Heroes of Ruin Review

Somewhat Okay Story
When it comes to games like Heroes of Ruin or Diablo, the story plays a very small part in the game as you will focus more on building your character and getting through the instances with friends, in which case, you shouldn’t expect anything mind-blowing to the story of Heroes of Ruin.

With Atraxis, ruler of the city of Nexus, dying from a curse, the kingdom is seeking out adventurers throughout the world in an attempt to find a cure. This is where you come in and it will be up to you to do what is necessary. Going through the different acts within the game, you will spend most of the time clearing dungeons, and fighting bosses. In the end, the game doesn’t offer a satisfying conclusion but at least, what you will appreciate is the fun times you’ve had clearing the dungeons.

NOT

Dungeons and 3D Visuals are Meh
If you are hoping for the visuals in Heroes of Ruin to be good, don’t be as you’ll most likely be disappointed. While n-Space did a very good job in having the Diablo vibe to it; with the camera on the birds-eye view, you will notice how bland the visuals and the dungeons are. In the different dungeons that you will go through, you will notice that a lot of them are recycled with bland as textures and palettes used more than once.

In terms of the 3D, you’ll most likely going to put that slider down to the minimum. The density on how the 3D is shown at max or even at middle is bad; you will see double image and this is the same problem I’ve encountered back when I get to played it at CES. Hoping the game will look much better on the 3DS XL, the visuals and the blandness of the dungeons will most likely be a small issue as you will disregard them and just focus in getting that best equipment within the game.

Very Short Game
Another disappointing aspect that Heroes of Ruin have is that it’s very short. For those who are seeking for an expanded adventure, don’t be as you can clear the game under eight hours or less. When everything is completed, the only thing that you can do in order to make the game longer is to replay dungeons, and hope you will get a better equipment on your second time playing it.

Repetitive Nature
One thing that makes hack and slash games bad are their repetitive nature. Since what you will be doing is the same thing throughout the game; rid the dungeons, fight a boss, and get loot, it does get very tedious for those with low patience for a game like this. Unlike Diablo where you can have a lot of skills to use, Heroes of Ruin is limited to three and with that, you will just button smash and hope not to die and quick enough to use potions when your health is low.

VERDICT

Overall, Heroes of Ruin is a great game but it’s marred with problems that are hard to neglect that can affect the players’ gameplay experience. For gamers who are seeking a Diablo-like experience right on the Nintendo 3DS, Heroes of Ruin will be able to give you that feeling as it has most of the things a dungeon hack and slash RPG games have; dynamic combat that can get somewhat repetitive at times, a worthy and rewarding loots, and finally, a full pledged online co-op game that’s done right on the Nintendo 3DS. Regardless on the flaws that you find within the game, Heroes of Ruin is worthy title to pick up and enjoy.

[Editor’s Note: Heroes of Ruin was reviewed on the Nintendo 3DS. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]