statues, the character will smear some of their blood on them, and in return, theyll receive a reward of some sort. When you activate the statue that looks like a woman, a voice says Mother of the Christos and youll be given a beneficial reward of some type. The statue that resembles a demon, on the other hand, gives out punishments as well as assistance, making it more of a gamble.
Finally, there is a quest where you must remain on the steps of an altar for a set period of time. During this time, many monsters will spawn and attack you. Once youve been in front of the altar for long enough, the altar disappears and you can receive your reward for completing the quest.
On the darker side of things, youll encounter two types of questionable statues that can be found on the battlefield. If you touch these statues, the character will smear some of their blood on them, and in return, theyll receive a reward of some sort. When you activate the statue that looks like a woman, a voice says Mother of the Christos and youll be given a beneficial reward of some type. The statue that resembles a demon, on the other hand, gives out punishments as well as assistance, making it more of a gamble.
Finally, there is a quest where you must remain on the steps of an altar for a set period of time. During this time, many monsters will spawn and attack you. Once youve been in front of the altar for long enough, the altar disappears and you can receive your reward for completing the quest.
Lots of references to Satan and demons
Probably the most offensive thing about this game is how saturated it is with satanic references and demonic iconography. Each stage features a pentacle somewhere on the battlefield. When youve slain enough of the local monsters (some of which are likely to be demons of some form), this pentacle activates and either summons the areas boss or opens a doorway to the boss fight. Several of the bosses are either demons or demonic in some way, most notably the final boss of Act VI (Satan himself) and the final boss of Act VII (a powerful demon named Mevius ).
Additional references can be found throughout the game. For example, the actual satanic cross is shown on some menus, and the heroes can arm themselves with satanic-tier equipment. The Satanic Bible appears as a relic, and many of the other relics are demonic in some way.
Of course, its only fair to mention that there are references to the holy as well as the profane. The Holy Bible makes an appearance, as do other Christian artifacts. Lastly, the Archangel Gabriel makes an appearance as a bonus boss you can challenge in a special high-level bonus area known as the Wormhole.
Additional references can be found throughout the game. For example, the actual satanic cross is shown on some menus, and the heroes can arm themselves with satanic-tier equipment. The Satanic Bible appears as a relic, and many of the other relics are demonic in some way.
Of course, its only fair to mention that there are references to the holy as well as the profane. The Holy Bible makes an appearance, as do other Christian artifacts. Lastly, the Archangel Gabriel makes an appearance as a bonus boss you can challenge in a special high-level bonus area known as the Wormhole.
Blood and gore
Theres quite a bit of both. When you kill an enemy, they burst into a small shower of gore and a bloody corpse is left behind. The gore shower can be disabled by tweaking the games graphics options to low, but the corpses will stick around as theyre needed by the necromancer class as raw materials. Many enemies are already bloody before you engage them, and some of the grosser bosses use blood trails as an attack.
The environment is also typically decorated with the bodies of dead prisoners, bloody spikes, or even rivers of blood. Some of these corpses have been impaled, hung on nooses, or simply left to rot. The degree to which this stuff litters the battlefield depends on where you currently are fighting; ie, the more evil a location is, the more bodies are strewn about.
The environment is also typically decorated with the bodies of dead prisoners, bloody spikes, or even rivers of blood. Some of these corpses have been impaled, hung on nooses, or simply left to rot. The degree to which this stuff litters the battlefield depends on where you currently are fighting; ie, the more evil a location is, the more bodies are strewn about.
Swearing
Compared to everything else, this is the least concerning thing about this game. Some of the characters, notably the Redneck, swear periodically.