The bad guys are all around you, and the only way you can beat them is by racing to the end of their level. You rev your engine and start your journey over hills, and through puddles of water. Be careful that you don’t get your windshield dirty or run out of gas though because that wouldn’t be fun. Be careful as you venture into our review for Hero Express.
From Developer and Publisher Fantastico Studio, comes a retro-style game that races right into your heart, and hopefully not into a giant puddle. That game is Hero Express. Here we have a good old, retro Excitebike style video game that is worth every penny. Big game companies try to do things that are way too complicated. When this happens, we have games that seem to lose themselves, but that is not the case with this small little game about a delivery guy trying to save the world.
Hero Express has you driving all over the world. It incorporates eleven different race tracks into the game. With those eleven tracks, comes eleven unique vehicles that you will be able to step into and drive throughout each level. The vehicle types all vary based on the type of level you are playing on, whether it is a snow map or a map in a cityscape. Some vehicles have sleds and some have wheels. There are obstacles on every level that will prevent you from reaching the end. These obstacles are different on each level also. Garbage cans, water pits, and more are placed in your way to cause you to blow up.
The vehicles you drive have four upgradeable stats that will allow you to traverse each level more easily. The four upgrades are engine, stability, wheels, and traction. These four upgrades will make or break a level for you. Your vehicles start very slow and without much control. The more you upgrade the easier it will be to finish the level and move on to the next one. That is, depending on your difficulty setting as there are two, normal and hard. Each one comes with its quirks, and will provide you with hours of fun.
I took this review from two perspectives as well. I played both the PC and the Nintendo Switch versions of the game, while my son also played the Switch version. The PC version seems to have a little more stability for your vehicles, as they don’t turn or flip very easily. The controls on the keyboard are fairly standard however and easy to learn. On the Switch, the controls are much simpler to use, but the cars are a bit more free with how they flip and rotate. Due to the increased amount of flip and rotation, it is harder to get to the checkpoints and gas cans than on the PC version. Add in all of the little traps and obstacles throughout the entire game and you have one fun but difficult time to finish each of the levels. The older style games are truly the best versions.
Note: Our copy was reviewed on Nintendo Switch and Steam with a code provided by PR.
