Glitch Hero Review
Glitch Hero unsuccessfully blends Zelda-like gameplay with programming puzzle solving.
Glitch Hero. Credit: Didactoons / Artax Games
Lately, there has been a trend of games featuring simple block-based programming as a core mechanic. In these games, players solve puzzles by selecting and arranging blocks of instructions and variables to automate a solution using coding logic. I’ve reviewed games like this before, and now I’m reviewing one more with Glitch Hero.
Glitch Hero, from developer Didactoons and publisher Artax Games, is an action-adventure game that plays much like a classic Legend of Zelda, with programming logic puzzles mixed in. The main problems with it, aside from lackluster graphics, are that the action portion leaves a lot to be desired and that there aren’t enough puzzles. Based on the age descriptions that accompany the game’s difficulty settings, the target audience for this game is young children. Still, I think this game had more potential than what’s present and that targeting kids isn’t an excuse for lackluster production.
Glitch Hero. Credit: Didactoons / Artax Games
Protagonist Ada, a smart young girl, visits her father’s lab. She finds him and the other scientists hooked up to headsets, meaning they’re in the virtual world of her father’s creation—Codeland. She dives into Codeland without permission and discovers that bugs in the code have trapped her dad. With the help of her weapon, the “hammer.exe,” she sets off to save him and the other scientists by clearing Codeland’s dungeons.
Most of the game plays like a 2D, top-down Zelda adventure. Movement and combat are identical, including a charge-up spin attack you eventually learn. The game also throws a projectile attack and a dash into the mix. The game’s structure is similar, with overworld areas and dungeons to explore.
Glitch Hero. Credit: Didactoons / Artax Games
Dotted throughout are programming logic puzzles that block the way forward. When you begin a puzzle, the game’s interface changes. A bar appears at the bottom of the screen, and a Play button at the top. The player must populate the lower bar with “code” blocks, and after pushing Play, the game will execute them in order. At times, the process reminded me of Logo, a programming language developed to teach kids about coding, where they can create instructions to get a turtle to draw shapes on the screen. In Glitch Hero, you command Ada rather than a turtle to do an action—for example, take a step forward, turn, attack, etc. Very soon, the game limits the amount of each block available and teaches the player about loops. The block interface is a bit unwieldy but easy to use. I just wish the game had a means to fast-forward the results.
The biggest problem with the game is that the action portion isn’t very fun and doesn’t feel particularly good to play. Ada is too large on the screen, and her attack range is too short. She isn’t agile enough, and her dash doesn’t help much. Combat is just very clunky. Frankly, it’s boring. The puzzles are the game's best part and don’t appear frequently enough.
Glitch Hero. Credit: Didactoons / Artax Games
The game’s graphics are very flat and feel generic and lifeless. The characters and objects don’t look like they sit properly in the environment; the artists failed to make shadows and perspective work properly to give the orthographically projected 2D world any depth or visual cohesion. On top of that, everything is too plain. Glitch Hero has some great-looking animated cutscenes, and it’s too bad that none of the gameplay looks anything like them.
Playing the PlayStation 5 version of the game, I encountered serious graphical issues. The game would draw large magenta rectangles that completely covered up whatever was underneath. In Unity, the game’s engine, this is the effect of a missing or incompatible texture. This began to happen nearly at the beginning and persisted throughout. It’s hard to imagine why the developers would miss such a glaring bug.
Glitch Hero. Credit: Didactoons / Artax Games
It’s unfortunate that Glitch Hero is so flawed. If you’re looking for a game to help teach your kids coding logic, there are better options out there.
Glitch Hero is available now on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One / Series X|S, and PlayStation 4/5.
Overall Score: 3/10
Played on: PS5
