Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption

Don't remember the last time I was this feverishly enthralled by anything. I was thinking that after a certain age, any excitement you feel about entertainment will only be subdued at best. Although I was a Kickstarter backer and fully expected to love this game (because Coles, duh), I wasn't prepared to be so instantly taken in, I barely spoke to anyone for the week I played this. This game essentially restored my faith in human creativity. As other reviews here have already mentioned, this game has pretty much everything fans loved in the QFG series: hand-drawn graphics that set up that distant fantasy land atmosphere with a gameplay so immersive you feel part of that world, enchanting music to elevate that, characters you'll never forget that you actually miss once the game ends, and more importantly an intricate plot woven into and through all these components most masterfully. Concurrently there are also fresher and newer aspects to the gameplay so it doesn't feel repetitive, which brings me to the time aspect. I wasn't a fan of the time-sensitive nature of the game at first when I read reviews, although I got that it is required in a game that simulates the university experience. I mean I get a lot of anxiety in real life with regards to time-management and now in the game too? Also it may not be possible to score 100s in all the skills or do everything in one go? It hurt the perfectionist me. However within about 3-5 game days, once you get used to the locations, characters, where to find who/what, test the limits of how much you can bend deadlines etc the timing aspect isn't a big deal at all and you do get to do everything (within the limits of the elective subjects/romance plots you take which adds good replay value). When it comes to time-sensitive tasks, it added the needed thrills and chills and 'real-life' urgency without which I now think the game might not have been as exciting. As for skills, I did manage to get a 100 in most. Even if you don't, you can still reach a 100 using magical items. The remaining few that I couldn't score a 100 in was because I figured out some time-saving training methods too late. Additionally, I feel the time aspect added much needed challenge and freshness for QFG veterans. Personally I feel Hero-U can be compared in terms of challenge to QFG1 where the hero was but starting his career which is also the case for Shawn (which is still challenging owing to the Hero's and Shawn's below avg initial stats, unfamiliar environment and dangers etc). Without the fresher gameplay aspects, or nothing new to learn or struggle with, I would have ended up feeling bored and unfulfilled. The only cons I found were some minor bugs, and that the ending felt a little abrupt. You don't get to look at everything you achieved (through the journal) or have some last conversations with some of the characters about the ending events. I wish there was room for that and some end of school event in the Hall of Heroes or some such where all the characters assemble etc. But I guess it's not very rogue-like to look for glory ;) Apart from that, Shawn was an absolute delight to play as and to be with throughout the game with his good-natured, cheery humorous perspective. The game delivers on everything it promises and is a great blend of adventure, RPG, story-telling and character development and world-building, puzzle-solving, going on challenging quests, combat etc. Hero-U RtR is but the first instalment in a series of games, and also does the job of setting up the plot, characters and places, some of which you can interact with in this game, and some in the coming games which makes it a great stand-alone game in itself while also leaving you curious and eager for more to come.

First, like many others, I'm a big QFG fan... Actually, I played the original QFG when it was Hero's Quest (yeah, I'm THAT old). Anyway, I find it amusing that so many people lament the grindy nature of this game in the same review they talk about QFG. QFG used the exact same grindy methods/formula to advance your hero skills and abilities. Anyway, the game itself is fantastic! It's a thrwback to the days of old and there are tons of references to the old QFG and other Sierra titles from back in the day. I like the art and style of the game and the storytelling brings back fond memories. I loved that you basically know nothing and have to figure everything out from the beginning. I also liked the challenge of having half of your day sucked away by classes and that you get quizzed on what you learned in class. It was so much fun to play, though I will say the last few days after you resolve your family history are kind of boring because everything is basically done at that point. Couple of things from keeping it from being a 5 star. There are quite a few typos and grammar errors, in a game which has so much text, it's kind of annoying. There are a couple of instances where, if you don't have conversations in the correct order, you can't complete a quest. It is not always obvious to the tone of the conversation that you might need to immediately talk to that person again. However, those minor issues aside, it was a pretty fantastic game.

There could have been a fun spiritual QFG buried in here, but any chance of that is killed by the fact that 90% of the game is repeating the same tasks every day to grind stats, or waiting around for arbitrary triggers. You would THINK that exploring the hidden mysteries of your Hogwarts school at night would be interesting, but it's not. Rather than discover things based on exploration or puzzle solving, you solve them by waiting around for days until an arbitrary trigger solves it for you. Except when it doesn't. You never know if you're not progressing because you haven't done something, or if the time based trigger hasn't kicked in yet. So it's all the very worst parts of QFG: stat grinding and waiting around until plot triggers happen. Except it was never this bad in QFG, and at least in those games there was lots of locales to explore. Hero-U is like being stuck in town all game, you can only play the Thief, and all the fun Thief activities are taken away.

Just finished my first run (of many to come). I played all original Quest for Glory Games and I can say they where my favorite games. Those games where adventure games with RPG inserted, I fine blend. Hero-U RTR is more a solo RPG with Adventure inserted, I liked it more. The way you advance, the way training makes you more skilled, everything is done right. Some may complain that there is no arcade involved, that the graphics are static, that there is no voice acting... hello, RPG make you use the best graphic and sound engine... IMAGINATION. I'm very happy I found this jewell, I'll try to contribute for the next chapter. And I'm going to... start playing again!!!

For a point and click rpg, this was decent experience, but way too slow in pacing... comparable to Heroine Quest, THR, this game is way too much on point and click aspect... It was leveling system, quest system, but I personally think it's good game that might get on your nerve for its slow pacing.