Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption

The game shares most of the positive aspects of the Quest for Glory series: The story is fun and is very non-linear. The daily routing (training, meeting others, going to optional classes, exploring/fighting), the continuing development of the main story (which is presented in rather small chunks) and the multitude of possible solutions to challenges are well-implemented. Descriptions of objects and dialogs are fun to read (and full of puns). The role-playing elements are fun and allow for great flexibility. Reading the text is certainly an enjoyment. Apart from a few typos there are no significant bugs (however the combat UI was a bit flaky at 4K resolution). The bad news is that the presentation often suffers or shows inconsistency: Some of the 2D-Art (cutscenes) are very low resolution and upscaled in a blurry way while other elements are bright and clear. Some of the rooms have a very simple, evidently tile-based design, while others have a fully fleshed out, detailed presentation. Animations and 3D-models of characters sometimes look great, but at other times appear extremely artificial and cheap. The music is very engaging - but also rather repetitive if you play for long sessions. There is no voice-acting (which is fine by me, as I tend to click through dialog after reading it anyway). If you like good stories, buy it. If you like a good mix of storytelling and game-play buy it. If you only seek highly complex tactical battles, you may want to reconsider. If you exclusively look for story without gameplay (Telltale-style) look elsewhere. If you seek a game to show off your new high-end-graphics-card look elsewhere. If you want a Diablo-clone buy something else.

This review has been written after playing for 8 days in the game. First the positives: 1. The graphics are gorgeous, apart from animation stutter. 2. Sneaking in dangerous situations is handled well. 3. The game hasn't crashed yet (using Ubuntu 18.04) The negatives: 1. Both the characters and the story feel flat. 2. The required social interactions annoy me, since your fellow students are not fleshed out enough to make this enjoyable. 3. Time flows far too fast. If I needed tight deadlines, I would go to work. This feels like doing chores. 4. I don't like the abundance of pun humour. Probably because I generally don't like the American style of humour in general, but I can't hold that against the game itself.

I fall love with Quest for Glory series when I find them by accident, story, adventure, and RPG all togther is what I love most. When I see and hear of Hero-U from kickstarter, from same creators of QFG, I then fast become one of their backer and wait for long time: it's worth to wait! Hero-U had great jokes and puns, there are so much to do and so little time to do everything. You are free to build kind of character you want to be, make friends and rivals, and combat is simple and fun. I play for hours and I still have so many to find and learn skills. If you are fan of QFG or adventure with rpg then this game is for you and I would recommed it!

Harken back to the days of Glory when RPG games immersed you in a complex world filled with challenging puzzles, heroic battles, mysterious quests and a fully developed cast of characters. Hero-U is a worthy successor to the Quest for Glory game series by the same developers. Practice your skills in a vividly conceived world to build up your stats so you can create a character able to defeat monsters, uncover the secrets of a truly interactive world, and make friends (and enemies) using your wits, charm, and intelligence. Will you become a hero? It's all up to you. You'll play this one more than once. There are so many secrets to uncover, it will take you several tries to conquer them all. This is a wonderful game. Go for it!