Iro Hero

Release Date: June 7, 2018

Action, science fiction, 2D, top-down, indie games, shoot 'em up, space ships, shooters, singleplayer

Steam

Rate It!

A shoot'em up the game, in which the players assume the role of the titular Iro - an airship pilot trying to put an end to using humans as batteries by the greedy corporations. During the game, one completes nine diverse arenas, fights encountered opponents and has to avoid deadly obstacles such as energy barriers.

Plot
Mechanics
Game modes
Technical aspects

Iro Hero is a shoot'em up game inspired by such iconic representatives of the genre as Ikarugi. The game was developed by Spanish Artax Games and was published on Nintendo Switch by Eastasiasoft.

Plot

The action of Iro Hero is set in 2306 – a century after the humans have developed the technology to procure energy from their bodies. Unfortunately, the matters took a turn for the worse, as the greedy corporations began treating the citizens as batteries and locked them up on specially designed farms. The titular Iro – a teenager that the player controls – takes the matters into his own hands after the death of his mother and tries to put an end to all this.

Mechanics

In Iro Hero for Nintendo Switch players observe the action from the top-down perspective. During the game, one pilots a space fighter flying upwards and eliminates all threats encountered throughout nine separate stages. These threats include ten types of opponents, ten powerful bosses and deadly traps waiting for the main protagonist, such as the energy fields.

A key to success lies in proper color manipulation – after turning red or blue, the player can beat the obstacle of the same color. The opponents can be eliminated by bullets of different colors. The things get more complicated as opponents and obstacles of different colors appear on the horizon – in such situations players can use special objects that reflect player's bullets and, at the same time, change their color.

As players progress through the game, they unlock new abilities for Iro and upgrades for the fighter, which develop one's battle potential and make it easier to make it out in one piece in more dangerous situations. Using these abilities and upgrades requires players to charge the core installed onto their ship by absorbing the energy from enemy projectiles.

Game modes

Even though Iro Hero does not feature the multiplayer mode, players can still use the online ranking lists to share their achievements with friends.

Technical aspects

Iro Hero features 2D pixel art visuals. During the game, pilots' conversations are displayed on the sides of the screen – these conversations often include some tips for the players.

Last updated on June 19, 2018

Videos and Screens