Review: Big Helmet Heroes (Nintendo Switch)
Big Helmet Heroes is a 3D beat-’em-up where you (and a friend) play as one of many knights trying to save the princess! This game was obviously inspired by Castle Crashers, developed by The Behemoth. Playing Big Helmet Heroes was a blast in both single-player and co-op, so let’s talk about it.
Starting the game, you get to choose between three difficulties: Easy, Medium, and Hard. Once you’ve selected that, you’ll get thrown right into the game. You start out with one character: Sheperd (or, if you’re starting with two players, you’ll also have Thunder). The first level is a tutorial level, showing you every last bit of what you can do. I don’t think there’s a better way to start a game like this, and it leaves you with all the materials to improve.
Moving to the characters, there are 28 characters in total, split into four different combat types: Warrior, Brute, Rouge, and Monk. The Warrior uses a sword and shield, the Brute uses a two-handed heavy weapon, the Rouge uses two daggers, and the Monk uses a staff. Each of the four combatants has different playing styles to learn and different heavy attacks and dashes, making each unique.
Every character has their own special ability, too, which aligns with their name. These abilities range from just OK to absolutely amazing. While I think all of them cool and unique, some heroes are just flat-out better than others solely because of their special abilities. I don’t consider this a problem, but I do think it removes some of the joy of getting new characters that look cool when you realize they’re just flat-out worse than who you were using before.
The gameplay is simple, but fun. In each level, you’ll run around defeating enemies, using anything you can find to help. Theres a plethora of fun and interesting weapons you can pick up throughout each level that can be a huge help in each run, wether it be a crossbow, a pair of plungers, or even a broom! Throughout the level, there will be mini games to play, bosses to fight, waves to defend, secrets to discover, and characters to unlock. Every level is different, and though some are a lot more difficult than others, it still makes for a great experience.
The only real problem I’ve had is that some unlockable characters are a little too well hidden, to the point where I’ve spent hours looking for a single character and still not found it.
The combat in Big Helmet Heroes is moderately challenging but easy to learn. The enemies get harder with each area, but it’s not exponentially more difficult. There’s a wide diversity of enemies and minibosses, each representing the areas that they’re in. From goblins to cardboard pirates to mummies, every area feels unique and different from the last.
The game looks amazing. From the 3D combat characters to their 2D player card when selecting them in the menu to the wonderful level design with all kinds of secrets hidden throughout, Big Helmet Heroes is just, simply put, astounding. The animations are very crisp. The only bad thing is that a lot of enemies and items clip through walls. Sometimes, it’s not very noticeable. Other times, it’s extremely clear that it’s happening.
The audio and music are pretty good, as well. There are a lot of sound effects in this game, most of which work extremely well and sound great. A couple, however, do get repetitive. The music is kind of in the same boat; it lines up with each area and what’s going on around you, but it stays the same throughout the entire level (excluding some small segments and boss fights). It sounds good, but it just gets repetitive after a bit of playing.
Big Helmet Heroes was a blast to play through, and though it has its small bugs and issues, I still think it’s a wonderful game. From the character and level design to the music and gameplay, it’s extremely fun, and it’s even better with a friend.
