3 star game, but 4 for nostalgia – Heroes of Steel RPG Review

I probably would give this a 3 based upon the gameplay itself, but knowing and loving the genre for 30 years and seeing something like this on an iPhone for this price pushes it up a notch. I will support this game in its entirety and hope the devs make a sequel with some major improvements as I outline below in the negative section. Positives: If you are a classic Mac rpg fan and loved playing spiderweb games or Cythera from Ambrosia, you will appreciate this game. Very inexpensive for 20+ hours per chapter (but see negatives regarding length below) Not a lot of random unrewarding quests taking you back and forth to an area multiple times so far. Combat often requires thought and planning... absolutely love that. This is not a hack and slash game. Negatives: Long and small printed dialogue Long combat sessions from the beginning of the game. It can get boring Trigger area is huge. You will have enemies from very far away coming at you for ages. Again, takes forever, gets repetitive and boring. The 20+ hours for each chapter seems more related to long dialogue, long combat sessions and far/hypersensitive enemy triggering. It’s not the exploring or amazing storyline which requires 20 hours. It’s the constant combat at every turn and 15 enemies that take forever to get to you that causes the game to be so long. They aren’t adding value in this regard, sadly. Confusing inventory and equip system Complicated leveling/skill system Needs a world map where you can see labeled cities/towns you’ve already explored. For 20+ hours per chapter, you are going to forget names of cities, etc. Loot is very repetitive and there doesn’t seem to be a large variety of gear or weapons. Expect to keep the same weapon/gear for many levels and hours. I’ve yet to find any amazing equip or weapons except as a reward for completing part 1 of chapter 1. Chapter 1 part 2 had nothing valuable at all and the RNG on weapons or gear in chests seems to be basic stuff only. Nothing epic or legendary at all has been found in crates (not that this game has those classifications at all which is a shame, but you know epic or legendary items when you see them) and I am now in chapter 2. The mage blows through SP way too fast. I completely understand that mages are going to use more spell power than a warrior, but a mage can blow through all of their SP in one relatively average battle. That’s a little excessive. HP potions seem irrelevant. With a priest on board there are very few times I need to use them. SP potions are the one and only thing I stock up on. Seems like this should be more balanced since we find about 50/50 SP and AP potions in most chests. Neutral: I’ve not explored the crafting system yet and will need to spend some time online reading more about it as the in game information isn’t very informative or helpful for me. I love when devs create unlimited possibilities for builds and teams. However, I feel this game has very little information in game to try and figure that out. I feel like I need to have a skill/build guide more so than in other classic rpg’s. Sure there is always going to be forums dedicated to perfecting builds and teams, but I feel this game requires one to consult them out of the gate or get lost in the dust. My warrior for example is pumping the basics such as sword and strength and does less damage than my mage by 1/5. Something’s wrong with that picture. Maybe the devs prefer meat shield warriors that do relatively less damage than others. I’m more of a warrior who goes in and does the most damage and also takes the most damage kind of player. With my support team buffing or healing me and being more strategic with my weak archers, mages and priests. Why is my mage the best on my team when I didn’t allocate my skills that way? Anyway, best of luck to the devs. This could be a beautiful game for the future, but it needs a lot of work. And, I would pay premium App Store rates for a much improved sequel.
Review by Neily911 on Heroes of Steel RPG.