Up in the Square Enix suite, I was able to sample from a number of new games from the publisher. My next taste of hands-on gameplay was with a 3DS hack-y, slash-y, dungeon crawl-y action RPG called Heroes of Ruin. Heroes is being developed by n-Space, a studio whose claim to fame has consisted almost entirely of Nintendo hardware-related ports (also, Geist, but no one would prefer you remember that one).
Being a console gamer for most of my life, I missed out on several game genres that flourished on PC, including the hack-y, slash-y, dungeon crawl-y action RPG. Yes, I played the ever-loving crap out of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, but that game had more in common with God of War and Devil May Cry than isometric games about going CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK until enemy corpses and epic drops litter the ground.
Despite my lack of experience in the hack-y, slash-y, dungeon crawl-y action RPG genre, the little time I’ve spent playing them has shown me how great the potential for enjoyment is for a portable game of this ilk, and this is where Heroes of Ruin comes in. Not only does the game provide an excellent foundation for loot-grinding action, but it also has a wealth of cooperative play options, available both locally and online. I still have yet to buy a 3DS, but Heroes of Ruin did a great job of showing itself off as another, non-Miyamoto-related game worth picking up on Nintendo’s glasses-free 3D system.
Title: “PAX East 2012: Heroes of Ruin”
Outlet: Gamer’s Guide to Life
Publish Date: 4/16/12“Hack-y, slash-y, dungeon crawl-y action RPGs have come back into vogue recently.
It’s a trend we’ve seen develop, with Runic Games’ Torchlight becoming an instant classic on Steam back in 2009 and Blizzard looking to drop the mother of all lootfests, Diablo III, later this spring. Developer n-Space is looking enter the hack-y, slash-y, dungeon crawl-y action RPG realm with Heroes of Ruin for the 3DS. Published by Square-Enix and created to be n-Space’s first original IP, Heroes of Ruin aims to bring the thrills of spelunking for treasure to portable gamers everywhere, and I got a chance to try it at this year’s PAX East.“
