Hero's Hour

About

Hero's Hour is a single player and multiplayer tactical role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Benjamin "ThingOnItsOwn" Hauer and was released on March 1, 2022. It received positive reviews from players.

Hero's Hour is an accessible, yet-deep and content-rich Strategy Roleplaying Game. Take control of your hero, explore the world, build up your town, fight fast-paced battles, level up your hero and amass an army large enough to take out the opponents - before they take you out. TURN BASED + REAL TIME While exploring the overworld and developing your town and army are both turn-based, giving you …

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81%

Audience ScoreBased on 3,073 reviews

gameplay101 positive mentions

optimization27 negative mentions

Captures the nostalgic feel and core mechanics of Heroes of Might and Magic with a modern twist, including streamlined, real-time autobattler combat.
Offers extensive content with many unique factions, heroes, spells, and units, providing high replayability and strategic diversity.
Developer is active and responsive with frequent updates, improving gameplay, adding features, and supporting modding and community engagement.

Lacks a proper single-player campaign and has no official online multiplayer, limiting player engagement and multiplayer experience.
Game balance is inconsistent with some factions, units, and hero abilities significantly overpowered, leading to predictable snowball strategies.
Performance issues occur in large battles and maps, including frame rate drops and occasional crashes, affecting gameplay smoothness.

gameplay
398 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
69%
6%
The gameplay of Hero's Hour offers a compelling blend of Heroes of Might and Magic-style turn-based strategy with real-time auto-battler combat, featuring numerous unique factions and mechanics that provide depth and replayability. While the learning curve can be steep due to a multitude of sometimes underexplained systems, players appreciate the strategic choices, hero progression, and fast-paced battles, though some find late-game balance and AI behavior frustrating. Overall, it delivers nostalgic yet fresh gameplay with solid mechanics, but occasional performance issues and repetitive loops may limit long-term engagement for some.
- “Worth the price, the more you play the more you understand the depth and variety of gameplay and builds.”
- “The new talent trees are genuinely interesting and provoke gameplay decisions, reinvigorating old staples and introducing new norms.”
- “Excellent gameplay blending Heroes of Might and Magic with auto battler mechanics.”
- “There seems to be too many mechanics to the point where they are all unimportant and are mostly glossed over leading to uninspired gameplay.”
- “However, if you were the kind of player who both loved the Heroes of Might and Magic series and wished for the kind of 'micro' gameplay that appears in games like Starcraft II, this game is absolutely perfect for you.”
- “However, the user interface can feel cluttered at times, and occasional technical hiccups might disrupt the gameplay flow.”
graphics
316 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
68%
4%
The graphics of the game are predominantly described as charming, simple pixel art with a nostalgic, retro aesthetic reminiscent of classic strategy games like Heroes of Might and Magic. While many appreciate the unique and colorful pixel style for its clarity, charm, and suitability to large-scale battles, some find the pixelation too simplistic, cluttered, or sometimes confusing, with occasional issues in unit visibility and UI integration. Overall, the graphics are seen as a deliberate stylistic choice that prioritizes gameplay and accessibility over modern visual fidelity, appealing mainly to fans of pixel art and retro-inspired strategy games.
- “Despite the pixelated aesthetic, Hero's Hour conveys a sense of grandeur—especially when watching massive armies collide with hundreds of units on screen, spells flying, and morale affecting the outcome.”
- “Hero's Hour combines all the best features of the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise and puts a unique spin on them, with a cute and beautiful minimalist pixel art style the game is a joy to look at.”
- “The pixel graphics go really well with the chaos of huge armies fighting, and in-between battles there's plenty of downtime for exploration and discovery.”
- “Ugly graphics, inconsistent sprite work - highly detailed buildings next to tiny 8x8 unit sprites make me want to pull my eyes out, worse than a 20 year old game; and yet with artificial limits on the number of units in battle because the game lags when large armies are fighting.”
- “It's like heroes of might and magic, but worse graphics, worse gameplay, but with real time battles.”
- “The game is basically a copy paste of the overworld with graphics that are barely discernible that leaves out one of the best aspects of homm: the combat.”
music
153 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
56%
2%
The music in the game is widely praised for its catchy, varied, and atmospheric chiptune soundtrack that captures a nostalgic fantasy vibe, reminiscent of classic RPGs. While many find the tunes memorable and fitting for the setting, some note the limited track variety and repetitiveness, especially with combat and auto-battle music, which can become tiring after long play sessions. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong positive, adding charm and immersion, though a few players desire more tracks and smoother transitions.
- “The music is great, thematic, immersive, and catchy - I even catch my girlfriend humming along to some of the catchier tunes!”
- “The musician did an amazing job - from calm fantasy songs to metal-sounding tunes for appropriate environments.”
- “The soundtrack is amazing so consider the extra purchase.”
- “The music is completely unremarkable and treads the line between being so inoffensive you don't notice it and annoying given limited tracks and track time.”
- “The music also abruptly changes quite a lot which sucks because it has some groovy music but too jarring of a change from one tune to another (city -> world map & end of turn music transitions in specific).”
- “Music is terrible had to switch it off asap, was really getting on my nerves with every higher pitched tone, possibly just a matter of taste.”
replayability
90 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
56%
3%
The game offers exceptional replayability, driven by a wealth of content including numerous distinct factions, heroes, skill trees, and procedurally generated maps. Its blend of strategic depth, varied mechanics, and continuous updates creates an engaging experience that remains fresh over many playthroughs, though some players note a learning curve and desire for broader long-term goals. Overall, it is widely praised for delivering immense and nearly endless replay value, especially with DLCs and mods.
- “With over a dozen distinct factions—each with unique mechanics, unit rosters, and upgrade options—the replayability is immense.”
- “It expertly fuses turn-based map control with frenetic real-time battles, and its wealth of factions, spells, units, and random generation ensures deep replayability.”
- “Ben "thingonitsown" Hauer has made something special here, granting endless replayability for (relatively) bite-sized adventures that give you just enough of everything you want out of this type of game.”
- “If you are looking for replay value I would recommend against.”
- “Such you have archer type units behind your infantry units and always have flanking support, tactical AI doesn't counter these moves; they bunch troops at the center and never spread, causing you to feel like there isn't any replay value.”
- “The replay value feels a bit thin if you're not playing with friends.”
optimization
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
50%
36%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, especially during large battles and late-game scenarios involving massive armies, causing severe frame drops, lag, and stuttering even on mid-to-high-end PCs. While gameplay and content are praised, these performance problems—ranging from slow AI turns to freezing effects—detract considerably from the overall experience and prevent it from fully realizing its potential.
- “The game has some severe optimization issues with high unit and resource counts that drop the frame rate and cause stuttering both in overworld and in combat, which is the worst general problem.”
- “My biggest gripe is playing on anything bigger than a medium map makes the game lag like crazy, and I have a decent PC, so it's just not very well optimized.”
- “The game gets pretty hectic, and at least on my machine, during the endgame phase, my frames tank and performance across the board struggles — just too many units on screen.”
- “The game has severe optimization issues with high unit and resource counts that drop the frame rate and cause stuttering both in the overworld and in combat, which is the worst general thing about the game.”
- “The reason I can't recommend it is the poor performance, with the framerate going from 60 to the higher 20s as a game goes on and autosaves (which can't be disabled) taking longer and longer.”
- “Still doesn't have multiplayer besides hotseat, and I don't know if it's recent, but the performance is godawful; I have to wait about a minute between turns for AIs to make their moves and then stare at a loading bar.”
story
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
58%
31%
The game lacks a traditional story or campaign mode, offering only random or custom maps without narrative-driven missions. While the gameplay and mechanics are praised, many players feel the absence of a story limits engagement and emotional connection to the factions. Adding a story mode or campaign is widely seen as a key improvement to enhance overall player experience.
- “It goes beyond simply “good” and elevates the experience with a solid story, a particularly noteworthy process of development, and/or innovations in mechanics which are satisfying to figure out and implement.”
- “A game where you take charge of a hero leading a fantasy realm of vague familiarity on a quest to dominate the map, using magic, resources, and unique unit rosters for each faction.”
- “And there's so much more opportunity for this game too, a personal favourite idea of mine would be a PvE adventure story mode with a campaign.”
- “It lacks a proper story mode, though.”
- “There is no campaign here (nor story element), just a random map generator.”
- “The game only has random scenarios available, no campaign, no story, nothing.”
grinding
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is a double-edged sword: battles are faster and less tedious than traditional turn-based models, offering fun large-scale combat and deep customization, but late-game play often becomes slow and tedious due to lag, repetitive strategies, unbalanced factions, and cumbersome unit management. Additionally, achievements and managing numerous heroes or units can feel like a grind, especially when playing solo or in large maps with multiple AI players. Overall, while initial gameplay is engaging, extended sessions tend to involve tedious grinding and management challenges.
- “I tried to play this on a full map with all of the races on the same map and this game seems to come to a grinding halt in between the later turns.”
- “Bad: kind of buggy, game has poor balance, achievements are a RNG grind - I've spent 30 hours of this game grinding achievements.”
- “The game kind of encourages you to have a ton of heroes, but moving all of them is super tedious - if any devs are reading this, please add a button that just moves all your heroes that still have movement, as if they were controlled by the AI.”
stability
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game suffers from frequent bugs, crashes, and glitches that impact tutorial clarity, combat AI, and overall gameplay stability, especially on larger maps or certain resolutions. While some users find it fun and addictive despite these issues, many note that the buggy state detracts from the experience and requires fixes for better playability.
- “Also it's buggy as f, some games will work until you reload the campaign, then you'll have all sorts of crashes.”
- “Ever since the last few updates, this game has been a tumbling buggy mess, nobody has any reason to wanna grind for hero's, the only form of progression in the game- being achievements but yet this locks 1/3 of the playable characters behind being an achiever?”
- “The game has a lot going for it, but is completely unplayable on larger maps, resulting in game freezes that last whole minutes at random times.”
humor
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is widely appreciated for its quirky, chaotic battles, funny characters, and amusing glitches, which add charm and entertainment despite some repetitiveness and difficulty spikes. Players enjoy the playful, lighthearted approach, with a mix of hilarious and creative elements that enhance replayability and overall enjoyment. However, a few find the humor wearing off over time or overshadowed by frustrating gameplay aspects.
- “Grab your cloak and your sense of humor, because it's time to dive into 'Hero's Hour,' a game that proves managing an army is just as chaotic as herding cats, but way more entertaining.”
- “Mix and match your army to create the most bizarrely effective (or hilariously ineffective) fighting force.”
- “Still, watching your units evolve and getting the feel of different heroes and factions is super satisfying, and the battles are just the right mix of awesome and hilarious.”
emotional
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to Hero's Hour, appreciating it as a heartfelt homage to classic games with a deep love for the genre. The game’s ability to retain heroes across campaign scenarios helps mitigate frustration over progress loss, while its nostalgic pixelated auto-battler style evokes warm, wholesome feelings reminiscent of HoMM3. However, some users are discouraged by issues needing fixes, causing reluctance to continue playing until improvements are made.
- “Hero's Hour was clearly made as a heartfelt homage to classic games, by people who love the genre and had the vision to expand on them.”
- “While I'm not a fan of having to build up characters only to lose them in subsequent scenarios, the ability to retain a hero between scenarios of a campaign prevented the experience from being too heartbreaking, avoiding the feeling of lost progress.”
- “An enjoyable pixelated auto-battler that gives you those wholesome Heroes of Might and Magic 3 feels.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game's pixel art and soundtrack combine to create a unique, immersive fantasy atmosphere that balances a cozy feel with fast-paced, deep tactical gameplay. While some players appreciate the soul and charm brought by the visuals and music, others feel the audio-visual elements don't fully match the atmosphere of similar games in the genre. Overall, the atmospheric design is praised for enhancing engagement and immersion.
- “The pixel visuals go well with the fantasy setting and create a unique atmosphere allowing for more fast-paced gameplay.”
- “The soundtrack complements the world, creating an immersive atmosphere.”
- “It's got a lot of soul, the spritework is wonderful, and the music is really atmospheric.”
- “I am not a fan of the audio and visuals; especially Halo 3 did really well on those, in my opinion they were a huge part of the atmosphere and feeling of that game.”
- “The game does have Steam Remote Play, and although I'm happy with how it works, there is a certain atmosphere you get from other 4X games by not seeing the opponent's screen.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization in games made with Gamemaker Studio is often criticized for relying on uninspired, copycat projects aimed at quick cash grabs, frequently featuring intrusive ads that disrupt the experience and frustrate players.
- “Gamemaker Studio is most commonly used to make retro pixel shovelware and cash grabs.”
- “It feels like an uninspired copy-paste from a classic, just to have a quick and lazy cash grab.”
- “Sad to change my review from positive to negative due to ads inside the game.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development is widely criticized for being unimaginative and uninspired, featuring stale designs and shallow worldbuilding that detract from the game's fantasy and creative potential.