I’ve played one or two (hundred) bullet heavens in my time, and I can’t remember coming across one with such a vibrant art style. Ground Hero Zero makes a very strong first impression thanks to the brilliant cartoon creations of developer Rowan Edmondson. But how does it stand up after that first burst of excitement simmers down? Pretty well, actually.
Ground Zero Hero is a bullet heaven very much in the mould of Vampire Survivors. If you’re not a fan of this of type of game, I doubt this one will change your mind. I like them, though, and this is a decent example with some interesting points of difference.
We started on those graphics so let’s dwell on them a bit longer. They are fantastic, and look like they were pulled from a show like Rick & Morty, which is cited as a source of inspiration. You can definitely see the influence of late night cartoons throughout the presentation. Tis good.
The bullet heaven underneath is fairly traditional, and you’ll understand the gameplay loop pretty quickly, although I liked GZH’s circadian rhythm, with the screen flooding with more powerful monsters at night. If you’re not yet deadly enough to fight these creatures, there are bunkers where you can hide for the night and heal up a bit (and where you can save and leave the game without losing any progress).
There’s a nice a tension in the day/night cycle. It’s like finding the bite on a manual car, where you’re waiting for that moment where you’re powerful enough to take on the things that go bump in the night. Once that happens, and you tip into over-powered, that’s when the eye-melting visuals kick-off and the screen really bursts into life.
When it comes to unlocks and progression, Ground Hero Zero plays it quite safe, but the whole thing is wrapped up in a pleasingly cohesive wrapper. Your enemies drop nuclear waste which you grab up, and then spend to mutate yourself into a more powerful being. The powers themselves are well animated, scale nicely, and bring added chaos to an already chaotic visual spectacle.
As for meta-progression, this is probably the least interesting part of the game, as you spend bottlecaps – apparently the currency of choice in every wasteland – on upgrading your starting stats for the next run. This roguelite element is a bit run-of-the-mill, but I don’t mind because all of the good stuff happening in-game, where it really matters.
With lovely cartoon aesthetics, zany character designs, interactive environments, and a clever day/night cycle, Ground Zero Hero survives a few predictable elements thanks to how well the rest holds together. It might be a mutant monstrosity, but it’s got plenty to offer genre fans.
Ground Zero Hero is out now on PC (Mac, Win), PS, Switch, and Xbox. I played the game via access kindly provided by publisher Acclaim.
