Don't Be a Hero

Don't Be a Hero is a hand-drawn game about a warrior seeking recognition by becoming a hero. You must pass three trials, each led by a hero you have to defeat. Before facing each trial hero, you learn about their tragedy and fight the enemies from their story, raising the question of whether you still want to become a hero if tragedy is every hero’s fate.

Three trials

Each trial consists of five boss battles, including a showdown with its hero, for at least 15 battles across all three trials. Every boss has different moves, and some battles use special mechanics, so you need to work out the right strategy for each fight. There are no weak enemies: every battle is a boss battle.

Each boss also uses at least one super skill that can deal an overwhelming amount of damage. Every super skill has a different condition you must meet to break it. Succeed, and the boss becomes unable to move and takes additional damage; breaking these skills is key to winning.

Choose your helpers

You bring three helpers into each battle. As you progress through the trials, more than 20 helpers join you, each with three active skills and one passive skill. You choose the combination that suits each battle.

Weapons and hero points

You unlock different weapons as you advance through the trials. Weapon skills can help turn a battle in your favor, but using one requires accumulated hero points. Each helper usually has at least one way to build those points, and breaking a boss’s super skill also awards them.

Towns and their stories

The starting and ending towns are home to several distinctive NPCs. You can talk with them to learn about life in the towns, discover secrets and potentially get help in the trials. A villager’s curiosity about why the towns exist may lead to uncovering their secrets.

The poet in the town of Qi and end offers to write your heroic epic. He asks what you think about various subjects, and your answers shape the story he creates for you.

A hand-drawn world

The game’s world is hand-painted, including its architecture, scenery, people and monsters.