When you first load the game Epic Heroes, War, you are quickly pushed through a prologue to the story. It gives an outline of the world and your motivations for getting involved. It’s easy to brush aside this opening because the game itself doesn’t require any prior knowledge. The game is a side-scrolling fighter game that was very much designed as a mobile game. It is full of small components which can be upgraded using the game’s internal currency. While you are able to grind to collect currency, you can evade much of the struggle by purchasing this currency through in-app purchases.

While grinding may be necessary, I was able to proceed through the first batch of stages without much trouble. Your character receives enough if you upgrade wisely. In addition to the first match, where your goal is to win, there are secondary goals for additional replay level. These may include defeating your opponent with over 50% health, or defeating them in under 45 seconds. Some of these can be more difficult than others. I tried to go for completion toward the beginning, but some were too challenging.

You fight your opponent with smaller characters that automatically generate for chip damage. These can be annoying at times, although they haven’t done that much to really affect the match.

Everything: your level, attacks, and units can be upgraded to various levels for increasing amounts of cash. There is also an inventory system full of items you can collect after each fight.

It feels like a pretty good adaption of a mobile game. The DPAD works well throughout each menu, although the thumbstick can often be too sensitive compared to the standard DPAD. There are quite a number of tutorials to prepare the user.

The game has a passive sense of entertainment. It is easy to sink an hour of play into the game even while the gameplay isn’t particularly strategic.

Overall, I’m not sure I’d recommend it. I’ll probably continue to spend time in it, but it’s not among the most fun I’ve had in a game. It is free to download, and the IAP aren’t too necessary, but it does make the game more about outspending your opponents than strategy or skill.