Developer: RuniQ
Publisher: RuniQ
Platform: PC, PS5, Switch
Tested on: PS5
Heroes of Mount Dragon – Review
2D brawlers were all the rage back in the 80s and 90s, with titles such as Double Dragon, Final Fight, Streets of Rage, and many more. The genre faded more and more into the background when 3D games became more popular, and there have been a few revival attempts over the years. While many reboots, sequels, or indie releases have been met with moderate success, it seems the genre will never gain the same popularity as it once did. That being said, today we’ll be taking a closer look at Heroes of Mount Dragon, a 2D brawler that tries to emulate what made these old-school games so fun in the first place, albeit with a few modern touches. While the game had a solid foundation, it didn’t manage to blow our socks off.
Story
For this 2D brawler, you are taken to the world of Üna, in which a ragtag group of adventurers heads out to save the world. The characters already have a certain history, but you’ll get introductions during the different chapters, giving you some more backstory. The story itself is a bit shallow and predictable, but we have to commend the developers for actually fleshing out a narrative, which is somewhat uncommon for the genre. There are also some fourth-wall-breaking parts in the dialogues, which do not always hit their mark. Even so, the story is decent, the characters are fairly likable, and all of this serves as a great motivator to keep pressing onwards.
Graphics
Heroes of Mount Dragon isn’t an ugly game, but we could best describe it as ‘bland’. The character designs look nice and colorful, and are probably the standout feature here. The levels, however, look empty and lack variety. They barely have any clutter, and even the backgrounds didn’t manage to impress us, safe for a few occasions. The enemy variety is also lacking, but each zone does have its dedicated handful of enemy types that will pop up. The attack animations look decent, and so does your dragon form, but we feel the developers perhaps played everything a bit too safe. Given the fantasy theme, the attacks could have perhaps been a bit more bombastic or impressive overall.
Sound
All in all, the sound design of Heroes of Mount Dragon isn’t bad at all. You’ll be treated to a fairly upbeat and adventurous soundtrack that’s very fitting for the fantasy aesthetic of the game. The music has some variation and doesn’t grow stale throughout the experience. The SFX are decent, and the different characters also have their own set of grunts, growls, and shouts, which does bring them to life. There’s also a narrator who fully voices the story cutscenes, which is a nice touch. It’s a shame that the character dialogues aren’t voiced, however.
Gameplay
Heroes of Mount Dragon is a fairly classic 2D brawler in which you can play through a campaign, the arcade mode, or the competitive mode. We mainly stuck to the campaign mode here, as it’s pretty much the meat and potatoes of the experience. For the most part, you’ll play through fairly short levels alone or with up to three other players, beating up enemies, with the occasional stronger foe or boss thrown in for good measure. It’s all fairly standard stuff, but there is a small RPG component thrown in the mix, making progress slightly more interesting. After beating stages, you’ll gain experience for your chosen character(s), unlocking passive upgrades as well as new moves for your combos. The game does have a solid foundation, but it never truly wowed us.
The thing is, Heroes of Mount Dragon doesn’t do anything wrong at all, but it plays things too safe, ultimately resulting in a very repetitive experience. Nothing is innovative here, which isn’t bad per se, but it just doesn’t put the genre back on the map. You have eight characters to choose from, and while these play differently, the end result will always boil down to mashing your basic attack button to vanquish enemies. There are more complex combos or moves available, but a few of them require you to charge them, which often doesn’t really work out when playing solo. There are also different difficulty options, but these don’t add that much replay value to the mix here. You’ll get a competent 2D brawler as a result, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before.
Conclusion
Heroes of Mount Dragon is a capable but somewhat bland 2D brawler that has an identity of its own thanks to its theme and characters. While the game never does anything truly wrong, it feels repetitive, very basic, and just forgettable as a result. Don’t get us wrong, if you can play this one with a couple of friends, you’ll probably have a couple of hours of fun, but as a solo experience, it feels very lacking. If you can get this one on a heavy discount, you can’t really go wrong, but we suggest just replaying one of the classics to get your fix of 2D brawling.
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