During each console era, there is a genre that thrives. In the DS era for example, JRPGs were abundant in the console’s life span (not that I had any problem with that). In the PS2 era, this was the console to play fighting games and so forth. One genre that I’m seeing pop up a lot in the Nintendo Switch are the roguelites. Could it be that this is the boom of roguelites? I couldn’t say, but it’s not like I see any problem with it. While the genre typically follows a set of rules, each game is a totally new experience, and this is what I feel when playing Vertical Drop Heroes HD on the Nintendo Switch.
“There is a legend that claims that a great hero will enter the Portal at the Temple of Knowledge, which in turn will lead them in a journey as they fight through fantastic lands in search of the Holy Sanctuary where the secret of their very existence will be revealed.” The problem I have with legends is that sometimes they tend to be vague. This is the case with the aforementioned legend, since EVERYONE thinks its about them, and hordes of adventurers venture into the Portal just to meet their doom. This will happen until the rightful hero fulfills the legend. This is Vertical Drop Heroes story in a nutshell.
One thing that VDH does differently than most rogelites is how you play the game. Normally, you are playing in a side scrolling setting from left to right, but here (as the name implies) you are dropping in a vertical setting from north to south so to say. Here is where VDH gets challenging, since this setting means that if you take a route and you miss items on the other one, you cannot backtrack to retrieve them. You need to carefully plan your descent to get to the bottom of each level. In each level, you will encounter enemies and traps that will hinder your descent. Alongside each level are something called “pacifist spheres.” When you collect them, you gain experience points. However, once you attack an enemy, they disappear. It is a good system to have since you could gain levels without wasting your time with cannon fodder. If you don’t want to venture alone, luckily the game has local co-op, so you and a friend can try to get to the Sanctuary together.
Now about the heroes: At the beginning of the game, you can choose one from three randomly generated heroes, each with different stats and weapons. You can pick one that fits your play style, and you are golden. However, if you get attached to the hero, you are going to have a bad time. While it’s possible (but hard) to finish with the hero you picked, it’s better to try to get as much as you can in a single run, since while you are venturing into each stage, you can purchase abilities, and even if you die( which will happen a lot) what you purchased applies to each hero that you choose, some of this abilities include starting with 5 keys, leveling up faster and so forth. Instead of just being about getting to the Holy Sanctuary , it is a fight to get the most skills possible to get a powerful hero on the next run. It is important to strategize like this, since at the end of each stage, there is a powerful boss. It’s a good thing is that every character can use a bow and arrows. However, they are not infinite. The amount you carry is all you’ll have. Luckily, you can pick them up after being thrown, so keeping a good management of them is key, since they deal a good amount of damage to enemies and bosses alike.
Graphically, the game looks good. I like how crisp the backgrounds and characters look, giving a pop effect like seen in kids books (the ones that characters pop out). The music is great with some chill tunes and some that give a sense of urgency. Needless to say, the SD (super deformed) gives the characters a cutesy look kind of the one used on past consoles generation.
Bottom Line: Vertical Drop Heroes is a really fun roguelite that can be considered a entry game on the genre. It is really fun and not that hard. I feel that it even rewards you if you die a lot. I really like it and recommend it to any fan of the genre.
A Review Code was provided for this review.