Not a Hero

Not a Hero is a 2D side-scrolling cover-based shooter presented in a pixel art style. Players can choose one of nine protagonists at the start of each level, each with their own twists on the mechanics of the game. The player is equipped with a primary weapon that can be upgraded temporarily or for the rest of the level with various upgrades found on the map. The player can pick up special weapons, such as deployable turrets or, more bizarrely, exploding cats.

The player is unable to jump but can slide, and is able to use this to take cover against objects in the game world or tackle enemies, leaving them open to an execution. The player can only sustain a few hits, but health is regenerated quickly.

The anthropomorphic, purple rabbit BunnyLord has travelled back in time from 2048 to be elected as mayor to save the world as it is known from total destruction and alien invasion. During his candidateship, he needs to show the citizens why he should be elected and sets up freelance anti-heroes to clean up crime in the city under his name.

Not a Hero was originally created under the title Ur Not a Hero by John Ribbins as a free indie game to accomplish his game list of ideas he made in 2012, which also included OlliOlli. Ur Not a Hero was released to on The Daily Click under the user name butterfingers on 10 January 2013. Although Not a Hero mostly relies on Ur Not a Hero, its mechanics are based on three games from John Ribbins' list: the cover-based shooter aspect, and with that the major aspect, comes from Ur Not a Hero, the indoor level design comes from his game Jeffrey Archer and BunnyLord's randomly generated sentences and sounds are from his game Hackathor. Roll7 later developed the game further, partnering up with ISO-Slant, a Clickteam Fusion add-on to make a 2D game appear 2¼D and to make one able to look around it using ISO-Slant glasses.

This port was arranged by Roll7's artist Jake Hollands, making Not a Hero the first game to use ISO-Slant technology. The visual style developed for the game is a bright pixel art. In an interview, lead artist Hollands stated "I learned to create pixel art in the week before my interview at Roll7 and got much better at it whilst working on Not a Hero, but don't plan to return to it - I think that outside of a nostalgic choice there should be a good reason to use it".

The PC and Xbox One versions received "generally favourable reviews", while the PlayStation 4 and Switch versions received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.

Eurogamer gave the PC version an average review, saying, "Not a Hero isn't perfect, but it does enough to confirm that Roll7 is a developer to watch." EGMNow gave the PlayStation 4 version seven out of ten, saying, "The explosion-happy, pixel-art world of Not a Hero can be fun for short bursts. However, its inability to take anything seriously—paired with an intense objective system—leaves it somewhere in the middle."