Go right. Go right. Keep going right. Bash enemy. Whatever you do, keep going right.
An infamous convention of platform games seemingly since the dawn of gaming, plodding in the aforementioned direction is a concept that almost all gamers grasp not long after picking up their first controller, but can a game of a less traditional genre use this mechanic effectively? More importantly – is this game under a fiver?
One Way Heroics is a charming Roguelike buried deep within the recesses of Steam’s indie games, overshadowed by bigger releases and sporting an incredibly modest price tag of £2.29. Developed by Japanese indie developer Smoking Wolf, this project has already gathered a strong following and community since it was greenlit on steam earlier in the year. Over the past week I’ve been playing quite a lot of the addictive, side-scrolling RPG and it’s hard to not enjoy the disarmingly sweet presentation of the game. While the game’s art style is heavily reminiscient of many 2D Japanese RPGs before it, One Way Heroics somehow manages to maintain an element of originality in its art design. OWH uses a mix of hand-drawn manga-style characters for select dialogue sequences/player icons and 16-bit sprites for general gameplay, and both are full of character and are a huge part of what makes the game enjoyable.
Gameplay wise, One Way Heroics is surprisingly fresh and fun. The game’s gimmick is that the screen is constantly being devoured from the left, forcing the player to stay conscious of their position in relation to the shroud of impending insta-death that awaits them if they’re not careful. While playing very smoothly, OWH is in fact a turn-based game, with the screen only moving when the hero commits to an action. This makes raiding dungeons a real test of strategy as the player has to plan their actions accordingly and fight the urge to plunder every inch of the structure to avoid being trapped. Playthroughs are often very short, ranging anywhere between mere minutes when becoming accustomed to the mechanics of the game to a completed playthrough on easy taking around 35 minutes. Lots more features are present but I don’t want to spoil everything for readers. At the beginning of the game there are two customizable classes available to the player – the Swordsman and the Knight, although you unlock more playing the game as you earn rewards that carry over to later playthroughs.
The music is varied while still telling of the game’s JRPG influences. Composed by online musicians offering the tracks for free, the mosaic of a soundtrack provides enough variety to save the player from aural tedium while maintaining a pleasant backdrop to the action.
All in all, One Way Heroics is a welcome breath of fresh air on my PC and worth much more than the price of admission.
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