Big Helmet Heroes Review by Fletch (Xbox Nation)

At completexbox we are very much community driven, and welcome guest articles, opinion pieces and reviews. This Review of Big Helmet Heores is written by the fabulous Fletch from Xbox Nation

Beat ‘em ups. The genre that lets us live out our wildest fantasy of taking on waves of bad guys with absurd weapons, cartoonish violence, and the thrill of chaotic combat.

Big Helmet Heroes is a game that wears its inspirations proudly on its, well, helmet. Developed by Exalted Studios and publisher Dear Villagers, this game looks to bring us back to the good old days of the Xbox 360 where variety was at the centre and off the wall games really broke new ground. I have to say, If Castle Crashers and Happy Wars had a baby, raised it on a steady diet of medieval madness and absurd humour, you’d get this game. But is it a royal triumph or a nightmare?

Keep on reading to find out, or why not check out my video review below –

GAMEPLAY BASICS

Big Helmet Heroes doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but it polishes it to a shine. The core gameplay is classic beat ‘em up fun—hack, slash, dodge, and combo your way through waves of enemies while looking cool doing it. The combat is immediately satisfying, with weighty animations and impactful hit reactions making every battle feel visceral and engaging. There’s a surprising amount of nuance in the mechanics—basic attacks are complemented by a range of combos, aerial strikes, defensive moves, and Superpowers that can be game-changing when timed correctly. Enemies will adapt to your strategies, so button-mashing won’t always cut it, especially at higher difficulties.

Players can unlock 29 different heroes throughout their journey to rescue the princess. But let’s be real—not every hero is truly unique. Instead, they fall into four main archetypes:

• Warriors use swords and shields, balancing offense and defense for a straightforward but powerful playstyle.
• Rogues wield dual weapons, darting around like caffeinated ninjas, relying on mobility and speed to outmaneuver foes.
• Monks take the ‘wax on, wax off’ approach with a staff, allowing for rapid multi-hit combos that overwhelm enemies.
• Brutes carry massive weapons that look like they were forged by a blacksmith with something to prove. They hit like trucks but move like tanks.

Each hero has a distinct design and personality, brought to life through exaggerated animations and expressive character models. But where they truly stand apart is their Superpowers—unique abilities that can turn the tide of battle once their energy gauge is full. And let me tell you, these abilities make all the difference.

HEROES FEELING POWERFUL

Let’s talk about the Brute, because smashing enemies with a giant hammer never gets old. The impact of every swing is deeply satisfying, enhanced by fantastic sound design that makes each hit feel like a wrecking ball colliding with a building. When the Superpower kicks in, the hero grows to a ridiculous size, sending enemies flying with each stomp. The screen shakes, foes scatter like bowling pins, and its absolute chaos in the best way possible. If you’ve ever wanted to feel like a god of destruction, this is the way to do it.

On the other hand, if speed is more your thing, Ray the Rogue is the way to go. He zips around slicing through foes, chaining together lightning-fast combos. His Superpower is one of the flashiest in the game—a screen-wide energy beam that looks straight out of an anime showdown. It cuts through everything in its path, melting enemies in an instant. The first time I activated it, I actually sat back and said, ‘Wow, that was cool.’ Moments like this make Big Helmet Heroes stand out, giving players a real sense of power and agency.”

LEVEL DESIGN & VISUALS

Exalted Studio clearly had fun designing the world of Big Helmet Heroes. There are 20 levels, each with its own distinct flavour. Sure, it starts with the standard medieval backdrops—grassy fields, crumbling castles—but things quickly get weird in the best way possible. One level features a massive Brute statue casually sipping a drink through a straw, a perfect example of the game’s quirky sense of humour. But humour aside, the environments are gorgeous.

The hand-drawn art style is reminiscent of a vibrant storybook, with meticulously detailed backgrounds and fluid animations. Lighting and particle effects add depth to each scene, whether it’s the glow of torches flickering in a dark dungeon or the dazzling reflections of ice in a frozen tundra. These artistic choices make the game feel lively and immersive, drawing players into its whimsical world.

BOSS FIGHTS – THE GAME’S SERIOUS SIDE

If you thought Big Helmet Heroes was all fun and games, think again. The boss fights are intense, demanding a real test of skill. Early bosses may feel forgiving, but later encounters will wreck you if you don’t pay attention to attack patterns. The Kraken fight, for example, forces players to juggle avoiding tentacle slams while attacking its weak spots in brief windows of opportunity. One wrong move? You’re in trouble.

Each boss battle is more than just a slugfest; it’s a test of adaptability. Unlike regular enemies that can be defeated with well-timed combos, bosses require pattern recognition, patience, and strategic positioning. There are mechanical behemoths with devastating laser attacks, monstrous warlords who summon minions mid-fight, and spell-casting sorcerers who teleport around the battlefield. The sheer variety of bosses keeps things fresh, and every battle feels like a puzzle to solve.

What’s impressive is how each hero’s Superpower interacts differently with bosses. While a Brute’s area-of-effect stomp might be effective against multiple smaller enemies, against a towering foe, it may be less useful. Meanwhile, a Rogue’s ranged attacks can whittle down a boss’s health from a distance, making them an excellent choice for more challenging fights. Experimenting with different heroes and approaches keeps the gameplay engaging and encourages replayability.

STORY & WORLD-BUILDING

Big Helmet Heroes doesn’t just thrive on gameplay—it also boasts a quirky, charming narrative that keeps things engaging between battles. While the overall premise is classic and simple—you, the hero, must rescue a kidnapped princess—it’s the journey that makes it entertaining.

The game’s world is packed with humorous characters, clever dialogue, and unexpected twists that make it feel lively and distinct. Instead of a solemn medieval adventure, Big Helmet Heroes embraces a light-hearted, almost satirical tone, poking fun at fantasy tropes while still delivering a compelling experience. From bumbling guards who mistake you for a janitor to overly dramatic villains delivering ridiculous monologues, there’s always something amusing happening.

The cutscenes are hand-drawn and beautifully animated, resembling an interactive storybook. These moments help flesh out the world without slowing down the pacing. Side characters have distinct personalities, and even minor NPCs have fun dialogue that rewards players for exploring.

Interestingly, hidden lore entries and environmental storytelling add layers of depth for those who dig deeper. Scattered notes, ancient murals, and secret rooms hint at a larger history behind the kingdom. While the story isn’t the most groundbreaking, it’s charming, self-aware, and full of personality, making it a perfect fit for the game’s whimsical aesthetic.

THE CO-OP MISSTEP

Now, here’s where things start to go a little sideways. Big Helmet Heroes does offer co-op, but only locally, and only for two players. And that would be fine if the experience was as robust as the single-player mode—but it’s not. When playing alone, you can swap between two heroes at will, which lets you recover health strategically and adapt to different fights. In co-op? That feature is gone. Each player gets one hero, and that’s it.

The decision to limit co-op to local-only is disappointing, especially in an era where online multiplayer is the norm. With 29 heroes to choose from and four distinct archetypes, the game seems perfectly suited for four-player online mayhem, yet that feature is nowhere to be found. Instead, co-op feels like an afterthought, with players being restricted in their hero choices and missing out on the strategic depth of hero-swapping.

Worse yet, co-op doesn’t scale enemy difficulty appropriately. Enemies remain the same strength regardless of whether you’re playing alone or with a partner, meaning two players can breeze through levels far too easily—or struggle disproportionately depending on the heroes chosen. A better balance system would have made co-op a much stronger feature.

XBOX PERFORMANCE ISSUES

Now, this is where things get rough. While Big Helmet Heroes runs at 60fps on Xbox Series X and S, stability is a different story. I had multiple frame rate dips, sometimes dropping to single digits for no apparent reason. It happened in boss fights, in basic levels—even in menus. On top of that, random crashes forced me back to the Xbox home screen.

And then there’s the hit detection issue. Too many times, I found my attacks phasing through enemies or, worse, my character getting stuck in the environment. There were moments where a combo animation would clip me inside a wall, leaving me no choice but to restart the level. These bugs are frustrating and occur often enough to detract from the experience.

I have put a comparison on screen as well between both versions of the game and there are certainly differences mainly in sharpness and resolution but nothing much in terms of environments being tuned down for the Series S. The Series X looks to run at a fully-fledged 4K however the Series S is noticeably blurry, and I don’t even think holds a 1080p image. It’s not the worst by any means but make your judgement on the screen as to whether this will bother you. They both run at 60fps so it was only inevitable that the Series S would run at a worse resolution no matter how the developers tried to optimise and adjust this version.

On the Xbox Series X, the worst offender was the input lag. There were instances where my button presses felt delayed by nearly a full second, making precise timing for dodges and combos an exercise in frustration. If this was an isolated issue, I’d let it slide—but it happened frequently enough that it significantly impacted the overall playability of the game. Until a major patch fixes these problems, the Xbox version is difficult to recommend.

CONCLUSION & FINAL SCORE

Big Helmet Heroes is a fun, well-crafted beat ‘em up with tons of personality. Its engaging combat, varied heroes, and stunning visuals make it a joy to play, and the imaginative levels and hilarious weapon choices add to its charm. However, it’s held back by its disappointing co-op implementation, frustrating performance issues, and frequent bugs—particularly on Xbox.

If Exalted Studio can iron out these technical issues and maybe even add online multiplayer, this game could easily become a standout in the genre. But as it stands now, it’s a diamond in the rough—polished in some areas, but frustratingly unrefined in others.