Hero of Many tells the tale of a hero who fights to survive in a world where few are on its side. Created by Trickster Arts and available on Android, iOS, and Steam, Hero of Many follows a small orb as it gathers allies and defends itself from enemies, all the while solving different puzzles to get to the end of each of the 26 levels. The allies you gain along the way follow and fight for you, as you lead them to safety.

Throughout the game I was miserable as those that I led constantly died. I lost motivation several times while playing, because what is the point of continuing on when everyone who follows you is simply going to perish. I cringed and even whimpered a few times when the enemies ate my allies. It was as if I was losing my children. Honestly, I felt guilty when I rescued more allies, because they blindly followed me and I knew it would eventually only lead to their death in the end. It was a brutal game of survival.

It’s hard being the leader, especially one with a conscious, when all of your followers are consistently hurt and killed and I think that is something this game portrayed splendidly. As a leader I have the power to make my followers survivors, but I also have the power to destroy their lives. Hero of Many is not merely a survival puzzler game, it also realistically presents the challenges and consequences of being a hero, both the good and the bad.

Even when I did not feel as though I was worthy of being a hero, all of my followers had my back. As they protected me from incoming danger and enemies. Always sacrificing themselves for the ‘greater good’ of my survival.

The music enhanced the experience of the game as well. Similar to many action games the music picked up when a swarm of enemies ambushed the hero, mellowed out when things were calm, and took on a motivational tone when things were looking up. This not only helped tell the hero’s stories, it also gave clues as to the type of atmosphere the hero was in.

In addition, the different obstacles faced throughout the game commented on what can happen during the fight for survival. For example, some of your followers may turn on you. Those you once called allies can turn into your enemies with solely malice intent.

One of the things I believe Hero of Many did well, was its storytelling without the use of words. The entire game was without dialogue or text. The only sounds included the background music, enemies, and ambient noise. Being able to tell an entire story with only visuals and sound is extremely powerful and not many are able to accomplish it. However, this lack of words also hinders the game when it comes to actually learning how to play the game in the beginning. On the first level, I died constantly as I had no clue what I was doing or how the environment worked. Eventually, I got through it; however, the frustration of not being able to figure it the mechanics of the game almost led to me giving up.

Hero of Many does not tell the story of a hero that wins every battle and for that I applaud the creators. Due to this the game is tremendously realistic. Just because you’re a good guy does not mean good things will always happen to you. Heroes fall every day.

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