Kinky Superheroes
Solas City Heroes' review
Developer: Skyflare Studios
Genre: Beat ‘em up
Store: Steam, Itch.io, SpicyGaming
Reviewed version: 1.0.0
Censored: No
Patch Needed: No
OS: Windows
Language: English
I've been following the development of Solas City Heroes after I played it on the latest Steam Next Fest since I'm as much of a fan of beat 'em ups as I am of JRPGs and management sim games. I liked the full version even more than the demo I played back then, though it wasn't a smooth experience.
Pros
An alright plot that doesn’t take itself seriously
Fun gameplay that mixes classic beat ‘em up mechanics with RPG elements
Characters are fully customizable
Neutral
It takes a bit to get used to the game’s graphics
Cons
Some bugs are annoying, though none of them is game breaking
Story
The game takes place in an alternate future where everyone's consciousness is uploaded into a Matrix-like virtual reality. Some people develop superpowers over time and use them to either wreak havoc in this virtual world or to stop villains on their tracks. You play as the new addition to the Guardians, a team of superheroes who help others and save Solas City from chaos and mayhem. I like the concept and how they used the premise to make a silly story instead of a dystopian plot. It's funnier this way and it somehow fits the game more. On the downside, typos are frequent in the dialogue. It's not so bad it breaks immersion, but they are distracting.
Gameplay
At its core, it's like your standard sidescroller beat 'em up in which you kick the ass of the mobs of enemies that come after you until you fight and eventually beat the area's boss (think Streets of Rage but hornier and in 3D), but where it shines is in the many game mechanics added to it to make it stand out on its own. For starters, you can beat enemies by having sex battles with them where you press two buttons in succession to dominate them or escape. Making your opponents climax takes out a chunk of their health, but you lose a bit of your max health if you climax.
Furthermore, the RPG elements in it make it even better. You obtain credits after finishing each level you can spend on buying upgrades for your character or unlockables and beating enemies reward you with exp points, giving you a skill point once you level up. There are 4 different skill trees you can spend your skill points in depending on whether you aim to punch hard, kick like a mule, have a great defense, or be so good at sex fights enemies become the embodiment of the "The risk I took was calculated" meme every time they initiate one.
Last but not least, you can customize how hard you want the game to be. You can give your character a sex-related weakness, adjust whether the MC is dominant, submissive, and the like (each with pros and cons), add restraints to your character to get extra credits once you beat a level, and enable the corruption and submissive modes which add advantages and penalizations to sex battles and reward you with extra skill points once you level them.
Bugs
Playing this game isn't a seamless experience because of its issues. Sometimes, the enemies behave erratically, like sliding on the floor as if on an icy surface or standing still when they are supposed to go after you. Moreover, controller support is far from optimal, to the point you might as well just play it with a keyboard. I used a generic Dualshock 3, so it might have been a compatibility issue.
Visuals
The graphics are pretty good, though it takes some time to get used to the rubbery look of the characters and enemies. Some guys, in particular, look odd because their facial hair looks like it was drawn over their faces instead of being a part of it. On another note, the game allows you to customize your character in many ways, meaning there's also a good variety of enemies. You can change the hair and eye colors and adjust the different parts of their body. Just be careful to not go overboard with the sliders because there's a chance whatever you're modifying might clip over the MC's clothes.
Do you know what else you can adjust to your liking? The NSFW content in the game. It's up to you whether you want it to be a mostly vanilla experience with both straight and homosexual sex or a kinky fest with BDSM, threesomes, futa girls with big juicy cocks, and so on. The best part is that Photo Mode allows you to move the camera to get the best angle for your screenshots. Maybe you want to capture a cool moment, your character taking the whole squad, or the exact moment the femboy shoots his load after you've pegged him relentlessly.
Verdict: Fun despite its bugs
Solas City Heroes is an imperfect yet entertaining beat 'em up with plenty of NSFW and engaging gameplay. It has issues, sure, but they are just annoying at worst. Don't think twice and get it if the bugs I mentioned before aren't a dealbreaker to you. Otherwise, wait for a discount.