Hero Core

Back to the 80s with this retro shooter

Hero Core is a 2D, retro shoot 'em up exploration game, featuring monochrome graphics and an 80s-style soundtrack.

The 8-bit-style Hero Core lets you battles as Flip Hero in the final battle against his nemesis, Cruiser Tetron. Flip is controlled with the cursor keys for movement, plus the Z and X keys for shooting left or right.

Hero Core has a big map made up of lots of screens, as there is no scrolling. It's semi-open world, and there are multiple paths to victory. The aim is to find the center and beat Cruiser Tetron. It's possible to head straight for his headquarters without fighting all of Hero Core's intermediate bosses, but because beating them upgrades your shields, it's better to be patient!

This very retro game has some nice additional touches. You can opt to play Hero Core without the map, as in the 80s players had to draw their own! Choosing the Hard difficulty gives you an entirely different map, and there is an optional language called Retro, which simulates bad translations from Japanese into English!

With its humorous retro touches and big open world, Hero Core is an excellent 2D shooter. It's only drawback is that anyone who can't remember the 80s will probably just think it has terrible graphics!