Big Helmet Heroes
Review
Time for Teamwork
by Camrin Santchi
reviewed on PC
Beat the Baddie, Save the Day
One of this reviewer's favorite games is Castle Crashers, a 2008 beat 'em up that keeps things simple. Princesses are kidnapped by an evil wizard, so the player has to team up with up to three friends or go solo and fight your way across the world map to get them back. So when I saw Big Helmet Heroes, I immediately felt like he was welcoming back an old friend.
Big Helmet Heroes is a 3D beat 'em up that sets up to two players through a multitude of colorful levels where they bash and blast their way through waves upon waves of enemies. Each of the over thirty playable knights has one of four weapon types as their main combat style, which can be temporarily altered to a different style when picking up the temporary weapons scattered around the levels, and all characters have their own special abilities that can add a lot to diversity of play once you've unlocked the characters by finding them within the levels. Most are on the beaten path, but some are more hidden and will take a careful eye to locate.
Two Man Army
In Big Helmet Heroes there's often a comical amount of enemies on screen compared to the one or two players, which is pretty typical of a beat 'em up style game, but it feels like Big Helmet Heroes has almost too many enemies at times. This has two main effects that detract slightly from the experience of the game - it can cause a bit of lag in areas of the game that have a lot of moving parts like an obstacle course or a sheer amount of enemies in certain wave type formats. It isn't a lot, and tends to clear up fairly quickly, which is a relief.
The other main issue with the huge amount of enemies that can spawn in one wave in Big Helmet Heroes is that it can almost feel a bit overwhelming to players, with them not having a chance to breathe. This does make for a lot more satisfaction when players can turn the tides though, so it's a tricky balance figuring out how many enemies are too many enemies when making a beat 'em up.
Silliness is King
Big Helmet Heroes has a focus on being absurd and wacky in some entertaining ways. One of the great examples for this reviewer was the mumbles that characters use in cutscenes and gameplay rather than dialogue, likely making a joke about how muffled a person's voice can be in a big or heavy enough helmet. Another is the variety of 'fun weapons', from a fly swatter/bug zapper combo to an oversized and comical mallet. These weapons have limited uses but tend to be very powerful and are a good way to turn the tides when there are a large amount of enemies on screen.
Growth, or Lack Thereof
One flaw of Big Helmet Heroes is that one of the only feelings of progression that players will feel over the course of the game will be unlocking new playable characters. There aren't ways to increase stats, unlock new combos, or anything of the sort, so as the difficulty ramps up players will need to learn to fight smarter, timing their special moves properly or making usage of the items or environment as best as they can. Not all beat 'em ups have a type of progression of course, and it isn't always needed, but I couldn’t help but feel it would have added to the game's experience, and helped differentiate the many different characters.
For Honor, Glory, and Oversized Helmets!
In all, Big Helmet Heroes is a very fun game that is simple and silly in all the best and most charming ways. It can be a bit laggy at times, but with over thirty characters with four main fighting styles, it's a very satisfying romp especially with a friend. For any players that love a wacky beat 'em up, games to play with friends, or both, Big Helmet Heroes is certainly one to take a look at!
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8.2
fun score
Pros
Simple to Learn, Very Fun to Play
Cons
Laggy in some Areas, Occasionally Chaotic, Lack of Feeling of Progression
