Heroes of Steel Review

Heroes of Steel is a pretty old-school take on the turn-based strategy genre. Players take control of a set of archetypal characters and set off on an adventure that seems rather promising thanks to an interesting opening story and streamlined mechanics.

At the outset of the game, the player is introduced to the core heroes by observing their capture and imprisonment. From here, the mechanics and initial details of the world begin to unfold as players manipulate their characters in an effort to escape. In somewhat typical fashion, these characters are a warrior, wizard, rogue, and cleric - all of which can be moved around the screen by tapping on the grid-like environment.

Once out of jail, players explore an underground cavern; fighting off both their captors as well as some dangerous, indigenous cave life. Battles in Heroes of Steel operate in a great, streamlined fashion that seems to be built intentionally for the pick-up-and-play mobile experience that it is. There are no speed stats that determine the order of turns, so players can feel free to choose which of their heroes should act first instead of having to keep that in mind from turn to turn. Similarly, once battles are done players can consolidate all of the characters into one group to allow for easy navigation of the game map.

It is touches like these, as well as the intriguing story, that make Heroes of Steel seem like it is worth investing in its paid content. The game does a great job of introducing the basics, supplying a healthy amount of combat, and introducing plot points that are intriguing-yet-vague enough to leave players wanting more by the end of the free chapter. Of course, some of the game's trappings seem like they walk the well-worn Dungeons & Dragons path, but the writing seems strong enough to compensate for this fact.

Overall, Heroes of Steel is easy to recommend for players that want a taste of a rock solid turn-based strategy game for iOS. The first chapter is long enough without feeling intimidating, and absolutely free to boot, so there's really no reason not to go ahead and give it a try.