Heat Guardian

About

Heat Guardian is a single player survival survival game. It was developed by Denis Rudoy and was released on May 10, 2018. It received neutral reviews from players.

Heat Guardian - is a hardcore top-down shooter with survival, horror and stealth elements in the cold post-apocalyptic world The Cold killed most forms of life on earth. Civilization is destroyed. Survivors have to fight for their lives, environment is hostile, resources are limited and aggressive mutants are all around.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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59%

Audience ScoreBased on 27 reviews

atmosphere5 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

Heat Guardian offers an intense and immersive atmosphere, effectively capturing the bleakness of a post-apocalyptic world.
The combat is challenging and requires strategic thinking, with a diverse arsenal of over fifty weapons that enhance gameplay depth.
Players appreciate the game's engaging gunplay and the sense of accomplishment that comes from overcoming its steep difficulty.

The game suffers from significant technical issues, including input lag, performance inconsistencies, and a lack of customizable controls, making it frustrating for many players.
Many players find the difficulty to be unfair at times, with some encounters feeling unbalanced and punishing.
The game has been criticized for its lack of basic quality assurance, leading to bugs and gameplay interruptions that detract from the overall experience.

graphics
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
45%
33%
The game's graphics are characterized by a bleak, post-soviet aesthetic, featuring desolate landscapes and ruined environments that create a haunting atmosphere. However, the visuals are criticized for their low quality and lack of customization options, resembling a console game rather than a PC title, which detracts from the overall experience. While the art style has potential, many reviewers recommend avoiding the game due to its graphical limitations and the availability of superior alternatives like Stalker or Metro 2033.
- “The game’s visuals evoke the cold, bleak remnants of a post-Soviet world, with ruined buildings, abandoned streets, and snow-covered landscapes that communicate a haunting sense of desolation.”
- “It looks like a cool top-down survival shooter in a great atmospheric environment.”
- “Heat Guardian: Re-Frozen Edition is a 2D retro top-down twin-stick shooter with a gritty theme ripped straight from Stalker/Metro 2033, only without the 3D graphics, deep gameplay, decent story, or anything else that made those games successful.”
- “There's no options to change the resolution for the game or customize the graphics settings.”
- “While this is on PC, it has all the hallmarks and deficiencies of a console game, from the clunkier than needed control scheme to the less than cutting edge graphics.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
12%
25%
The atmosphere of "Heat Guardian" is widely praised for its intensity and immersive survival experience, effectively blending elements reminiscent of titles like "Stalker," "Metro," and "Fallout." Players appreciate the game's ability to create a chilling environment, particularly in its depiction of a cold, dark winter, while also providing engaging and challenging gunplay. However, some users have noted technical limitations that detract from the overall atmospheric experience.
- “One of the most striking aspects of Heat Guardian is its atmosphere.”
- “In summary, Heat Guardian delivers a uniquely intense and atmospheric survival experience.”
- “I really loved the atmosphere of the cold dark winter, which tries to kill the main character with the cold while he is shooting monsters.”
- “Atmosphere of Stalker, Metro, and Fallout packed together.”
- “Nailed the atmosphere.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of environmental hazards that enhance tension and a straightforward narrative that supports the survival theme. However, technical issues like input lag can disrupt the experience, and while the game offers a retro twin-stick shooter format, it lacks the depth and quality of similar titles like Stalker or Metro 2033. Overall, the gameplay is described as slow-paced and accessible, appealing to those who prefer a less frantic style.
- “This integration of environmental hazards into gameplay heightens tension and encourages players to remain vigilant at all times.”
- “The game’s narrative, while simple, provides a compelling framework for the survival-focused gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is not very fast and it was a good surprise for me - I'm not a fan of mashing the buttons.”
- “Technical issues, such as occasional input lag or performance inconsistencies, can interrupt the flow of gameplay.”
- “Gameplay consists of shooting/kiting waves of enemies as you plod through each level, picking up guns that don't matter much because it's just a 2D game and you can't really see them anyway, interspersed with badly written storylines.”
- “Heat Guardian: Re-Frozen Edition is a 2D retro top-down twin-stick shooter with a gritty theme ripped straight from Stalker/Metro 2033, only without the 3D graphics, deep gameplay, decent story, or anything else that made those games successful.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
49%
38%
The story in "Heat Guardian: Re-Frozen Edition" unfolds across forty levels, revealing the world's fate through encounters with enemies and human characters, but it is criticized for being poorly written and lacking depth. While the gritty theme draws inspiration from titles like "Stalker" and "Metro 2033," the execution falls short, leaving players disengaged from the narrative. Overall, the story fails to captivate, overshadowed by gameplay issues and a lack of meaningful engagement.
- “Across forty levels, players uncover fragments of the story through encounters with hostile creatures and occasional human characters, gradually piecing together the fate of the world and the struggle of its remaining inhabitants.”
- “Heat Guardian: Re-Frozen Edition is a 2D retro top-down twin-stick shooter with a gritty theme ripped straight from Stalker/Metro 2033, only without the 3D graphics, deep gameplay, decent story, or anything else that made those games successful.”
- “Gameplay consists of shooting/kiting waves of enemies as you plod through each level, picking up guns that don't matter much because it's just a 2D game and you can't really see them anyway, interspersed with badly written storylines.”
- “Hardly a success story; gamers just weren't all that interested in the game.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have reported technical issues, including occasional input lag and performance inconsistencies, which can disrupt the overall gameplay experience.
- “Technical issues, such as occasional input lag or performance inconsistencies, can interrupt the flow of gameplay.”
- “The game suffers from frequent frame drops, making it difficult to enjoy the experience.”
- “Optimization seems to be an afterthought, as many areas are plagued with long loading times and stuttering.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is criticized for being annoying, and while there are audio controls, they are ineffective, forcing players to use the Windows sound mixer to disable it.
- “There's audio controls, but the developer didn't bother to test them, so you can't turn off the annoying music. You'll have to alt+tab out to the Windows sound mixer to shut that down.”
- “The music is repetitive and quickly becomes grating, making it hard to enjoy the game.”
- “The soundtrack feels out of place and doesn't match the game's atmosphere, which detracts from the overall experience.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of Heat Guardian: Re-Frozen Edition has been criticized as a cash grab, with a price point of $10 USD that many users feel is unjustified given the availability of older AAA games for the same cost. This sentiment reflects a broader concern about the prevalence of retro pixel shovelware in the market.
- “Gamemaker Studio is most commonly used to make retro pixel shovelware and cash grabs.”
- “Heat Guardian: Re-Frozen Edition has the greedy, cash grab price of $10 USD, for which you could easily get any number of older AAA games.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the emotional depth of the narrative, which significantly enhances immersion by grounding their survival experience in a rich world filled with history and meaningful stakes.
- “This narrative approach enhances the sense of immersion, grounding the player’s survival in a world with history, stakes, and emotional weight.”