Not a Hero (PlayStation 4) Review

The story behind Not a Hero is certainly an odd one: a giant purple bunny called BunnyLord has come back from the future to run for mayor. However, to get elected, he hires a mercenary (the player) to wipe out crime from the world. As stages are completed, BunnyLord's approval rating goes up and he's more likely to achieve his goal of becoming mayor to help stop an impending alien invasion. It's an odd concept, but it's packed with witty scenarios and cut-scenes that may give a chuckle.

The entire game revolves around sliding, shooting and hiding, and using a combination of these three things to finish each level and slaughter everyone standing in the way. The odd part is that even though it's extremely simple, the controls still aren't right. The ability to slide and take cover is set to the same button, which ends with jumping past cover and eating lead or taking cover on the wrong piece of scenery multiple times until giving up trying. On top of only having five hit points, levels can end before they've ever started, as a single barrage of bullets will mean restarting from the beginning. Thankfully, the protagonist does recharge health fairly quickly when out of combat.

Not a Hero is split up into 21 individual stages, each looking painfully similar to the last. BunnyLord enters the building at the top or the bottom of a large building and the goal is to simply reach the exit and finish one or two objectives along the way, shooting and blowing up everyone in the vicinity. Every level features a bunch of different enemy types, ranging from the run-of-the-mill thug with a pistol to heavily armoured goons firing hundreds of bullets in the hero's general direction. Occasionally, a conveniently placed power weapon will be found, which comes in the form of one-shot kill bullets or grenades - use them wisely, though, as there is an extremely limited amount!

Similar to Hotline Miami, as progress is made through the story, characters with special traits will be unlocked, making certain missions significantly easier than others. Whether it is preferred to run and gun, or just want to shoot through doors that enemies are taking cover behind, there is always a character to suit each individual's play style. There doesn't seem to be a clear best character, which is great to see, but some are certainly better than others, depending on the mission.

This wonderful 2D shooter has many positive points, but the length is not one of them. The 21 stages last about two to ten minute, depending on players' skills and ability to control the character. There are a few hidden levels, and, yes, there are multiple characters with different abilities, but there are zero incentives to go back through the game again after finishing it, unless really wanting to complete every objective on each level, which is oddly easy when compared to how tough the general gameplay can be.