CheckMag | Superhero Simulator offers you a chance to save the city and save your sanity
Up, up and away!
In Superhero Simulator, players will engage in various heroic activities such as stopping robberies, rescuing civilians from various scenarios and transporting them to safety, and battling formidable villains. Each heroic deed will work towards unlocking new abilities, allowing players to evolve and adapt their superhero persona. The trailer boasts a flight traversal system that looks like it could rival the likes of insomniac’s Spiderman in fun factor, complete with aerial side and forward rolls to help fly over and around obstacles at speed, and the ever-important superhero landings to enter the fray in style.
The game wears it’s comic book inspirations on it’s sleeves, boasting a simple yet robust cell-shaded graphics style. The addition of comic book style onomatopoeia accompanying certain actions, seen in the gif above, is another nod towards the roots of the game's comic influences, as well as the creative ways the game may allow for individual player expression, perhaps allowing players to set their own colors, styles, or phrases for their own characters.(Image Source : Superhero Simulator Steam page)
What lies behind the mask...
Heroism comes with its own set of challenges – mainly, it doesn’t pay. Some of the most relatable superheroes in the public zeitgeist, such as Spiderman, and even Superman, are so relatable because, like us non-superpowered folks, they need to hold down jobs to pay bills, and buy their pizza with their own hard-earned money. To sustain their crime fighting lifestyle, players must take on everyday jobs like driving taxis or flipping burgers to earn "Gollars"—the in-game currency used for essentials like food and gear upgrades. Additionally, players must monitor their character's health, hygiene, mental state, and respect levels, as neglecting these can impact your ability to keep the crime rate at a reasonable level with your superhero antics.
Closing Thoughts.
Perhaps even more exciting than the ability to fly around a city and save lives as a masked crusader, is Superhero Simulator's focus on taking care of your hero as well as your city. What tends to make reading the heroic antics of superheroes in comics, or seeing them zip around a screen in other media, is how doing so impacts their personal lives. While there has not been any indication of a deep and engaging interpersonal relationship simulator included in this indie project, it is exciting to see the focus shift to include the mundane along with the bombastic. Superhero Simulator may mark the beginnings of a plethora of innovations on the superhero - based game genre if it is successful, providing players the ability to more directly experience the dualities of wearing a cape and cowl and making it to a date or a job interview on time. As for Superhero Simulator, we can already look forward to the struggles of juggling punching bad guys and saving citizens with punching in to work, and saving money and time for rent, groceries, and a little TLC.
The game is currently headed towards Early Access on Steam, with a release date coming soon. The developers plan to remain in Early Access for approximately six months, during which they aim to enhance the story, introduce new missions, and improve AI interactions. Interested players can wishlist the game on Steam. For more information and updates, visit the Superhero Simulator Steam page.
