It’ll be the year 2306 before we know it, and should the future unravel as we predict, it’ll deliver a world in which humans are used as nothing more than simple power supplies – or at least that’s what is in store for those who delve into the retro SHMUP Iro Hero on Xbxo One and PS4.
Landing today on Xbox One and PS4, with purchase and download capabilities actioned from the usual digital stores, Iro Hero comes about via the development team at Artax Games, and their porting friends at eastasissoft, providing some good old retro-inspired vertical-scrolling shooting action in the process.
Priced up at just £4.99, with a launch discount dropping that to an easy to handle £3.99, Iro Hero is the latest title to be found combining the old school charm of the classic 1980s arcade shooters, with some more modern mechanics and gameplay elements. And first thoughts are that it works very well indeed as it also mixes together some complex enemy AI, polarity mechanics, and light puzzle elements.
This all sees Iro Hero unleashing mind-melting mayhem on Xbox One and PS4, as players attempt to shift polarities to avoid color-coded hazards, balance an array of unlockable skills, and make use of reflective surfaces and color areas. And if they don’t, well, they won’t be making it through Iro Hero’s nine action-packed stages intact.
When you consider that there are no less than 10 different enemy types to go up against, a good number of final end-of-stage bosses to takedown, and special skills to unlock throughout, then Iro Hero fast becomes a highly intriguing prospect.
Features include:
- Experience a color polarity system, with a twist to puzzles and smart decision making.
- Discover an exciting story that takes place across 9 action-packed levels.
- Encounter 10 different types of enemies with more than one hundred different behaviors.
- Defeat 10 final bosses in the vein of classic arcades.
- Unlock special skills, offering many creative and strategic options.
- Acquire upgrades to increase the firepower and capabilities of your spaceship.
To get involved just head to your favoured digital store – ours being that of the Xbox Store – grabbing a download and going deep into the depths of this retro SHMUP without need for hesitation.
Or if you’re sat on the fence, hold tight for our full review of Iro Hero on Xbox One. It’s coming real soon.
Game Description:
In a world where humans are used as power supplies, only one man has the will to change it all! Iro Hero is a vertical shoot’em up with beautiful pixel art graphics inspired by many old-school classics. Staged across 9 action-packed levels, Iro Hero features a unique and fresh approach to the popular color polarity mechanic, with interactive level elements, color zones, reflective surfaces and much more. Encounter 10 different types of enemies with over a hundred different behaviors, and defeat 10 final bosses in the vein of classic arcade games. Unlock special skills throughout the game to help you land a final blow or escape from desperate situations. Story The year is 2306. A century after the Nyagu taught mankind how to obtain electricity from their inner energy, enterprises started to exploit humans in farms to produce energy. What had started as a gift became a curse, reducing people to nothing more than simple power supplies… Only when his mother dies in one of these farms, Iro realizes he has the power to change the order of things.
