Heroes Strikers

***Heroes Strikers*** is a action video game developed by BeeHIVE Entertainment with Unreal Engine 4 and published by Imaginate. It is the second spin-off game of the *Heroes* franchise after *Heroes Burnout* and it features the main characters going into soccer event arenas, challenging against the likes of other organizations as teams.

The game was released in May 16th, 2016 for the Imaginate Unlimit console. It stayed online from 2016 to 2019 since there are no players playing the game. The online servers got shut down in May 5th, 2019. However, in April 9th, 2021, Imaginate announces a remastered version of the game known as ***Heroes Strikers Remastered***, featuring the new characters after *Strikers*, new music, a character customization and a new online mode, released in May 21st, 2021.

## Gameplay

*Heroes Strikers* is a team-based competitive multiplayer video game whose gameplay rules resemble dodgeball. There are a set of 8 players against another 8 players The player's goal is to attack enemies from the opposing team by knocking them out with a ball. There are several types of balls in the game. Players can either quickly throw the ball or charge up the ball for Super Strike, which takes more time but it locks onto nearby enemies automatically and results in an more effective attack. A successful throw depends not on the accuracy or the precision of the throw, but on the player's positioning and strategy. Players can dodge or catch a ball that is thrown at them, and they will respawn after getting hit by a ball twice. The player can also fake throw a ball, and tackle an opponent holding a ball. As the player progresses in the game, they will receive Koins, which can be spent at the Koin Shop to unlock various customization items.

## Development

BeeHIVE developed the game back in 2015 since Imaginate are going big with the *Heroes* franchise. They wanted the game to be a fighting-oriented soccer game. Players would make their own custom characters, team up with the main characters as their captain against other organizations who attempts to brawl against Team Heroes.

## Release & Reception

*Heroes Strikers* was released in May 16th, 2016 for the Imaginate Unlimit video game console as a exclusive. Upon release, it received positive reviews, claiming the chaotic soccer multiplayer, character customization, music and modes but criticized the need of microtransaction. Critics and fans often compared this game to *Splatoon* and *Super Mario Strikers* by Nintendo.

## Legacy

Fans have done esports of *Heroes Strikers* upon launch. It also spawned many graffiti art due to the "scratchiness" of the character's 2D art design. In May 2019, the game shut its servers down due to many players quitting the game. However, in April 9th, 2021, it was announced that Imaginate is bringing back *Heroes Strikers* for the Neo Reo console on May 21st, 2021 known as *Heroes Strikers Remastered*, with a brand new mode, new customization and music, as well as bringing the new characters from the main canon video games into the spin-off such as Liberty, Elliot, Asuka, Ultra, etc..

## Trivia

* *Heroes Strikers* is the first sports-themed *Heroes* game.