Much wow, such confused! A comic book-styled idle game with a fair share of "comic twists".

X-HERO was recently released after a relatively long period in Early Access. Despite this, it still had some rough spots clearly visible.

For example, upon launch, you might have found some localization problems from the Early Access version that weren't sorted out, such as Bread Hero (Flore) being referred to as "Froell" in the description for some reason. I'm not sure now whether Bread Hero is her actual title or not, though you can see an ability icon depicting pieces of bread, hinting at the possibility that it might well be.

Even with these translation glitches, the game looks fantastic overall. The UI is surprisingly neat, the characters and animations are smooth and flashy, and the combat screen is likable, with a fascinating deck layout and 2D animated cards to boot. It's fairly evident that the developers placed some deal of effort into making sure the game looked and felt as polished as possible.

Now, I should point out that while the game excels in the visual department, its originality is a whole different story. 

It's tough to miss the resemblances some of these characters have with iconic Marvel or DC characters such as the Joker. You know what they say is the sincerest form of flattery, though I’d prefer to call it "inspiration" so as not to indulge in unfair accusations. 

It's perhaps for this reason that BINGCHUAN has decided to add some strange "twists" into the gameplay - namely, to elude any possible copyright strikes - with some amusing results in the process. The game literally goes from an Angry Birds-styled puzzle with Doges (as in, the actual Shiba Inus!) to a high-fantasy role-playing game. The contrast displayed here is beyond baffling!

The "Save the Dog" minigames are kinda decent, though not spectacular. They're fun for the first few minutes but don't challenge me enough to engage me in the longer run. At least in games like Angry Birds, your victories felt fulfilling since you had to carefully plan your next slingshot attack and there was some gravity to the mechanics. Here, you're just sliding your finger randomly across the screen, and I frankly don't get any thrills from that.

Also, saving a dog from a bunch of bees while having epic orchestral music playing in the background creates an almost unwillingly funny dissonance. To add insult to injury, there is absolutely no connection between the two games, leaving new players in utter perplex as they try to figure out what the heck is happening on their screens.  

This is not the first time BINGCHUAN has done this. Earlier on, the game was advertised as a dinosaur-themed tower defense game, which, of course, turned out to be misleading, not because you wouldn't see dinosaurs but because they were not its main feature. 

Since launch, the developers have continuously switched gears, probably in an endeavor to draw gamers of different tastes towards their main attraction, which is, evidently, their idle role-playing game. Curiously enough, they have moderately succeeded!

With regards to the "main game", it's admittedly exciting and, in spite of its initial appearances, you won't get asked to empty your piggy bank very often to enjoy it. As you collect heroes, you can upgrade their skills and equipment using the energy and coins you accrue during gameplay. In addition, these upgrades are readily accessible, even for unique abilities.

However, all of that comes with a caveat: the ads! Most of the time, they are tolerable, but, on many occasions, they made this game virtually unenjoyable for me, which is remarkably sad, given the game’s potential and the care put into it. 

X-HERO is a superb game that's hard to pin down (quite literally so) and suffers from some type of identity crisis. Despite its initially sketchy advertising, it could easily blow your mind when you start dabbling into it. However, be careful about getting too competitive with it, as many people have reported losing their progress due to the constant rebranding. If you only want to kill some time, I'd say it's safe to try this one out! (Watch out for those ads, though.)

Why are you still idle? Come right over and leave your impressions about this game in the comments!