I am a big fan of bullet-hell roguelite titles. I have sunk so much time into them over the last few years. Recently, I spent a chunk of time with a new entry into the genre, Ground Zero Hero, and to be honest, I am impressed.
An Apocalyptic Battleground
The game throws you into various post-apocalyptic battlegrounds. The main aim is to survive for as long as you can.
Surviving is not easy; each location is filled with a range of weird and wacky monsters. Regular run-of-the-mill animals that have been mutated due to radiation exposure, and all of which are out to get you! To make it even worse, the game features a day/night cycle with harder monsters coming out to play when the sun goes down!
If you can successfully kill 10000 enemies in your run, you will then be met with a boss battle. Kill the boss and victory is yours!
Of course, you have your own unique and mutated abilities to utilise to help fight back the monstrous hordes. Quirky abilities such as shooting tentacles or fireballs. There is even an ability that launches spikes from your back that take down multiple enemies. Oh, and I didn’t mention that you can lay exploding eggs?
Abilities can be upgraded, or new abilities unlocked; this is done as you collect what I can describe as a brightly coloured green goo that enemies drop as you kill them. You collect the goo to fill up an on-screen test tube that, when it becomes full, grants a new ability or the chance to upgrade a current one. Upgrading also extends further by giving you the option to spend earned coins between runs and on permanent upgrades to areas such as your health or critical hit chance.
Coins are collected by defeating certain enemies and by cracking open bank-like safes that are randomly distributed throughout the map. Challenges also offer upgrades; for example, a challenge to kill X amount of enemies with a specific ability can give a ‘Bonkers’ upgrade to that ability, causing it to go a little crazy, do lots more damage and take out a lot more enemies!
Of course, it is not just the multitude of enemies that you need to worry about; it is also your constantly depleting ‘candy meter’. If the meter empties, you will start to lose health. The only way to refill it is to crack open piñatas that are scattered around the map and to then eat the candy that is inside.
This is where I should really mention the comedic side of Ground Zero Hero; the game is pretty darn amusing at times. From the wacky enemies, the humorous names and descriptions for the various abilities, to the fact that you can jump on the back of a cow and charge through ranks of enemies! In one level, you can even slap a booty-shaking bear and send it on a rampage through the enemy crowds.
At so many points whilst playing this game, I found myself chuckling at some of the humour that it throws at you, and to be honest, that is a good thing.
Nice & Vibrant
Visually, the game looks nice, crisp and vibrant on the Nintendo Switch 2.
I think the only issue I have encountered in terms of performance is when there are a lot of enemies on the screen, and you trigger an explosion killing lots of them; there can be a little bit of slowdown for a brief few seconds.
It does not deter how fun the game is in any way, shape or form, and I am sure that it is something that can be optimised and improved with future updates.
Addictive Replayability
I have to say I am thoroughly enjoying my time with Ground Zero Hero. The game is fun, with a very quirky sense of humour that can make playing it a joy.
Yes, like most games of this genre, it can be a little repetitive at times, but at the same time I always find myself looking to play ‘just one more’ game!
Priced at a very nice £7.79 with a 10% launch discount on the Switch 2, it is certainly hard not to recommend giving this one a try.
Ground Zero Hero
Summary
Ground Zero Hero is a very solid entry into the bullet hell roguelite genre. It has enough charm and quirky elements to make its own stamp. If you are a fan of this genre of games, I certainly recommend adding this one to your wishlists.
