you are the hero
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
hi! I am the description of you are the hero.
tell me: have you ever wanted to be… the hero?
to get the sword, to save the princess, to slay the villain?
without any of these modern deconstruction shenanigans, where you turn out to be an antihero at best, the princess leaves you for the villain, and the sword is revealed to be a corrupting sentient eldritch horror?
well, now you can!
just download the game and enjoy the ride!
there’s some mild nudity and strong language though – albeit nothing sexual – oh, and some brief mentions of anxiety and depression, as well as two really loud sound jumpscare-y moments – so if you’re sensetive to these topics, maybe you should think twice. don’t say I didn’t warn you!
now, I absolutely cannot guarantee that the author is a good narrator, so here’s also that. I am a very honest description! maybe.
who is the author, you may ask? well, the people who made your journey for you are:
mlkrn as a narrative and GUI designer
Parrot_Carrot and mossinasi as guest illustrators
music shamelessly borrowed from Kevin MacLeod, Alena Smirnova, arciv ev noise, Disen Gage, Kai Engel, Pianochocolate and ROZKOL
but which one is the author? probably neither of them! but you know, you are the hero! only you get to decide whether your struggle will turn out to be of the hero versus the author, or something else entirely!
why?
because let me entertain you a little: after you’ll sit through what is roughly 10k words and 45 pictures, there will be three endings.
none of them are bad endings, mind you! because the hero always wins in the end.
but there is a true ending: in order to get it, you will have to say something someone really wants you to say. because even if you are the hero, there are still rules even you must obey!
how will you know the ending you got is the true one? don’t worry, if that would be the case, my best friend will tell you about it!
but if you will get a different ending and be completely satisfied with it, that’s also totally fine! as I said: there are no wrong endings in this one!
and that would be all from me.
now all that’s left is for you to hit that ‘download’ button.
good luck, and have fun!
sincerely yours,
the description.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- i messed up please redownload thisDec 31, 2021
Comments
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I had this game sitting in my "to play" collection on here for what feels like actual ages, and finally got around to sitting down and... playing it. Which, to be fair, probably wasn't the best idea for me to do at 4 (now 5) AM
(If you're wondering why I'm sat here, typing everything out in an almost pitch-black room with only the computer being lit up, it's because I wanted to get all of my thoughts out while they're fresh and I'm better able to put them into words and remember everything. So please forgive my probably terribly grammar, lack of proofreading, and stream-of-consciousness writing. I should have been in bed hours ago (lol))
I really enjoyed this game, the text, the illustrations, all the layers. I think it was wonderfully and thoughtfully crafted. I liked the prose, the lack of grammar, the artistic choices in how everything was presented, the "choices" and dialogue options, the jokes were amusing.
I don't think I understood all of it like the narrative designed intended when playing through it (which might be due to the fact that it's 5AM, or perhaps my own lack of knowledge on literature and overall worldly experience) but I got the central ideas, I'd hope. I think that where my interpretations started to miss the mark was when I forgot to consider them as aspects of a person, the Writer, and as whole people instead. Which, my bad. I got that the Hero was an aspect of the Writer, a mirror of something inside them, but I forgot to take that into account when trying to puzzle out what each character represented. I also put way more weight into their role in the hero's journey, when it mattered a lot less than I thought it did. I did read the comments a while ago (but not before I started playing today), so maybe that also had a role in it? Literary analysis was never my strong point, so maybe I was off about everything and had a more surface-level understanding than I thought I did (lol). I appreciated the clarification of intent in the script, it was nice to read and realize what everything was meant to be and represent.
I liked the hero. He was interesting, to me. I think he might be my favorite?When playing, I took him as representing... theatrics? Well, someone who had a front of nonchalance and confidence when they're dying, screaming, to be heard and seen and recognized. I'm a very "fake it till you make it" kind of person, and see myself as always presenting some type of front, showing what's "good" and "expected" of me and quietly shoveling the rest away. I think that's part of why I interpreted him as I did. His "I am not scared of death/not scared of death/not scared of death" was especially... something to me. I don't think I can put it into words right now. He is superficial and shallow but he is also real, and I can get that. (I read a comment a while back about how the they found the Hero to be the most forgettable story, but I think it's going to be the one I remember the most vividly.)
I've been rereading the script and knowing what they were all meant to be metaphors of does help me understand everything better, though I hope I would have been able to interpret things closer to their intended meanings on my own.
I do need to replay it and get the "true ending," but its a great game with lots to mull over and reflect on. I'll be thinking about it and its message for a long time, and it's even shown me interesting things about how I relate art to my own experiences that I haven't quite seen so blatantly a definitely want to mull over. Thank you for making something so personal and reflective. You're a great writer, and I'll get through playing the rest of your works slowly but surely.
Hi, mlkrn! I am a reader for your unique story. I hope to make a voluntary Chinese localization for this game. Look for your opinion or other good ideas!
hey! sorry for the late reply
I think it looks great :D tysm for your translation efforts!
Great! It is gratifying to hear from you! We will still work on it in our spare time.
i will stay with you <3
i liked it very much!
I really loved this game. It very intelligently written.
You made me the critic in a comedy, where a critic cannot stand a chance to win the argument, for logic cannot be applied in this case.
You made yourself the writer for you are the narrator, the voice in my head, driving my thoughts here and there from point to point of the story like when a child grabs another in the arm and brings them to a place they have never seen before just to see them happy... because that makes you happy too.
Yes I liked your jokes,
Yes I understand you and...
Yes I'm also not american xdddd
Thank you for making this game. And not just you, to the voiceless contributors of this story too, the artists.
Thank you all.
First of all, I really love this! Something about not being able to go back made me reluctant to start, but I am very glad I did play!
Secondly, how exactly does one see the script? I have renpy installed, and python too. I tried opening script.py from renpy folder, but it's just code? Assume I am very technologically illiterate, tbh, because I am.
hey, thank you for playing!
you need the script.rpy file, indeed! it's actual code. but part of the 'extra' bits of the story are hidden in the comment lines in-between actual code!
it starts with a line "# oh, hi!"
Oh, got it! Thanks!
i really, really really enjoyed this. i just finished it and had to sit staring at the new title screen for a second. i dont have the words for this yet but this was wonderful. i wish there was a choice where i could tell the writer that i really enjoyed her stories, but telling her this would maybe go against her whole story and how she imagines it to be, wouldnt it? i guess i'll write that choice now:
>i really liked reading your stories, writer
>this made me feel a lot of things
>i hope you write more
>thank you for creating this!!!
I really enjoy the game, so writing a review is a must (Although my words are messy and I'm confused).
First thing to note: This game is really special to me. At first I played it for someone (to watch?) and then I left it in my computer only to visit it again and play for myself, and holy molly, the stories and everything else in the game becomes so new to me. Y'know, when you look at it for a friend instead of for yourself, it's an entirely different journey to have. Anyway, let's not get emotional here and focus on the game, yeah.
Second thing to note: The game gets quite personal and hit too close to home, especially with the princess and the writer's arc. Maybe it's because I'm also a writer and I struggle with my mental health, maybe not, I don't know. Almost every sentences feel real to me, and it's hard not to be confused when I experience that sensation.
I'm in a state of confusion while writing this, because I have so many thoughts in my head and all of them are about the game, yet I can't find the right words for all of them; and other people's comment already points out most of my feelings, and their words are more profound and beautiful than mine will ever be-
Still, I want to write something, and this mess is my attempt to do so. Your game is beautiful, and it's wonderful to get to play it for me and not for anyone else. I can't even remember why I used to play it for that person, but I know that I played it for "me" this time and I know that the game won't leave my mind for years, as long as I'm still okay. I mean, I saw myself in it, and I played it with me in mind, so it's justified in a way?
I feel like it's obvious that I get too emotional while writing so I can't really do much (other than projection, yeah) on my end. The good thing is, I manage to leave a review, I suppose. My words will never be good enough for me to express my feelings, my thoughts, but it's okay as long as I still write.
Last note, thank you for making this game (and reading this review). I will check your other games when I have time :].
(p/s: i followed you in twitter, i hope you don't mind lmao. my account will probably be obvious to you by the time you read this line, though).
Dude, this was so cool oh my god. I laughed at how you wrote the stories with it being obviously satire, "cringe", and chocked full of references as well as the meta-ness of the entire story. The art really was wonderful and complimented the overall narrative because truly I find it appealing as well as the little scenes that play out.
My favorite stories has to be the princess, the author's journey, and the narrative structure. The way the princess was written is something I imagine someone who has gone through the same script over and over again would be thinking, not only that but the way you could palpably feel her anger, resentment, yet hollow acceptance over the fate she has to consistently live through is amazing and I can tell you actually put a lot of thought in her part since it's pretty detailed and visceral, there's a lot of inner depth to the princess' thoughts which is ironic because in reality, the princess herself has no depth as she explains, so to see her inner worth for all of its desecratedness is wonderful. The author's journey hit pretty close to home but also fun to see how someone who has a severe case of imposter syndrome would be feeling as they try to navigate through themselves and their skills. I love how you connected the different aspects of who the player could be and string them along to make a somewhat cohesive story (that and the art that went along with it is just *chefs kiss*). Not only that, but to see a rather cold, detached narrative who exists to remind us just what is the ACTUAL role of any of these characters and why they were such a popular formula to use is quite interesting, especially since it provides another layer of depth and complexity to the characters who we've consistently met in every iteration.
My favorite comedic stories is honestly the sword and the villain because honestly, the way the sword has no complete disregard for any grammatical rules or keeping a sense of coherence as it babbles away its "life" and just pokes fun with everything is just so funny to me (that and the visuals with the hero being fire kinda showing how brillaint and eye-searing he can be, the princess being the butterfly with how delicate, untouchable, yet short her life is, and the villain being the skull signifying the end of the poeple, his own life, and the story closing is just wonderful as it also shows how the sword itself has no disregard to people, only focusing on it role). The villain is honestly kinda sad in itself but the way he seems to cope by just finding humor despite knowing the inevitable end is just vibing his way through whatever short life he'll go through. The way you carelessly wrote his story but put a lot of comedic elements made me find that even though the villain's end will always end with them losing and the heavy morality implication of it, it's all hidden underneath the comedic over tone and diverts the reader from going any deeper.
And with my mixed feelings regarding the hero is something that you probably intended, maybe or maybe not. I like how it looked like you genuinely didn't care about the hero and left him to be not only one dimensional yet also empty and hollow, yet seeking to incite a reaction from the player for his actions. The hero in the story of himself showed to be so selfish and arrogant, because he is the hero and the world revolves around him and that is true, yet compared to the other stories his paled so much in comparison that you almost forget his own story. Guess it must not be that amazing to have the whole world at the tip of your fingers and revolve around you, leaving you choking with everything making you lash out. At least, that's what the hero is to me.
I genuinely love the way everything turned out, I adore how you wrote this story from the cliche bantering which was fun to me, to an insightful breakdown (in more ways than one) that left people vulnerable for all that they were worth and never settling for one thing. Truly an enjoyable experience!
Edit: Wait it just occured to me that seeing the actual thumbnail for this visual novel we see a person leaning against a desk with a lot of writing materials and the corkboard with red strings, meaning at the very start we started with the author before progressing to the prototype, and the one ending where we are the "writer" we see that very same corkboard. That's some inception nonesense or am I just looking far too deep lmao.
oh gosh thank you for such a long and thoughful review! i'm really glad the story impressed you so much
about the thumbnail:
you meet the writer 'outside of the game' like they really are (modern setting and facing away from you) but in-game, you hear their story about themself so they also appear more... fictionalized, with metaphorical quills et all
No problem! I absolutely adored the philosophical almost dream like sequence that we were being put through. It was so immersive despite not having a strong world to pull you in. It's like you're at a cinema but there is only chair and these characters state their names and stories not looking for judgment but like, wanting to be heard for themselves and not letting anyone else tell their own story. And then, when you think it's over all of a sudden the scriptwriter waltz in and pleads for their case and all of a sudden you're the judge.
It's really cool and I can still recall it even though some time has passed ahahaha!
The oh so horrible grammar makes me furious, it is outrageous that "for fucks sake" has no apostrophe, how I am supposed to know whether it is for the sake of a specific fuck or all the fucks!?
Also, the fact that it LITERALLY says you can't go back to earlier dialogue since it is so trash, when in fact, you can press PgUp and go back to earlier dialogue will never cease to baffle me. Was it intentional? Did the author really not know? Either way, I think it adds to the narrative.
Bwahahah, I really love writing like this. Baffle, really?
This was very fun to play, mlkrnsiodjslkcnsjl.
I hadn't actually looked at the screenshots before downloading it, so the part where you mentioned that got lost on me. (I barely even read the description tbh)
My favorite characters are the sword, the code, the princess and the narrative frame. Their stories were very cool
Goddamn, the sheer amount of "/n"s in that script. I also dunno how to use internal renpy animations, so I don't blame ya
I felt a lot of optimal conditions for sacrifice vibes, so seeing it in the credits was cool.
Also, since I've written this much, I kinda feel like the Critic hehe
Wait, I just realized I have played some of your other games lol, this is pretty cool but also it feels weird
aha well yes, it does feature a character from optimal conditions for a sacrifice so... it's kinda a crossover, huh?
i mean, you are the hero is both a gift for the author of sacrifice, and, at the same time, a counterargument
so anyway, thanks for the playing! glad you enjoyed it
honestly a criminally underrated game, i just like it a lot! i really like the illustrations and writing and everything about it
ah but thank you! if you feel it's underrated, recommend it to your friends, make them play it, and share the word *wink wink nudge nudge* hehe!
but seriously, thanks! glad you enjoyed your time.
dont worry!! i talked abt it on my insta and to a few friends, all your games i enjoy a lot!!
hey, i've never commented on itch before, but i felt the need to share how much i loved this! it was personal in the best way possible, and i felt myself sympathizing with the narrator (plot structure, writer, etc.) on (too) many personal levels. it echoed so many of my own cynicisms and in such a raw way that left me wanting more, and I'm so happy you decided to share this beautiful piece of your heart with us. My only critique is that i wish i could've been kinder to the narrator, i enjoyed their existential, philosophical, fed-up ramblings much more than the dialogue options allowed me to express. can't wait to play through the rest of your stuff right now and see what other pieces of art you make in the future. C:
hey! thank you for playing; glad you empathized with the narrative so much!
[spoiler]
about kindness and roasting… maybe, if you haven’t already, you could check out the game file script.rpy and find some answers there! the easiest way to do this would be to download ren’py and open script.rpy with the ren’py editor, atom.
(they’re not good answers, though!)
This game really resonated with me :) It had a compelling story that was memorable in its execution - I liked the repeating structure of the Hero's Journey and how things were set up for the ending. you are the hero made me think about my own creative process and for that, I thank you!
ah, thank you! I'm glad to know fellow content creators find it relatable or something!
(and frankly, I just giggle when I think I just stole an academic literary theory thingie and made it into a character, and somehow, it worked :D)
Wow! I adored this game. The story was great, and so were the accompanying images. It really made me want to improve as a writer. Thank you!
thank you! I assume you decided to get the 'I am the writer' ending, then? :D just curious!
I didn't, at least I don't think.
An art piece. Could be flushed out more. However are the images concerning the hero not in the game but lures for the meta-narrative experience?
oh my god I am sorry
that's a bug, the code accidentally skips like, most of the game, that was the ending
if you're still interested, i reuploaded it - it should consist of the full game now! please, replay it :D you have the ending basically spoiled, but maybe you will enjoy it nonetheless :D
sorry, I was very tired when uploading :D
and thank you for asking! it's really embarassing that i let it be in a lagged state for several hours...
also, if you decide to replay it, please delete your persistent files if that's not too much of a hassle...
here's the guide how to do it!
https://www.reddit.com/r/RenPy/comments/n7tamy/how_do_i_delete_data_from_games_t...