It’s not often that a game comes around with the ability to grip you into a mindless cycle of absolute ridiculousness, but I have to admit that I lost a LOT more time in this game than I realised. Ground Zero Hero has twisted humour, vibrant graphics inspired by The Simpsons and Rick and Morty, and moments that make you say “what the…” out loud - all the basic ingredients in a time-sink soup.

The game doesn’t ask much of you from a mechanical POV - Thrust into the post-apocalyptic wasteland, you must battle hordes of mutated animals, murderous vegetation, vampires, aliens, mummies… all while absorbing their radiated ooze so you can mutate yourself. Since this is an action rouge-lite game, each time you mutate, you will have a choice of 3 mutations to level you up into a wasteland mutant annihilator. This is the very thing that makes the game so addictive - the randomly generated mutation choices which can lead to you slapping your way through the hordes… or laying explosive eggs in your wake while a vulture circles overhead.

Thrust into the post-apocalyptic wasteland, you must battle hordes of mutated animals, murderous vegetation, vampires, aliens, mummies… all while absorbing their radiated ooze so you can mutate yourself.

Of course, consuming candy is essential to your gameplay (eventually) as this leads to “going bonkers” like a child on a murderous sugar rush. There are also oddly enticing shrooms that restore your health along the path - because apparently “you know you want to.”

There are 2 general ways to play Ground Zero Hero. You can either run for your life to the next safe point, avoiding enemies and leveling up your defence and your “third leg” to run faster, or level up your attack mutations and Leeroy Jenkins your way through even the toughest enemy, while riding a mutated cow into battle like a war pig. One of my favourite moments was giving birth to a “ChickenMan” who definitely has a very human tendency to worry about his taxes being late. “ChickenMan” is an excellent companion as he randomly flies around the map dealing a surprising amount of damage for a man in a chicken suit with a beak strapped to his face.



Simply, the objective of the game is to unlock and upgrade your mutations and character, while unlocking new levels and enemies. The rogue-like element means death is death and you start over, but part of the fun is trying new combos each time until you beat your records and get further and further into the stages. Yes, it can get a little repetitive at times, especially in the beginning before you have a decent amount of mutations to mix and match. The game also basically just throws you in with no guidance, so there’s a little time to learn how it all works. But once you understand the basics, and level up your mutations, you end up challenging yourself to build a better run each time.



Ground Zero Hero is a fun, engaging little game that will have you laughing and frustrated for the first part of the game. There’s no tutorial, no hints and you have zero idea what you are doing. Whether the game itself is intended to be chaotic and confusing from the start is unknown, but it is frustrating. You don’t know what the mutations do, why you are picking up candy (because you only unlock “bonkers” later) or where to go. Depending on what kind of person you are, it might inspire you to explore more. For me, quite frankly, I always felt like I was missing something or not understanding the objective - which detracted from the fun of the game at the start.

Yes, it can get a little repetitive at times, especially in the beginning before you have a decent amount of mutations to mix and match.

Part of me would love to see a co-op mode in the future - something where you can spend hours with friends owning the wasteland and laughing over the crazy mutations (and possibly mutations that work together for maximum devastation). Overall, once you get past the frustrated confusion and learn what the game wants you to do, Ground Zero Hero becomes addictively crazy. When you finally get on a good spree, level up your mutations to badass level and unlock your berserker moments (insert evil laugh here), you will find hours have passed before you realise it.

PC Review code provided by Acclaim | Reviewed by Sheree Steenkamp