Honestly, most people who picked up the Has-Been Heroes Nintendo Switch game back in 2017 ended up putting it down within about an hour. It was frustrating. It felt unfair. You had these three heroes—a Rogue, a Monk, and a Warrior—standing on three lanes, and a relentless tide of skeletons just... kept coming. If you didn’t understand the stamina system, you died. Fast.
But here is the thing about Frozenbyte’s weird little experiment: it’s actually a masterpiece of lane-based strategy if you can get past the brutal learning curve. It wasn't just another indie title filling the launch window of the Switch. It was a game that asked you to think like a conductor of a very violent orchestra. You aren't just mashing buttons. You are managing cooldowns, counting pips, and praying your spells recharge before a boss steamrolls your backline.
What People Get Wrong About the Has-Been Heroes Nintendo Switch Game
Most reviews at launch called it "random." They saw the roguelike elements—the procedurally generated maps, the permadeath, the loot—and assumed winning was a matter of luck. That’s a total misconception. While getting a "Double Fireball" spell early helps, the core of the Has-Been Heroes Nintendo Switch game is almost entirely deterministic.
It’s about the math of the hits.
Each enemy has a stamina bar, represented by little green squares. To "break" an enemy and actually do damage to their health, you have to hit them exactly the number of times they have stamina pips. If a skeleton has three pips and you hit him with your Warrior (who hits once), he still has two pips. If you hit him with your Rogue (who hits three times), his stamina drops to zero, and he’s stunned.
But wait.
If you hit a stunned enemy with a heavy hitter, they get knocked back into the enemies behind them, causing a chain reaction of damage and delay. This is where the game lives or dies. You’re constantly swapping heroes between lanes, pausing the action every half-second to calculate: "If I move the Monk here, hit this guy twice, then swap in the Rogue..." It’s exhausting. It’s also incredibly rewarding when a screen full of monsters disappears in a single, well-timed combo.
The Difficulty Wall is Real
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. This game is hard. Like, "throw your Joy-Cons across the room" hard. Frozenbyte, the developers behind Trine, didn't hold anyone's hand here.
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When you start, you only have access to a few spells and the basic trio of heroes. The game doesn't really explain that you should be losing. Every death earns you souls, which unlock new spells and items for future runs. It’s a slow burn. You might play for five hours before you even see the second boss. For a lot of Switch owners looking for a "pick up and play" experience, this was a massive turn-off.
The strategy is deep.
You have to manage the "wind-up" of your attacks. If your Rogue is mid-swing and you pause to swap her to another lane, she carries that momentum. You can actually "buffer" attacks to hit enemies the moment they arrive. It’s almost like a rhythm game disguised as an RPG. If you miss a beat, your heroes get overwhelmed. Once an enemy reaches your heroes, they take damage directly to their very limited health pools. There are no health potions. Healing is rare and usually costs a fortune at the in-game shops.
Why the Nintendo Switch Version is the Best Way to Play
There are PC and PlayStation versions, sure. But the Has-Been Heroes Nintendo Switch game feels like it was built for the handheld. The "HD Rumble" was actually utilized pretty well, giving you a tactile "thud" when you land a heavy hit or a "zing" when a spell crits.
More importantly, the "Rest Mode" on the Switch is a lifesaver.
Because runs can last forty-five minutes to an hour, being able to click the power button and walk away is essential. You can’t save in the middle of a map. If you’re playing on a PC and your power blips, or you just need to eat dinner, you’re often out of luck. On the Switch, it’s the perfect "commuter" game, provided you don't mind looking like a crazy person as you mumble about skeleton stamina counts on the bus.
The Problem With the Loot Pool
One legitimate criticism that sticks is the sheer volume of "junk" items. With hundreds of items and spells to unlock, the pool gets diluted. In a roguelike, you want "synergy." You want to find a fire spell that works with your "oil" item. In Has-Been Heroes, you often end up with a pile of passive buffs that don't really change how you play.
This leads to a "sameness" in the mid-game.
You’re doing the same lane-swapping dance every single fight. While the enemies change—going from skeletons to zombies to elemental ghosts—your core strategy rarely shifts. You break stamina, you knock back, you repeat. For some, this is zen-like. For others, it’s a grind.
Survival Tips for Your First Winning Run
If you’re dusting off your cartridge or downloading it from the eShop, stop playing it like an action game. It isn't one.
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- Pause constantly. The "L" and "R" triggers are your best friends. Every time a hero finishes an attack, pause. Look at the lanes. Check who is about to swing next.
- Focus on the Monk. The Monk usually hits twice. He is your "shredder." Use him to soften up enemies with even-numbered stamina.
- Respect the Rogue. She hits three times but does low damage. She’s your utility player. She breaks the high-stamina guards so the Warrior can land the killing blow.
- Don't ignore the elements. Water spells soak enemies. Lightning spells stun soaked enemies for longer. It’s a basic system, but in the late game, it’s the only way to keep the lanes clear.
- Manage your gold. Don't spend everything at the first shop. You need money for the altars that increase your spell slots. A hero with three spell slots is infinitely more powerful than a hero with one "legendary" item.
The Has-Been Heroes Nintendo Switch game is a polarizing piece of software. It’s a game that demands you play on its terms or not at all. It doesn't care if you're having fun in the traditional sense; it wants you to master its systems. If you enjoy the feeling of a plan coming together—of a chaotic mess being tamed by precise math—it’s one of the most rewarding experiences on the platform. If you just want to slay some monsters after work, you might want to stick to Diablo or Hades.
To get the most out of your experience now, focus on unlocking the additional heroes. The game truly opens up when you swap out the starting trio for the more specialized characters unlocked after beating the main boss multiple times. Each successful run reveals a bit more of the "true" ending, though be warned: the final difficulty spike is legendary for a reason. Check your map routes carefully, prioritize shops over random encounters when your health is low, and never—ever—underestimate a skeleton with a shield.