The Nerdy Type

If you’re of a ‘certain age’, you may remember the maze games of old, and maybe even one particular jump-scare maze that became one of the early viral hits of the internet. I’ve always been terrible at maze games, and I’m equally bad at metroidvanias, so you can imagine my struggle with HeroSquare.

HeroSquare is a new game developed by Akseli Virtanen, and it is unexpectedly challenging despite its clean, simple appearance and premise. It’s also a metroidvania, with a map that gradually unlocks as you unlock new abilities and surprisingly brutal enemies to defeat along the way. 

Ever-increasing difficulty

I have to admit, starting up HeroSquare and traveling through the maze for the first time, I honestly thought that I would be able to get through it without too many issues. It felt easy, which I wasn’t about to complain about because I’m not a masochist, but I can now acknowledge that this smooth beginning was definitely something of a false sense of security. 

That smooth sailing I experienced in the beginning was soon thrown out of the window when I started having to deal with actual enemies, and soon I found myself feeling a shocking amount of stress as I tried to avoid getting hit by stray bullets, stay out of the path of other squares, and navigate my way around mazes that at first glance seemed impossible.

The metroidvania nature of HeroSquare truly becomes apparent once you unlock your first ability and you’re suddenly able to parry bullets back at the enemies that try to shoot you, or otherwise use that ability to open up doors to new areas. Thankfully, there are save points that become more frequent as you progress further into the maze, so I was relieved to find that not all was lost if I fluffed a parry and got myself killed. 

Mechanics over visuals

HeroSquare is a perfect example of quality mechanics being more important than spectacular visual effects and artistic ability. In the aftermath of the Steam-breaking release of Silksong, there’s a lot of attention on metroidvanias right now, and if you’re looking for one that feels just as brutal as the mega-popular Hollow Knight sequel, then HeroSquare is one that you should try out. 

I don’t expect that anyone is going to set out and create fan art for the white square protagonist of HeroSquare – although I am happy to say that if I wanted to, this is probably the extent of my fan art creative capabilities – but this is a game that proves that not everything needs to be visually intricate or detailed to be mentally stimulating and enjoyable. The whole aesthetic is delightfully retro, and that’s certainly appealing to a huge number of players who want the challenge without the distraction of too much to look at.

With that said, the default settings of HeroSquare aren’t for everyone, a fact that Akseliv has openly admitted to during discussions in the TNT Discord server. By default, there are a lot of flashing lights that could cause an issue for some players, but there is an accessibility option to turn off VFX, making it much less strobe-like and a little easier on the eye. 

More time dead than alive

I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve died while playing HeroSquare during my time with it, and I’m not even a little bit ashamed to admit that I’m nowhere near what anyone could describe as ‘good’ at this game. The game feels incredibly difficult to me, although I’m sure plenty of metroidvania veterans out there would think me weird for even describing it as such. 

Admittedly, a lot of my deaths were down to my own fumbling fingers and terrible decisions, like trying to dodge bullets rather than parry them or save time by giving up one of my three lives rather than taking the time to do things how they’re meant to be done. I’m impatient, I know that, so I can hold my hands up and say that this flaw has gotten me killed more than a few times in HeroSquare. 

But isn’t that inherent frustration at yourself just par for the course when playing a metroidvania? Figuring out how things work through failing at them is part of the usual learning curve, and getting better each time you do the same thing again is a satisfying experience that HeroSquare has by the bucketful. 

HeroSquare is set to release on October 7, 2025. If you’re looking for a new metroidvania experience, I can highly recommend you give this one a shot. In the meantime, there’s a demo available to try through Steam.