Has-Been Heroes is a lane-based roguelike of strategy and action from Frozenbyte, the Finnish studio behind Trine. King Fortinbrax has one last quest for his oldest, most trusted champions: escort the twin Princesses Avaline and Beatrix to a faraway Academy. The road there is long, the Great Ghoul has filled it with an endless army of undead, and permadeath waits for any party that slips.
One Last Quest Before Retirement
Crux, the giant-wrestling warrior, and Metacles, the wise monk, are well past their prime. Recruiting a young and eager Rogue helps, if only because someone in the group can finally read the tiny print on those potion bottles. The humor is irreverent and the premise sounds gloriously low-stakes, yet the trip to school turns out to be one of the more demanding journeys in the genre. Along the way you reunite with long-lost companions, among them an Anthropologist turned Mexican Wrestler, each bringing a different approach to the fight.
Three Heroes, Three Lanes
Battles play out across three horizontal lanes, with one hero standing in each as monsters advance from the far side of the screen. Every enemy carries stamina that has to be stripped away before attacks deal real damage, and each hero strikes a different number of times, so the trick is matching the right fighter to the right target and swapping lanes at the right moment. Melee cooldowns and spell timers tick away in a blend of turn-based planning and real-time pressure. The basics click within minutes; the depth takes far longer to master.
Spells, Items and Routes
- Elemental spells
- Spells carry elements that interact with one another, and combining them is how a modest party becomes a wrecking crew. The more elements you gather, the more devastating the combinations become, so the spells you pick up early shape every decision that follows.
- Game-changing items
- Hundreds of items boost your heroes in ways large and small, from simple stat gains to effects that change how a hero fights. Finding the one item that completes a build is among the most satisfying moments the game has to offer.
- Randomized maps
- Each region is a randomly generated map of crossroads where you choose between merchants, spell vendors, treasure chests and other surprises. Plotting a route that strengthens the party without pressing your luck too far into the darkness is a strategic layer all its own.
Roguelike to the Core
- Permadeath is the rule. Fall in battle and the journey starts over from the beginning, but randomized maps, spells, items and enemies mean the next attempt never plays out the same way twice.
- Unlockable heroes keep the roster growing, including a band of Young Heroes to discover, so the team you lead deep into your run history can look nothing like the one that first set out.
- Epic Quest raises the stakes with a harder mode in which heroes begin without any spells, and unlocking it brings Amadeus the Wizard, Pontius the Knight and Zoya the Thief from Trine into the party.
- The Sky Temple adds a new region to the main journey, where every run brings unique twists along with new enemies and new bosses to overcome.
- Challenge Mode drops you into a single difficult battle with a pre-set lineup of heroes, items and spells, and completing one unlocks a new Young Hero for your roster.
- Seed Mode lets you share a seed number so friends can play the exact same run you did, with the clock running until the finish so you can compare results.
Gather the Party
If you like your strategy sharp and your roguelikes unforgiving, Has-Been Heroes is a road trip worth taking. Pick your three heroes, plan your route and see how far a veteran party can go before the Great Ghoul sends them back to the start. The princesses are not going to walk themselves to school.
