Release Date: March 24, 2017
Pixel-art 2D platformer in which the goal is to pass levels as quickly as possible. The work of the British duo Bitmap Bureau and Rising Star Games puts before us the ambitious task of passing 88 boards in 88 minutes. In addition, for each level we get only 88 seconds. If we fail, the evil Doctor H8 will fire 88 nuclear warheads towards Earth and our planet will cease to exist.
88 Heroes is a 2D arcade platform game. By controlling randomly assigned heroes with twisted appearance and powers, the player must complete all levels in 88 minutes, with only 88 seconds to complete each ma[.
The game was developed by the British studio Bitmap Bureau, the devs of Ninja Shodown. The publisher of the game is Rising Star Games. A free DLC called 88 Heroes - RSG Champions has been released, which enriches the base title with eight new guest characters from other games (e.g. A Pixel Story).
The Earth is threatened by nuclear destruction. The disgusting alien, Dr. H8, demands a ransom of 88 octlion dollars. If he doesn't get it within 88 minutes (counting from 8:08 a.m.), 88 atomic projectiles will hit our planet. As humanity has no intention of meeting the demands of a cosmic tyrant, and the best superheroes are very busy, eighty eight of the most useless and twisted heroes in the world enter the action. The clock ticks! The fate of Earth will be decided on August 8, 1988.
In 88 Heroes of the player's goal is to complete 88 two-dimensional levels in less than 88 minutes. Additionally, for each level we have a maximum of 88 seconds.
Another difficulty is the fact that we start each board with a hero randomly selected from a set of 88 characters, each of which has completely different skills and properties. For example, Gonan, modeled on the famous Conan, uses a sword, Tommy the Gun, a former gangster, wields machine gun, the super-chickes lays exploding eggs, and a kitten experimented on by the military can fly while flooding the space in front of him with a stream of deadly energy.
The differences between the heroes are not limited only to weapons. The specific powers of some heroes enable us to go through the game levels in a rather unconventional way. Teleportation, free flight regardless of gravity and the ability to punch out holes in the platforms on which we move give us a chance to quickly break through the map and save valuable seconds. Of course, provided that we are able to effectively use the skills of the hero.
Contact with an enemy creature or bullet usually results in immediate death. The only chance to resurrect the character is to collect 88 coins. This enables us to draw three dead characters, one of which we can bring back to the living world.
As we travel through the world of 88 Heroes, we face numerous enemies. We are faced with combat robots, rocket launchers, laser guns, moving blades and even such bizarre obstacles as deadly jumping skulls. At the end of each of the four worlds, we also have a meeting with a boss.
The main mode, 88 Mode, requires us to complete 88 levels (4 worlds) in 88 minutes, with a maximum of 88 seconds per map. At the beginning of a level and in case of the hero's death, the game assigns us a character drawn from a set of 88 heroes.
Additional modes of 88 Heroes are: The Magnificent 8, where we have only eight heroes at our disposal, Solo, where we fight with one hero and Training, i.e. exercise mode.
88 Heroes has been developed using Unity engine technology. The game was created in 2D, using pixel-art style, which gives the game a retro atmosphere. The part of the screen where the game takes place has been stylized on the monitor of the game's main antagonist's computer - his comic character is always visible at the bottom of the screen, from where he comments on the player's actions.
Platforms:
PC Windows March 24, 2017
PlayStation 4 March 24, 2017
Xbox One March 24, 2017
Nintendo Switch October 12, 2017
Developer: Bitmap Bureau
Publisher: Rising Star Games
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Game Ratings for 88 Heroes Video Game.
Nindie Spotlight: 6.5 / 10 by Nindie Spotlight
Ultimately 88 Heroes is a title that lives and dies by its humor, and that statement has meaning on several levels. It isn’t only that many of the heroes aren’t very useful, a compounding problem is that since almost all of them are unique in some way as a player you often have very little basis for how this character “works”. There’s no real opportunity to “git gud” with them or understand their nuances, you’re just going to run at your problems head-on and hope that your luck and reflexes will help you win the day. Granted, as you play through the game there’s no doubt you’d begin to work some of these things out but since the gameplay is relatively shallow once the surprises and jokes wear thin I’m not so positive the action itself holds up on its own to keep you compelled. I enjoyed my time with the game to a degree and some of the referential humor is a lot of fun but once you contemplate your third or fourth run and you’re looking to really play and beat the game as your priority nothing is going to stop some of the problems from seeping in.
TrueAchievements: 4 / 5 by Megan Walton
88 Heroes is a game that tells the same old saving the earth story but in a unique way. With 88 heroes on offer here, each time you play the game you'll get something different, be it good or bad.
COGconnected: 68 / 100 by Alexander Thomas
Despite its unique concept and quirky humor, it feels like a game best used to pass the time.
Average score from votes.
