EXOS HEROES Gameplay Impressions Global Launch | FREE COUPON CODE!

What do you think of that intro animation in the video? This is just one of many dazzling skill animations from Exos Heroes, a new mobile RPG from Line Games and Oozoo Inc. The game just launched globally for Android and iOS a few days ago and we’re here to tell you all about it in this sponsored but unbiased video, as we always do. Spoiler: it’s great. Besides, we have a free Exos Heroes coupon code so that you're off to a terrific start.

If you’re a fan of hero collector RPGs, you surely have heard about Exos Heroes, but there’s a download link in the video description for those who didn’t, and are enjoying those pretty moving pictures. Cutting straight to the chase, this is one of the best games of its genre, thanks to a combination of factors that includes the amazing graphics, the stunning visuals, and the incredible art style. Oh, did I mention the jaw-dropping artwork already?

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Jokes aside, Exos Heroes is a solid turn-based RPG with hero collector and gacha mechanics. The first thing that hit me when I first saw this game under development was the stylish hero design. There are over 200 heroes to choose from, each one of them created in 3D with stunning attention to detail, with cute 2D artwork for the story cutscenes. Even the usual pitiful 2-Star fodder units could pass for high tier units in some other hero collector games. What’s up with Zeon’s pants though? They look extremely uncomfortable, but hey, to each his own.

I can’t praise the graphics enough. The heroes are extremely varied and you’ll have a hard time choosing your team because if you’re like me, you value the look as much as you value the skills. Hey, indulge, me, will you? I know, I know, this approach is far from recommended in a hero collector game, but after a while, when I get used to the cast, I end up choosing the most effective heroes and ignore their oh-so-appealing style.

Speaking of style, let’s take a look at some of the standouts from the hero roster. I don’t know how I can describe this art style, but I think the devs have mentioned high fantasy and fairy-tale inspirations. I don’t know if some of it fits under Baroque, given the extravagant outfit design, but hey, I’m just throwing this out there to see if it sticks. If you can think of a more suited description, feel free to let me know.

I just love how diverse the cast is, and I’m not one to say no to a bit of fan service. Yes, Exos Heroes doesn’t shy in that regard, and that’s a plus in my book. You can choose your regular buff males, but in the opposite side of the spectrum you have a few dozen cute as heck female units. The choice becomes increasingly hard as new heroes join the team and you recruit a bunch more via gacha, but this is the good kind of dilemma. Will you pick Venato, the beautiful redhead Archer? I guess that being a 3-star hero is a bit of a bummer, but she is more resourceful than you might think.

One of my personal favorites is Astarte, the cute tiger girl, and not just because of her stunning and manic skill animations. No, she is very useful due to her passive counterattack, which means that every time she gets hit, she instantly strikes back. Bernadette is the ice queen at your service here, and a 5-Star hero that is pretty much crucial, I was lucky to draw her in the first hours of play. I’ll just highlight one more hero from one of my teams, and I couldn’t describe her better than what I read in the comments: budget Harley Quinn. That got me laughing more than I was expecting, but she’s a keeper.

There’s one feature that I’ve seen in a few hero collector games before, and I find it very handy. Players can leave their score for each hero, with the overall rating giving you some clues on the best heroes. If you’re just starting, pay close attention to this, along with player comments, since it will save you from searching all over the place for a reliable Exos Heroes tier list. Hopefully the in-game community will point you in the right direction so that you can create your very own top team.

If you want to see a few more heroes, keep watching the video until the end, where I’ll go through several gacha pulls. I’m pretty sure that you’re going to find a few favorites right away.

I’ve just realized that I kept babbling on about how great the heroes look, and still haven’t said anything about the combat system. Besides looking insanely good, the battles are fast and smooth, with mechanics that aren’t immediately easy to grasp but seem to work really well in order to create a leveled playing field. Judging from my experience, there’s a bit of RNG going on for dodges and mana accruing, but nothing that destroys your ability to decide the outcome of the battles. Heroes have different ways of earning mana, with some receiving one point for attacking, while others earn it from being hit, for example. Being on the front or back row also affects the way that your units earn mana, so as you can see there’s quite a bit of studying to do if you plan on maximizing the potential of your heroes.

Passive skills like the counterattack that I’ve mentioned play a big role, and you also need to learn about the intricacies of the Break system. Heroes have roles, elements, and guardian stones, and you must learn to match them to break and leave the rival unit stunned for a few rounds. Some enemies start with a question mark and you must keep on hitting them until the secret of their guardian stone is revealed; then, use that same hero again to perform a break and make the battle much easier for your team.

Mana points can be used to execute a couple of advanced skills, the same ones that come with a fantastic animation. Make sure that you take advantage of character affinity and form a balanced team with healers and tanks, learning where each of your units specializes before taking on tougher challenges such as PvP.

When all is said and done, there’s quite a bit of strategy to combat in Exos Heroes, and the stupendously huge hero roster provides an endless array of combinations and possibilities. Playing against other humans is the ultimate test to your skills.

RPGs featuring gacha mechanics usually try to dazzle you with a catchy summoning cinematic. I’m trying to measure my words here, but the gacha animation in Exos Heroes is one of the best I’ve ever seen, hands down. It’s fantastic! No, that’s not just because of having our airship colleague Fergie doing the honors – she is also a recruitable hero –, but it surely doesn’t hurt. There’s a mystical zing to it, like a short action movie where these cloaked characters board your airship in a way that would make any Avengers member proud. The skydiving bit is just too cool. Anyway, I know that this is only fun during the first tries and then that skip button becomes your best friend, but it is too good and deserves praise.

From my own experience and reading around, Exos Heroes is very fair system for free players. I can’t confirm that entirely, but apparently the vast majority of the heroes can be unlocked without reaching out for your wallet. Besides, you regularly get free premium currency during your adventure, and this allows you to go for some very interesting pulls. What I’m saying here is that you should be off to a good start, with a team that gets you through the first chapters of the story without any issues.

Oh, right, the story! That reminds me that I haven’t touched upon that aspect yet. There is a storyline that pushes you to know about the game world and the main characters, and there are quite a few peculiar faces along the way. Leading man Zeon is a treasure hunter with a generous heart, who finds himself trapped in a conundrum that goes way beyond his humble ambitions. What appeared to be a simple necklace contains in fact a small dragon that puts a curse on the owner. Now Zeon must grudgingly cooperate with Bitru, something that takes the duo to unexpected locations and into uncomfortable situations. The story is rich, there’s plenty of humor in the game, with the exchanges between the leading duo and other heroes providing some comic relief between the battles. I’ve got to say that the 2D artwork is really good, and the voice acting is pretty solid, at least when it’s present in some cutscenes.

At first, having a region map to move around seems unusual for a hero collector RPG, but after a while you realize what it adds to the game. Designed in a cute pop-up paper sculpture style, your team travels the area in search for side quests, dailies, monster raids, and other ways of earning additional resources. Meeting fellow travelers, helping other airships or exploring forests, there are various ways of getting different rewards for your team. Occasionally, a huge dragon shows up and sets your tiny heroes on fire, it’s really cute to see them running around like crazy, helplessly shouting with their hair burning. That’s a nice cosmetic touch.

Each region has a hub city that you can explore. I was surprised by this because I thought Exos Heroes was going to stick to the tried-and-tested gameplay of team management-cutscene-battle, but you can actually control one of your heroes in third-person view. This is quite unexpected and although the hubs are small, you get to talk with a few characters and even participate in minigames. There’s some insane horse racing but with frogs, you know, frog racing, and another game where you have to help Zeon rescue his colleagues, and I’m sure that more games will come. This is another way for us to enjoy the fantastic character and background art, and who knows, dream of a fully-fledged MMORPG as visually accomplished and charming as this one? Just look at this, wouldn’t you play it? I know I would, wink wink nudge nudge, Line Games.

When you log off, you can choose to make the team go on exploration, earning rewards while you’re away from the game until the Levistone currency runs out. It’s the kind of AFK mode that gets you materials when you’re not playing, so use it the most that you can. You can also dispatch your weaker heroes on expeditions for more rewards, while your A-team keeps clearing the storyline.

Exos Heroes is the kind of game where you come for the graphics and stay for the gameplay. I know for sure that this is what happened to me, the art style really stands out from the rest, and it keeps on pulling you deeper and deeper, until you draw the heroes that you have been admiring in the game’s journal. But the battles are fun, easy to grasp but hard to master, pardon the cliché, and I don’t know what else there is to say about the game. I can hardly find any faults on it, and as far as hero collector RPGs go, this is without a shadow of doubt one of the best available. If you have any interest in this genre, download the game right now using the link in the video description. Let me know in the comments what you think of Exos Heroes and, as promised, I’ll leave you with a few more of my gacha pulls. Have fun, enjoy the Exos Heroes coupon code, and if you see Zeon around, ask him what’s up with his pants.

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