Heroland

I love when a game shows up and makes fun of its genre’s most repetitive tropes in order to create something that actually feels unique. That’s why I’ve been looking forward to playing Heroland ever since my ridiculously brief hands-on demo at E3 2019. I saw potential in it, but I had but a few dozen minutes to learn its initially overwhelming combat system and enjoy everything it had to offer. With the game finally out, and with enough time to dissect its story, setting, and gameplay, ...

Heroland offers a hilarious take on working life, RPGs, and fan culture, wrapped in a clever combat system.

But even when it’s not sounding like an improv group at a Bernie Sanders rally, Heroland is a gem. It’s incredibly funny, the characters are some of the most charming I met all year, and its unique take on turn-based battles made a strategist out of me. I just wish I didn’t need to do so much grinding to see the game through to the end.

When all is said and done, Heroland ends up being a bit of a mixed bag. Charming graphics and a deep, uniquely enjoyable combat system are mired by obnoxious characters and a need to level grind. There is a lot to like about this game, just as long as you are willing to commit the time to find it.

Originally released as WORK x WORK in Japan, Heroland has made its way west almost a year later. Heroland featured a modest amount of hype behind its original release as its staff included Mother 3 director Noboyuki Inoue, who wrote the story, and Mother 3 artist Nobuhiro Imagawa. Despite the legacy behind its development staff, expectations for the game should be tempered given the relative size of the game. On its surface however, Heroland appears to feed into its vibrant art style and quirky humour with an addicting gameplay loop.

Heroland is now open for business! Enjoy exploring dungeons of legend with your helpful guide Lucky. But is it worth making the trek to this fateful island?

Heroland is very much style over substance. The graphics, while initially a bit off-putting, are actually quite charming in their own way, with the characters and environments bursting with personality. But the writing and dialogue are the true stars of the show. Make no mistake, this is a very funny game, and you’ll soon be agonising over which of the delightful main characters is your favourite. Unfortunately, it’s not quite enough to hold up the entire game – some folks will automatically gravitate to what is admittedly a unique approach to the RPG genre, but a lot more will likely desire s...

Have you ever wanted to be in an RPG? Well, come to Heroland and you'll know what it's like to go on an epic adventure... sort of.

That’s really the problem with Heroland. It’s funny and light-hearted, the art is cute and the idea is novel but the execution is done poorly. Considering how long the game ended up being I felt even more annoyed at how pointless my journey had become. There were an unnecessary number of dungeons to go through, a surprising amount of side-content thanks to the strong number of characters in your party, and a story that was boring. Writing isn’t something you can just throw words at and hope it fixes the problem. The localization was stellar but the overall wordiness of the game absolutely kill...