ReadySet Heroes is a party dungeon crawler game that combines the leveling-up aspects of an MMORPG with the loot-grabbing features of a Diablo game. The game looks amazing and can be fun for a couple of hours at a “come-over-and-play” kind of party with some amazing friends. However, the cartoon styled dungeon crawler couldn’t convince me to pick it up after the party has ended. Here’s why…
ReadySet Heroes is a party game where you can compete against each other or play the game cooperatively. With only two modes to play, the game can become boring quite fast. Even though the game has different interesting characters to play with, they lack a ton of variety of gameplay-wise. The first mode available in the game is a kind of “Zero to hero” mode where you pick a character and complete as many dungeons as you possibly can in a specific time limit. These dungeons offer puzzles and enemies that give your character experience points, stats bonuses, and loot. After the time limit, your character is being transported to a battle arena to compete with 3 other players who did the same run. The second mode is more about playing with a friend and get as far as you possibly can, through 30 little dungeons without dying too much. Each experience plays out a bit differently but the environments quickly become too familiar.
It’s a simple idea that works but a few more gameplay elements would have been welcomed.
At first, I was very excited to see this game become reality as it tries something different within the competitive side of things, however in the end, I realized this game could have been much more than this. There isn’t a story mode and the only things that can be unlocked are 4 different characters. Even though the characters have been well designed, they don’t offer elements that make the characters different from each other. Each character plays exactly the same, the choosing of your champion is probably influenced by the character’s aesthetics. What you pick up during your dungeon crawling, forms your character. It’s a simple idea that works but a few more gameplay elements would have been welcomed.
The weapons do feel different and it’s often your playstyle that’ll lean you towards specific weapons. Choose the weapons that suits your gameplay style perfectly. An ax will let you swing at enemies, finding the staff will let you fire magical bolts and picking up a lute will play songs that’ll turn your enemies’ sleep mode on. These weapons range from common to legendary. There are also opportunities to gather abilities or extra tools. For example, there’s a boomerang to throw or even poisonous traps to use. Armor also gives you stats and by killing enemies, different shards will drop. Picking these shards up will build your stats overall like speed, health, …
“It’s a great competitive mode but the game mode lacks variety and difficult challenges.”
The fun part is the moment you’re being transported to the battle arena. There you’ll face different opponents that also have been gathering some legendary loot. The end game is all about completing objectives and scoring points. The person who’ve gathered the most points wins the battle. This system works because everybody starts out fresh and it’s up to them to build their character step-by-step to form the ultimate warrior that suits the player’s playstyle. It’s a great competitive mode but the game mode lacks variety and difficult challenges.
Then there’s the solo or cooperation mode where you fight your way through different dungeons. Your walkthrough will sometimes spawn bosses which offer unique battles. It’s a great change of pace but like I said earlier, this game is meant to be played with others. The lack of deep customization and modes offers very little to keep the player interested. This game is very simple, so a friend can pick up a controller and start playing. However, there’s also an online matchmaking system that offers other players to play with but this system needs some tweaking because it takes a lot of time before I can actually start playing the game. This game’s net coding needs a couple of tweaks before the system can do what it’s supposed to do.
“The FPS was decent which offered a smooth gameplay experience.”
The best feature this game has to offer is its graphical presentation. This game has an amazing cartoon styled world with vibrant colors and interesting design choices. I didn’t have any technical difficulties while playing the game and that’s amazing for a game to have these days. The FPS was decent which offered a smooth gameplay experience. Sound design is superb as well!
Conclusion:
ReadySet Heroes tried to stand out to deliver something fresh, competitive wise and from what I’ve played, I can definitely see what they were aiming for. The idea works and I liked the idea, however, the lack of content and challenge will give this game less attention than it actually deserves. The graphical presentation and smooth gameplay are definitely notable but this game needs a lot more to rise to the top. It’s a fun game when you have some time to spend with a couple of your friends. It’s a game designed for co-op and more about couch play instead of online because the matchmaking system doesn’t work properly. It’s a simple pick-up-and-play kind of game.
