A Malaysian-made game is releasing on Steam later today. “Vertical Drop Heroes HD”, a “procedural platformer RPG hybrid with roguelike elements”, is developed by one-man developer Nerdook Productions Sdn Bhd. Many gamers would be familiar with the Nerdook, who is famous with his simple yet highly addictive Flash-based games.
“Vertical Drop Heroes HD” is Nerdook’s attempt at making a bigger game and more expansive game, and releasing it on Steam marks quite a milestone for the indie developer. The game itself plays like a lot of 2D platformers, as players guide their heroes through randomly-generated stages. Naturally, heroes are equipped with a variety of skills, powers, abilities and traits that they unlock as they progress in the game.
However, a combination of destructible terrain and a unique combat system that rewards proper planning instead of quick reflexes mean hours of replayability. Stage maps, enemies and bosses are all randomly generated, giving the game even more value.
The developer has also introduced an interesting upgrade system, where players can choose between “persistent upgrades” (which are upgrades that carry forward between games, but get increasingly expensive) or “temporary upgrades” (which are generally cheaper but its effect are only temporary).
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Adding even more value to “Vertical Drop Heroes HD” is the game’s multiplayer option. Players can play in co-op mode in various options: split screen, local co-op as well as network co-op. The game also supports the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows in addition to the standard keyboard controls.
Nerdook fans will appreciate the fact that the artwork, coding and animations are all done by the same developer whose Flash games have hit 50 million total plays, with 25 million plays on Kongregate alone. “Vertical Drop Heroes HD” marks Nerdook’s first large-scale game as well as his first game to be released on Steam, and even supports five languages (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and German).
“Vertical Drop Heroes HD” will be unlocked and available to purchase on Steam at about 11am today, and will be sold at US$5. For more information, head on to the product page on Steam.
Special thanks to the /k army who sent this in!
