IRO Hero, from publisher eastasiasoft and developed by Artax Games SL, is not for the faint-hearted. And when I say faint-hearted, I mean those liable to throw a controller through a wall or window out of frustration.

Developer: Artax Games SL

Publisher: eastasiasoft

15 Hours played // Digital // Nintendo Switch – Review Copy // Price – $12.99

It Begins

The game starts out with your character setting out in their ship to save their mother from the invading hoard. The level, set on earth, features your standard obstacles to avoid and enemies to dispatch. What is missing however is a checkpoint system and ship upgrades. Once the game starts, you have three very fleeting lives and failure is not an option. Three strikes and you are out, starting the entire level from the start. This would not be a huge issue normally, but IRO Hero is possibly one of the most difficult games I have ever played.

The difficulty ramps up as you progress; however, your ship doesn’t really. I must have played level 1 almost 30 times before I finally managed to get through it, but instead of a sense of achievement, I had a sense of fear. That fear was of the next level and having to go through that grind again. Unfortunately, that fear was justified. I eventually placed the controller down, and walked away.

Lots going on

Upgrades?!

When a developer creates a game that is outlandishly difficult, it is common to be able to lower the difficulty. IRO Hero does not allow for such a thing. I do not understand why.

If you have played games such as R-TYPE, you will be familiar with the reward system. As you progress through a level, you can upgrade your ships abilities in various ways via drops and power ups although it doesn’t feel very fulfilling. I did not notice any real change in my ship as I picked up what I assume we’re power ups! Check points are also missing! This is a very confusing omission. When you die, that’s it, back to the start of the level with you. This gets old fast.

Level design is interesting

Short Lived

IRO Hero does not have any redeeming qualities. And having come from the same publisher that brought us Lost Sea, I am truly surprised. Lost Sea is a great game, and you should check out my review of it.

There is a story, but it is silently narrated at the sides of the screen, where you can either choose to read the dialogue and have your ship blown up, or ignore the dialogue, and have your ship blown up at a slightly later time.

One area where you find issues however, is in its stability. No glitches, no frame rate drop, nothing. It’s as smooth as butter no matter how much is going on.

Do You Want more?

IRO Hero is the type of game that you will love to hate. The very fact that I kept trying to get past the first few levels shows that IRO Hero has that unique element that some games dont have; The ability to keep you there out of spite in order to beat the machine! If you like that, then this is your game. If not, run away and don’t look back.