Deadbeat Heroes (PC) Review

First thing first: this belongs in that kind category of indie pieces of software that lack a great deal of customisation options, namely the ability to set the keyboard/gamepad as you wish. Therefore, if one of those who get annoyed by such titles (like yours truly) wait for an update. Moving on, Deadbeat Heroes is top-down, 3D brawler that pays homage, and, of course, ridicules, the superhero comic books of the '50s/'60s. How good? Well, The Incredibles this is not…

As a result of the weak story/parody side of this, the only thing left to explore will just be the action. The basic premise is this: the British version of Clark Kent (for argument's sake, call him Clarke Kentson) is fighting crime along Captain Justice, which means going into some bite-sized levels to punch some goons silly. The controls are easy to learn, the action is fast, and, generally, it all feels pretty good. However…

…well, it's nothing to write home about. You go in, you punch, and that's it. There's a tiny amount of strategy involved, as some enemies require doing something more than just kicking their ugly behinds, like confusing them by doing an evasion move, using the powerful "Turbo" hit after collecting enough blue spheres when facing those who can't be hurt otherwise, or avoiding projectiles when facing an enemy with a gun. It's a battle system that's a bit too simplistic for its own good.

Divided between a couple of chapters, with three levels plus a boss battle in each one, this isn't a long adventure, but it makes sure to add something new with each level, whether that's a new type of foe, a new item to use, and so on. After an hour or so, good 'ol Clarke will get to expand his team with more heroes, but just don't expect them to change things as much as they should.

The rest of the cast doesn't really have any major differences, as they mostly act as extra lives. You see, Deadbeat Heroes uses an annoying penalty system where, upon failing a level or boss fight, it forces gamers to repeat the previous level, and only then get to try the new stage once more. As mentioned before, this isn't a tough game, but some losing will ensue, and this system is surely bound to annoy.

In conclusion, Deadbeat Heroes is a pretty weak entry into the Square Enix Collective family of indie titles. Besides the boring gameplay, and overall lack of depth, it's not even a finely tuned product, as its nice and simple cel-shaded visuals tend to ask more from your system than what they should. Oh, and by the way, during the course of the play-through for this review, it all stopped working somewhere close to the third chapter…so yet another reason to wait for an update before considering it.