Heroes of Mount Dragon [Review]

Heroes of Mount Dragon is a co-op beat 'em up featuring eight heroes, four of whom are available initially, with the unique ability to transform into fire-breathing dragons. The core gameplay offers a satisfying beat 'em up experience, allowing players to level up and unlock new attacks. It draws comparisons to titles like the Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time remake on Xbox 360 and Towerborne for Xbox Series S/X.

The game boasts a visually appealing blend of 2D art and 3D characters, though adapting to the mixed perspective may take some time. Players can freely navigate between the background and foreground within the 3D environment. A welcome change from other games in the genre, the four starting characters are very distinctive, although button combinations do remain similar. Movement and combat feel fluid and satisfying, although ranged attacks can occasionally be challenging; for example, if you are using the character with the bow, sometimes you would think you lined up to attack and you would just miss attacks all together the same happens for physical attacks.

While all four starting characters share core combos, their mechanical differences require players to learn their unique nuances. The initial roster includes a bow user, a dual-dagger wielder, a fist fighter, and a lance user. Players will traverse eight environments across multiple acts, though a minor criticism is that the stages tend to lack distinctiveness and look similar.  Another minor issue is the dialogue, which I often found myself skipping. The absence of voice acting for player dialogue detracts from the experience, especially since the narrator's lines are already voice-acted. Additionally, the dragon ability often feels underwhelming and weak.

Despite these minor criticisms, Heroes of Mount Dragon is a lot of fun. Beat 'em up enthusiasts should consider checking it out on Steam for $24.99. If a console release happens, I would personally make a day one purchase.