FLAT HEROES

Keeping your mind in shape

Gameplay is definitely placed before aesthetics in Flat Heroes, conventional distractions like character design, world-building, and even story having been ditched in order to prioritise fast-paced platformer action. You play as a square which has to avoid and/or fight incoming objects. The 300-plus no-frills levels are short, lasting anywhere between 30 seconds and a minute, and once you get into the swing of things, you find yourself either bolting through levels, or repeating one particularly tricky one over and over with a growing sense of frustration.

When everything’s focused on the action physics are important, so you’ll be glad to know that the platforming feels tight and the controls are intuitive. When you die, you’re able to understand what you did wrong, and the fast pace enables you to have another go straight away.

The soundtrack1 is great to start off with and plays throughout, tracks only ever changing after each piece of music is done – though the limited amount of music there is can grate on your ears after a while. What you’re called on to do can also feel repetitive after a while. 2 You’ll get much more enjoyment with a friend in co-op, as figuring out new ways to tackle levels and the thrill at beating a hard level with a friend feel just that much better.

Flat Heroes is great if you want to square off against a friend. Just don’t expect it to change your life or linger in your memory. As much as it keeps your brain in shape, the developer hasn’t thought too far outside the box for this one.

That said, if you’re a platformer fan, then be here or be square!

Mahin Kesore

FOOTNOTES1 The soundtrack is an electronic chiptune with a bit of jazz thrown in. 2 As much as the game can feel repetitive, it still manages to feel repetitive. (At some times it can also be repetitive.)