In between all the heavy-hitting narrative titles and sprawling RPGs, sometimes it’s great to just sit back and throw around goofy enemies in nonsensical fights. That’s where Big Helmet Heroes comes in, offering a break amidst today’s ever-growing length in video games. It’s pure and familiar beat-em-up fun and doesn’t try to be something more, and I appreciate it for that.
Big Helmet Heroes, developed by Exalted Studio and published by Dear Villagers is a 3D beat ’em up adventure where you take on the role of a knight and a growing roster of companions on a mission to rescue the princess. It’s a plot told just to lay the groundwork for a good head-bashing adventure, and that’s all it needs to be. I didn’t come to this game for a mind-altering narrative; I came to beat up all kinds of knights, goblins (and oxes?) up with my random assortment of weapons, and that’s exactly what Big Helmet Heroes provides. From the beginning, Big Helmet Heroes does not take itself seriously but instead revels in its goofy nature, and I think it’s all the more fun for it.
Big Helmet Heroes has you running through beautiful landscapes in the same style as Castle Crashers, taking out each enemy that gets in your way. Random weapons are thrown throughout the map, from standard fare weapons such as swords and bows to inflatable hammers and electric guitars. Some weapons are really hilarious and drill in the nature of Big Helmet Heroes almost parody-like nature, my personal favourite being a sword still stuck in stone waiting to be pulled out; the character fails to pull it out but goes ahead and swings it around anyway.
What starts off as standard medieval locations like a market and castle quickly escalates into far-fetched locations like a man cave filled with pool tables, bowling alleys, and disco music. As the adventure continues, we see more exotic locations, such as an Egyptian pyramid with rotating pillars or Greek-inspired temple levels. All these were a great fun to run around in with varying levels of scenery.
Throughout each level, there are also interesting perspective changes. Like switching to a top-down look as we make our way through a paper castle to a widescreen shot in a narrow hallway similar to John Wick or the infamous Daredevil scene. Moments like these look great and really highlight the visual spectacle of Big Helmet Heroes.
Big Helmet Heroes looks incredible; each environment is full of jaw-dropping visual variety and really stands out as you’re throwing things left, right, and centre. Animations and characters all flow brilliantly, and it’s a marvel to see it all come together in chaotic fashion.
Along your way through Big Helmet Heroes, you’ll run into a number of characters locked in cages; releasing them adds to your roster of playable characters. This in itself is a great unlock mechanic, incentivizing you to keep an eye out in each map for a wee secret passage or a cage that houses a potential locked character.
Big Helmet Heroes looks incredible; each environment is full of jaw-dropping visual variety. Animations and characters all flow brilliantly, and it’s a marvel to see it all come together in chaotic fashion.
A lot of the characters are wackier than the last. My favourite was Ray, a ninja that subtly whispered “hyah” with each hit that never got old. Characters do vary in appearance, with some taking on the role of ninjas and some more akin to knights, but when it came down to it, they didn’t vary much in combat, outside of their ultimate ability. At one point when I was playing, my main character died, and I took control of another, but I honestly had no idea because they played so similarly.
Big Helmet Heroes lends itself to co-op, and I played the majority of the title this way. I think it’s the best way to play, with laughs bouncing off one another with each ludicrous character and wacky weapon. Throughout our playtime, it was a fun experience offering level changes, great environments, and characters, but over time, combat did become a bit too repetitive as time wore on, with a bulk of level activities consisting of fighting off enemy waves. There is also some replayability hidden underneath to find all the locked characters and pass more challenging difficulties.
Similar to player characters not varying much outside of visual appearance, this goes the same for enemies who fit into standard archetypes. I came across melee, ranged, and bomb throwers, with the odd giant knight with a shield, that only changed in visual appearance. About halfway through, I noticed additional enemies that changed up the combat approach but not to a great effect.
Big Helmet Heroes is a visually stunning experience and ran with basically no technical issues, but there were a number of odd quirks and design choices that hampered the experience. One such decision is the camera would be blocked by scenery as the camera perspective switched round. I’m not sure if this was intentional, but it would interrupt platforming and dodging. Also, when you perform well, random characters pop up on screen to cheer. It’s a funny addition at first but does become tiresome towards the end, taking up a lot of the screen.
Pros
- Stunning visuals and animation.
- Refreshing, fun level design.
- Great tongue-in-cheek humour.
Cons
- Characters don’t offer much combat variety.
- Odd design choices get in the way of player enjoyment.
Big Helmet Heroes is a fun, goofy adventure that doesn’t take itself seriously, full of top-notch visuals, animations, and fresh level changes. The combat can’t exactly keep up with the visual variety, falling into repetitiveness, but honestly, embrace the light-hearted nature with a friend, and you’re in for a good time.
A review code was provided by Dear Villagers for PlayStation 5.
