If at first you don’t succeed, take out the multiplayer and try again. Such is the case for Heroes Ravage – Rise of an NPC on Kickstarter.
The first campaign ended on February 19th. It failed to raise even a fraction of its $60,865 funding goal. Despite a fun premise and quirky pixel art, backers didn’t get on-board with the high price tag. After taking time to reassess their feedback, Pixle Dinos have returned with a new, story focused, significantly less expensive, single player version.
Back and Better
Seeking $22,753 this time around, Heroes Ravage – Rise of an NPC turns the typical RPG village trope on its head. Instead of taking on the role of an intrepid adventurer tasked destroying evil, players step into the shoes of an unassuming NPC. Instead of saving the world, their primary concern is preventing the marauding heroes from destroying their homes and stealing their precious currency, valuable crystals called Axis.
Anyone familiar with RPG’s knows that the best way to advance the story is to visit the local town and ransack the place for information and money. Heroes Ravage finally gives the gormless townsfolk a way to fight back. The gameplay alternates between traditional story-driven RPG and tower defense as players devise new and more threatening ways to defend their livelihoods. Between attacks they attempt to solve riddles and find a way to stop the hero menace for good.
Flipping Expectations
Apart from cleverly subverting standard RPG mechanics, Heroes Ravage has a great looking art style. It pays loving homage to the games that helped create our expectations of the genre.
If you missed it the first time around, or were put off by the lofty funding goal, it’s definitely worth checking this campaign out. After all, even a villain is the hero of their own story.
