Not A Hero
| Not A Hero | |
|---|---|
 Logo of Not A Hero | |
| Developer(s) | Roll7 |
| Publisher(s) |
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| Director(s) | John Ribbins |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Designer(s) | John Ribbins |
| Artist(s) | Jake Hollands |
| Engine | Clickteam Fusion 2.5 |
| Platform(s) | Android, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One |
| Release date(s) |
Microsoft Windows
OS X, Linux
Android
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
|
| Genre(s) | Third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Not A Hero (stylized as NOT A HERO) is a third-person shooter video game developed by UK-based indie development studio Roll7 and published by Devolver Digital. The game released on 14 May 2015 for Microsoft Windows. A later update, which was built using the Chowdren runtime for Clickteam Fusion 2.5, introduced builds for OS X and Linux, on 30 September 2015. The PlayStation 4 version of the game released on 2 February 2016, with the PlayStation Vita version being canceled.
Plot
The anthropomorphic, purple rabbit BunnyLord has travelled back in time from 2048 to be elected as mayor to save the world as it is known from total destruction and alien invasion. During his candidate-ship, he needs to show the citizens why he should be elected and sets up freelance anti-heroes to clean up crime in the city under his name.[1]
Gameplay
Not A Hero is a 2D, cover-based shooter where the player must fight their way through buildings to kill criminals and to do their duty of one major objective and three minor objectives.
Development
Not A Hero was originally created under the title Ur Not A Hero by John Ribbins as a free indie game to accomplish his game list of ideas he made in 2012, which also included OlliOlli. Ur Not A Hero was released to on The Daily Click under the user name butterfingers on 10 January 2013.[2] Although Not A Hero mostly relies on Ur Not A Hero, its mechanics are based on three games from John Ribbins' list: the cover-based shooter aspect, and with that the major aspect, comes from Ur Not A Hero, the indoor level design comes from his game Jeffrey Archer and BunnyLord's randomly generated sentences and sounds are from his game Hackathor.[3] Roll7 later developed the game further, partnering up with ISO-Slant, an Clickteam Fusion add-on to make a 2D game appear 2¼D and to make one able to look around it using ISO-Slant glasses. This port was arranged by Roll7's artist Jake Hollands, making Not A Hero the first game to use ISO-Slant technology.[4] The visual style developed for the game is a bright pixel art. In an interview, lead artist Hollands stated "I learned to create pixel art in the week before my interview at Roll7 and got much better at it whilst working on Not a Hero, but don't plan to return to it - I think that outside of a nostalgic choice there should be a good reason to use it".[5] The game was later picked up by Devolver Digital, who had published OlliOlli as well. BunnyLord was later given his own Twitter account to post his ideas and opinions about politics, as well as parodying it.[6] On 21 April 2015, Not A Hero was announced to be hacked, although it later turned out to be official demo being released. For that, the developer, Roll7, created a web page for the so-called UJIP Party, representing the opponent of BunnyLord, with advertisement video, information on why BunnyLord's "illegal immigration" should not be tolerated and a download for the game's "hacked" demo.[7] On 1 May 2015, Roll7 announced that the game's release will be delayed one week, due to Jake Hollands wanting to implement 60 FPS into the game, as all previous version have run at 30 FPS.[8] A later update, which was built using the Chowdren runtime for Clickteam Fusion 2.5 by MP2 Games, introduced builds for OS X and Linux on 30 September 2015. On 12 January 2016, it was announced that Not A Hero would be released for PlayStation 4 on 2 February 2016, with the PlayStation Vita version being officially cancelled later that day.[9]
Reception
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Not A Hero positive reviews upon release, with the PC version holding an aggregated Metacritic score of 75/100, based on 57 critic reviews,[10] the PlayStation 4 version a score of 74/100, based on 26 critic reviews,[11] and the Xbox One version a score of 75/100 based on 13 critic reviews.[12]
References
- ↑ Chalk, Andy (19 February 2015). "Not a Hero trailer offers "A Violent Today, For a Better Tomorrow"". PC Gamer. Future US. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ↑ Sykes, Tom (30 January 2013). "Ur Not A Hero, but you are a badass in this cover-based 2D action shooter". PC Gamer. Future US. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ↑ Greene, Gavin (27 May 2015). "How Not a Hero put you on the mayoral campaign of a … time-traveling alien bunny". VentureBeat. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ↑ Narcisse, Evan (29 March 2014). "A Shooter That You'll Play In Two-and-a-Quarter Dimensions". Kotaku Australia. Allure Media. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ↑ Courtney, Timothy (16 March 2016). "Game Talk: Game Artist for Not a Hero, Jake Hollands Interview with Timothy Courtney". timothycourtney.io. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ↑ Roll7 (26 November 2014). "BunnyLord on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ↑ Chalk, Andy (22 April 2015). "Not a Hero demo released". PC Gamer. Future US. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ↑ Chalk, Andy (1 May 2015). "Not a Hero suffers a slight delay". PC Gamer. Future US. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ↑ Makuch, Eddie (12 January 2016). "2D Shooter Not A Hero PS Vita Port Canceled, PS4 Edition Gets Release Date". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- 1 2 "Not a Hero Critic Reviews for PC". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- 1 2 "Not a Hero Critic Reviews for PlayStation 4". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- 1 2 "Not A Hero: Super Snazzy Edition Critic Reviews for Xbox One". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 9 September 2016.