Do you remember Castle Crashers? Well, the developers of Big Helmet Heroes certainly do, as their game bears an uncanny resemblance to The Behemoth’s 2D side-scrolling shiny knight classic. Indeed, Big Helmet Heroes could well be Castle Crashers 2, only this time with bland 3D visuals replacing the charming hand-drawn aesthetic of The Behemoth’s finest. Oh, there’s one other noticeable difference between the two games I’m afraid; unlike Castle Crashers, Big Helmet Heroes isn’t very good.
Big Helmet Heroes certainly starts off promisingly enough, your large-bonced knight – and one other pal in local co-op – trundle from left to right, hacking up Medieval-themed minions. It’s your standard side-scrolling beat ‘em up fare, though with a couple of neat additions. As you hack and slash through lava filled labyrinths, foreboding castles, neon-soaked amusement arcades, and atop an enormous electric guitar – yes, really – you’ll rescue other Big Helmeted Heroes who can be added to your team for that level. This enables you to switch out characters, your tagged-out warrior gaining health as they rest on the sidelines. A well-timed swap out is vital to reach the end of later levels, demanding close monitoring of your various hero’s health levels. Admittedly, this doesn’t add much to the proceedings, but it’s a little bit of brain that serves to accentuate the lashings of brawn.
In comparison to many of the recent side-scrolling beat ‘em ups I’ve played; there’s also the welcome addition of literally hundreds of amusing over-the-top weapons to pick-up and unleash on your unwitting opponents. You’ll be zapping enemies with electric flyswatters, launching laser beams at them from futuristic space-rifles, and smashing them to oblivion with massive plastic toy hammers. It’s all very fun, silly, and satisfying, exactly as it should be.
Each hero, despite the visual differences, plays pretty much the same, with identikit moves and attack combos. What diversifies them are rather entertaining ultimate attacks that freshen up the never-ending combat. A highlight is summoning a horde of angry sheep to trample your foes beneath their cute chunky hooves; but turning into a giant to stomp puny henchmen and making everyone battle in John Woo slow-mo proved a laugh too. Levels also benefit from a welcome touch of imagination and creativity; at one point the camera switches to a birds-eye view, your knights now tasked with navigating a hay-bale maze. Or there’s a battle at sea which turns into a light-gun shooter for the closing moments, or occasions when the game switches over into a survival mode, enemies attacking in waves whilst you defend your position.
Keeping 2D side-scrolling beat ‘em ups engaging through to their conclusion isn’t a straightforward proposition, they are, through their defining mechanic, deeply repetitive, yet developers Exalted Studio have certainly taken a welcome stab at it.
So, where does it all go wrong? Primarily, Big Helmet Heroes, on PS5 at least, is unbelievably janky. Collision detection is laughable, particularly when it comes to the awfully implemented bosses, with attacks failing to register at all. It’s not just attacks either, the Big Helmet Heroes can’t seem to stay attached to the ground – when navigating bridges or platforms, they’ll just plunge off for no good reason, almost as if the game deliberately steers your player character into an early demise. This issue gets worse and worse as you make your way further into the game, rendering some sections nigh unplayable.
Then there’s the camera, which is broken, failing to show the on-screen action most of the time. All too often you’ll be battling enemies off-screen, the camera demanding it shows you empty environments instead of your player character. The camera is even worse during those aforementioned boss fights, failing to keep up with the action at all. One notable example against a giant octopus was dreadful, my partner and I making it through by button mashing, unable to see what we were doing. Perhaps those Big Helmet Heroes needed even bigger heads? At least that way they might stay on screen.