When Broforce meets Hotline Miami with a little bit of Battleblock Theater.

NOT A HERO is a tactical shooter game developed by Roll7. The game was released on PC in May 2015. A PS4 version of the game was released in February 2016; unfortunately the PS Vita version was cancelled.

Gameplay in Not A Hero is focused quite heavily around cover based combat. Each level you are given a main objective which you must complete in order to finish the stage, but there are also three optional objectives which you can do to raise your score. These optional objectives can often be done at the same time as the regular main mission, but some of them you have to go out of your way for. Gameplay is done from a side scrolling view, and your character has a range weapon, but can also roll into enemies to knock them to the ground allowing you to execute them in one shot whilst they are stunned. You unlock new characters depending on how high your score is, all of the different characters have their own unique model, style of combat move set. The missions can vary from simply clearing a stage out of enemies right the way to escorting your aunt through an enemy gang headquarters. This game goes to the real extremes of the spectrum.

The graphics are the tried and testing pixel style, and whilst this form is becoming ever more popular, Not A Hero’s style just looks a lot cleaner and crisper than most pixel games. The simplistic character sprites are all really carefully put together and you are really able to get a feel for how the character should act just from the visuals from these pixelated avatars. Due to the game being based in UK, there are some absolutely brilliant stereotypical voice acting to be heard too; some of it had me in stiches with the accents and local slang being used.

Plot wise, I absolutely loved Not A Hero, a purple rabbit called BunnyLord has come back in time to be elected as mayor to save your world from an alien invasion. You follow BunnyLord on his campaign trail to try and persuade the public to elect him by cleaning up crime in the city under his name. BunnyLord hires assassin’s to do his dirty work whilst he reaps the rewards, you are the assassin.

This game is really hard and extremely unforgiving. There are a number of enemies that can kill you in one hit, and there are often at times more than a handful of enemies shooting at you from down a corridor you can’t often see down. You have to make real use of all the cover you can and time your movement and shots perfectly without getting you’re self-covered in bullet holes. The game has taken me just over twenty hours to complete the story; and I have only barely completed it too. You are able to get a higher score by the end of the game by also completing the optional objectives each mission has. The higher score you have, the more characters you can unlock. The game’s only replay ability factor will only be worthwhile for people who are focused on these high scores, your average joe will more than likely be happy with the one play through of this game. I personally don’t see myself playing it any more than I already have.

I only had one technical issue whilst playing; that was the game would not run in full screen mode. Whilst the game ran fine in windows mode, it was more of an annoyance that I couldn’t run it. I would strongly recommend anyone playing this game to use a controller though, the platforming nature and controls layout really gives you the advantage on a controller over a keyboard.

To sum up, NOT A HERO is a really good game. Whilst the game play ideas aren’t as original as I would have hoped, the rest of the production values are all very high quality. Fantastic voice acting and visually pleasing art style does this game massive favours. The comical value also holds massive positives for this release as well. This game would be even better if there was a local co-op mode included as it is a perfect format for it. The price point of £9,99 is really fair given the amount of content to get through as well. I would strongly recommend Not A Hero

Tom's Score Card
1) Stay away
2) Not Recommended
3) Only recommended when on sale
4) Recommended
5) Highly recommended
6) This is a must play

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http://store.steampowered.com/app/274270

Taking a break from skateboarding madness, OlliOlli series creators Roll7 have unleashed something new on the gaming world. With a premise which includes time-travel, British politics and an anthropomorphic purple rabbit, welcome to the world of Not a Hero.

The cover-based indie shooter takes place during a mayoral election where BunnyLord, the aforementioned rabbit, has travelled back in time from 2048 to save the world from total destruction and alien invasion. In a bid to become mayor he hires Steve, a professional assassin turned amateur campaign manager, to clean up the city by any means necessary.

With the help of similarly dubious “heroes”, Steve must utilise their unique skill sets and complete his mission, ensure BunnyLord is elected mayor and save the future of the world, so no pressure on Steve then.

Not a Hero‘s story is, quite frankly, insane, but in the best way possible. The narrative is intelligent, witty, incredibly funny and at no stage during your campaign run does it get boring. It tells the tale of a bunny man from the future on a quest to take Boris Johnson’s job in order to save the human race, what is not to love about that?

This bizarre tale plays out in-game through “BunnyLord’s Briefing Room” meetings prior to each level, followed by a post-carnage one to one in the local cafe when the mission is complete. It’s told extremely well with a dialog that you’ll find it hard pressed to make it through without the occasional laugh out loud moment.

The gameplay itself is extremely enjoyable, from the very beginning of the game when Steve is a lone warrior with his handgun, through to the conclusion of the story where nine different heroes are at your disposal, the game never drops in quality. Much like Roll7’s OlliOlli, the control layout is perfect, the mechanics are simple to master and so the game quickly becomes more about tactics and less about what buttons to press.

This intuitive control setup lets you quickly jump into the game and utilize everything on offer. The mixture of rampage and cover-based shootouts mean that sometimes it’s perfectly acceptable to go crazy while other times you’ll need a little tact. You have at your disposal a primary weapon, a collectible secondary weapon – grenades, turrets, that sort of thing – the ability to slide and knock enemies over as well as dodge and cover, all of which makes the gameplay exceptionally versatile.

One of the greatest design decisions in Not a Hero is the mass quantities of ammo, you do not need to go seeking a resupply mid-carnage, just simply reload. At the end of the day, this game isn’t going for total realism in any way and so taking away the distraction of finding ammo is a superb move which leaves you more time to mutilate your enemies.

Another interesting element is the dynamic mission risks, unexpected mid-level events that can beef up the difficulty considerably just when you think you’ve completed your mission with ease. These may be in the form of S.W.A.T. teams, trigger happy seniors, helicopter gunships, the occasional panda, or even a suicidal samurais. This accompanied by the fact that each level plays out slightly different depending on the character you play as means that yet again Roll7 have mastered the art of replayability.

The cast of characters themselves, while all controlled the same way, each have their own unique personalities, weapons and weaknesses. Cletus, for example, is a shotgun-toting hillbilly type who pretends to be Scottish. He will require a lot more reloads then Steve and given the time it takes to reload a weapon, this can be a significant problem when you’ve got a S.W.A.T. team closing in. That said he does have the ability to shoot open doors, which will definitely work in your favour.

Samantha, on the other hand, is a Welsh warrior, fast and agile, she is able to shoot while running and execute bad guys in a flash. As you progress through the game, the personalities and diverse skill sets increase significantly. Once you’ve unlocked them all, you’ll be able to smash bad guys to shreds with the hammer of Ronald, or slice your way through the crowd with Kimmy.

It’s not just the way the cast plays that is unique though, the voice-over work is hilarious, if a little bit adult-only. Our main hero Steve, for example, sounds like he belongs in a Guy Richie movie while Samantha wouldn’t look out of place in a twisted version of Gavin and Stacey. No word of a lie, this is some of the best voice-over work for an indie game I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing despite the limited vocabulary.

Much like the OlliOlli series, Not a Hero is visually pleasing with a great deal work put into turning what could easily have been a bland simplistic environment into a colourful vibrant one. Roll7 have gone above and beyond in making this game look good. The animation in each of the characters fighting styles, the unique look of every character, good or bad, even the smooth flow of the gameplay, it’s all done to the highest standard.

In addition to the voice-over work which I’ve already praised, the soundtrack is brilliant. From the casual elevator music on the character select screen to the in-level fast pumping, ready for action music, it’s fit for purpose, adds to the overall experience and just works perfectly. Roll7 do of course have a reputation for awesome soundtracks as anyone that has played one of the OlliOlli games will agree.

Overall, I honestly can’t find a significant flaw with Not a Hero, it is a superb game. While the graphics may initially seem primitive, Roll7 have used their brilliant design skills to make every pixel count on screen. The cast of character is as diverse as it is extensive and the dynamic mission surprises mean that you’re never likely to get the same experience twice.

The story is a laugh to say the least and the gameplay is flawless, an all round great game. Long live the BunnyLord.

I wanted to be clever and call Not a Hero the British BroForce but apparently Kotaku already beat me to it. Specifically, Not a Hero is a pixelated shooter in the same vein as BroForce, replacing the jump button for a slide button and allowing your characters to hide behind the environment rather than blowing it all up to kingdom come. As such, you trade the visceral excitement of being super-Rambo extraordinaire in favor of a more intellectual approach to taking out a tenement full of skeezy lowlives.

It's funny how this game truly captures the essence of Call of Duty "shoot and cover" gameplay in a minimalist 8-bit package. Your slide button slips you into cover but also brings a certain factor of CQC into the mix, allowing executions on enemies reloading from cover. The graphics are dirt simple but it's the same gameplay principles as next-gen shooters, and that alone makes for a subtly enriching experience.

I really wish this game had better rewards. I've just completed level 13 War on Drugs with all challenges using... Clive. Clive is a reward character unlocked by completing all previous levels with all challenges, so he should be mega-badass, right? Wrong. I spent more than two hours on that stage and only managed to succeed thanks to some opportune weapon drops. There's a dearth of design space in this game, and the plethora of playable characters doesn't hide the fact that there's limited ways to play. There's only three buttons to this game in the first place, all the characters and the rewards only feel like a distraction!

I feel like this game went largely unnoticed because it doesn't have the camp and explosiveness of its immediate competitor and that this is to the gaming world's detriment. I blame marketing, mostly. The store page is rather misleading, with all the story elements glossing over the true nature of your purpose. The title explicitly states you are Not A Hero but no one ever tells you what you are. Turns out you are just as much of a deranged murdering psychopath as your enemies; basically the same as the protagonists from BroForce. In effect, Not A Hero is essentially funny accents over funny explosions. A puzzle game with guns. You end up blasting just as many hadjis as in that other game so no point being so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ cryptic about it! Just say what your game is about and people will appreciate the superior gameplay of your product and maybe even savor the minimalist duck and shoot experience.

ADDENDUM: Play with a gamepad, keyboard controls are unusable.

REVIEW EDITED FOR SIZE

Its like hotline miami and broforce combined!

The entire premise of the game is essentially shoot baddies stylishly and see how many windows it takes to shatter your skull.

P.S: Lots of puns

P.P.S: I mean seriously they never end

Yeah beaten the game, all tasks, in 13 hours, enjoyed each second.
Difficult but fair, good engine (never crashed), good controls, pretty graphics and great soundtrack.
Thanks for the Linux build! You Dev are, like, seriously, limited edition crazycool.
Now it's time to beat the DLC ...

There's a lot to be said for Not a Hero, the most recent (as of this writing) game by Roll7 and Devolver Digital that puts players in the shoes of a group of people working to clean up crime on behalf of an anthropomorphic rabbit named BunnyLord.

I was part of the beta testing team for this game, and the first thing that stood out to me was how polished the game is. This is a gorgeous game that feels like the offspring between Broforce, Super Meat Boy and Hotline Miami. The controls are incredibly responsive, there were no apparent bugs that I caught (although there are a couple ways to exploit movement speed and the dive mechanics) and the death animations were equal parts amusing and brutal.

The game takes place in the three weeks leading up to the U.K.'s mayoral elections, and the first character, Steve, is chosen by BunnyLord to hunt down and destroy various criminal elements in order to up their approval rating and win the ballot. As time goes on and the player's rating rises, BunnyLord brings in new staffers to help out on missions, including a shotgun-toting redneck, a slovenly man with an afro and gay Jesus. Not making this up.

Each character has their own pros and cons - while Steve is the everyman character with no major advantages or disadvantages, others have different skill sets. Samantha is a Welsh alcoholic who speaks in an exaggerated accent and moves very quickly but has poor accuracy. Jesus runs fast but can't shoot straight while moving. Mike has a powerful shotgun and can do quick executions, but only gets two shots per reload.

A lot of the levels throughout the game favor specific characters. In fact, the time-based challenges are nigh-impossible to complete using the same character - you'll have to mix it up in order to complete the stages, which are graded based on how many of the objectives are completed at once.

There's a few interesting concepts I liked about the game. The post-mission chat with BunnyLord changes depending on which character you've picked, how many of the objectives you completed and how much damage you took during the mission. Likewise, there are some extremely amusing level objectives - the one where you escort BunnyLord's aunt, Ruby, back to her apartment is hilarious - her nonstop chatter is mixed in with the soundtrack, and she proves to be just as capable with a weapon as the other characters are. That said, the humor can come off as forced at times, and I never really felt there was a need to listen to the pre-mission briefings.

If there's one real negative I have about the game, it's that the later stages devolve from a sort of freeflow experience (where you can either rush through levels for speed or take your time and pick off enemies one-by-one) to complete trial-and-error. The last five levels are filled with samurai and enemies who will kill you in one hit, and it is extremely frustrating to go all the way through a level, get within distance of the exit and suddenly get impaled through the chest by an enemy who can run much faster than you.

Having finished it, I don't think the game gives much incentive to go back and replay levels for 100% completion. I was just fine steamrolling through the game, and although the ending seems to guilt-trip the player into going back and doing all the optional stuff, I just didn't care enough to replay it.

I would still recommend Not A Hero to anyone looking for a solid, polished 2D shooter, and I enjoyed the experience.

I never had so much of a mixed feelings about a game.
I love this game, it's gameplay and characters. But this game's challenges and game design can sometimes be GOD FRUSTRATING.And it only get worse at final levels.You will find yourself using only 1-2 characters because of samurais and ninjas at the final levels.This game doesn't want you to use pistol using characters, they're most of the time useless.You will never use stive (black submachine using character) because he is slow and he's submachine that is supposed to be good against crowds of people is not that effective.The cover system is god awful, you clearly can't defend it.
Sometimes it looks like this game just want itself to be hated, but the game itself is pretty good.Puns are very clever and funny. It's hard to decide to reccomend this game or not.I would give it a 9/10 because i love games like this,but i can't, my final score is 7/10
P.S. If someone actually took time to read this. Sorry for my grammar, it sucks ballz. I'm not expert at english(Sorry for my bad english)

This game's madness!

+Fast action game.
+Lots of blood.
+Wide variety of characters/weapons/specials to choose from.
+Interesting/funny history.
+Challenging requirements on every mission.
+Secrets to find.

You'll die...a lot.
The force of your will, to fully complete it, will push you to your perfection limits.
You must have a strategy in every level in order to complete it, it's not a mindless game.

You'll enjoy it, you'll cry to it, you'll get angry at it, but you'll get an amazing feeling once you finish everything.