Fledgling Heroes is a side-scrolling platformer game created and published by Indie studio Subtle Boom in their debut release, giving players a fun and colourful journey for all to find enjoyment with whilst showcasing a promising start for the indie team’s first game.
Fledgling Heroes allows you control of one of several characters at a time throughout levels to either fly or swim through to victory, such as Biscuit the Macaw or Penny the Penguin. You are tasked with simply reaching the end of the level unscathed, all whilst avoiding many creatures and obstacles that will try and stop you on your way such as lizards, (lizard pirates to be specific!) sharks and even naval mines. Regardless of what feathered creature is hand-picked for the stage you are about to traverse through, controlling your character is quite simple.
For example, Biscuit the Parrot is all for flying above water while Penny the Penguin swims underwater. You can choose to tap the screen for moving and manoeuvring around the level, both for flying and swimming, or you can simply press the A button. Holding down on the screen or A button helps glide across with smooth momentum, making for easier glides across. While checkpoints are included in levels, none of these are awfully long and can usually last between 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on how well you can avoid everything that is stopping you on your merry way. Eventually the more you play, more mechanics are implemented in the levels so things don’t feel stale and ‘same-samey’, including a boost power that allows you to speed through not only the level but even able to demolish enemies in your way with ease.
But it’s not just level mechanics that make things interesting. Every stage has challenges to complete in each one. Some of these vary from ‘collect 8 coins’ to ‘beating the level within 20 seconds’. Winning each challenge earns you a gold feather, gold feathers allow you to unlock levels down the line that may be locked off to the player unless they have collected a certain amount to continue to proceed through.
Some gold feathers are also able to be found by just hitting treasure chests or finding an alternate path hidden in each level, not just from completing challenges. These levels aren’t too hard but they require your utmost attention so you can see what you need to do or collect in order to claim a feather. Other collectables are also scattered around in levels too, such as other creatures and most interestingly, blueprints that allow you access to create your own levels in the game.
While personally, I have never been huge on games that have level editors or level creation mechanics, it’s a nifty feature in Fledgling Heroes that will grab lots of players attention.and should impress anyone wanting to create their own level. There’s honestly a lot of replay value to be seen here, making for hours on end for enjoyment.
On top of all of that, Fledgling Heroes is also very nice and visually pretty to look at. The art style for the backgrounds, overworld map and characters are all wonderful. Combined with a rather chill soundtrack playing as you fly or swim to the end of each level, it’s easy to just sit back and relax when you casually play.
Fledgling Heroes is a the perfect game to sit down, relax and have fun with, especially if you aren’t after something too intense or incredibly in depth to play. While the game may not be a very long one that will take days and days to complete, it is definitely an adorable kind of fun that anyone of any age can enjoy.
Fledgling Heroes is now available to buy on Nintendo Switch and Apple Arcade.
