Turn based RPGs seem to be few and far between nowadays, at least in the AAA space. Meanwhile indie gaming is filled with old dungeon crawlers and epics that can rival any established franchise. Pixel Heroes is rooted deeply into older role-playing fair. Players can choose between multiple classes for the characters to form their 3 person party. Quests are given by NPCs you encounter in the town though there is still an overarching narrative to follow in small snippets. There are 3 different campaigns to choose from, each more difficult than the last.
The game starts off fairly vague with no tutorial to speak of. Fortunately this game is more about learning by doing so after dying a few times it’s easy to actually start adventuring. It’s a crash course in party and turn-management but it’s part of the style that drives home an old school feel. While many of the classes have different names than what you’re used to, most of them are standard fare you’d expect including ones you can sometimes unlock from beating bosses. That isn’t to say everything is predictable, with many of the games events randomized with some light comedy added in for good measure. Some of the jokes show their age(like a Chuck Testa reference) but none of them seem as old as the gameplay. Turns are taken to the extreme with one character per turn who then has to rest on the next. It makes for some strategic thinking as you’re forced to rely on the whole party being viable as opposed to one tanky character doing all the grunt work. This comes at a cost as some modern day conveniences are ignored in favor of nostalgia. Certain animations can’t be skipped no matter how many times you’ve seen them nor can you leave a dungeon before completing it. It can be frustrating for one wrong move to shut down an entire playthrough, but it wouldn’t feel as difficult as older games otherwise.
While dungeon crawlers aren’t usually my thing, Pixel Heroes managed to win me over with it’s nostalgic charm and gameplay that encourages long play sessions. While there is blatant placating to nostalgia, there’s still a fairly good game here. If brutally difficult RPGs are your thing, then you just got a treat to enjoy through the winter gloom.