A Shooter That You’ll Play In Two-and-a-Quarter Dimensions

You’re going to experience the next game from the folks who made OlliOlli in a different way. Not in two dimensions. Not in two-and-a-half dimensions. In two-and-a-quarter dimensions. Let’s get some perspective on that, shall we?

Not a Hero‘s the next game from the Roll7 development studio, who notched a hit with their Vita-first side-scrolling skateboarding game. You’ll be playing as a gun-crazy dude cleaning up the streets of a crime-ridden city so a politician from the future named BunnyLord can win re-election. It’s a fixed-camera shooter where you’ll be able to run, shoot, slide and snap to cover, thanks to a technology they’re calling ISO-Slant, decribed as “the revolutionary ISO-Slant technology [that] enables game developers to reach the sweet spot between 2D and 2½D perspectives”:

• Next Level Shootouts — Use the quick snap cover system to duck behind all forms of covers to dodge enemy fire and strategically plan your next clip-emptying strike. Reload at your own discretion but don’t let the enemy hear you lest they charge your position and put you down.
• Roster of Not Heroes – Select between different total badasses each with their own distinct gameplay style and abilities to take out the trash if you consider criminals trash. Go hard with a shotgun, go quick with a dash and a katana, or go raw with your bare hands.
• Dynamic Missions — Go ham on primary objectives and risky secondary goals but be prepared for unexpected mid-level events that turn the tables on your hero in an instant. Nothing will put a damper in your perfectly timed-executions like a nosy SWAT team or building security patrol.

I really liked how OlliOlli delivered a mechanically tight experience that belied the simplicity of its looks. As gimmicky as the 2.25/ISO-Scan stuff sounds, OlliOlli‘s tightness is a good omen for Not a Hero. It’s due out on PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam and next-gen consoles in Fall 2014.