REVIEW / Keep the Heroes Out! (PC)

I really wanted to like Keep the Heroes Out!, especially since it’s a video game adaptation of a well-known board game. The idea of translating a tabletop dungeon defense experience into a digital format sounds great on paper, and the core concept of playing as monsters defending their dungeon from invading heroes (the opposite of the usual in defense games) is genuinely appealing. Unfortunately, whatever made the board game engaging does not translate smoothly here. Instead of feeling like a smart, streamlined adaptation, the game feels dense, unwelcoming, and needlessly punishing right from the start.

The first and biggest problem of Keep the Heroes Out! that I ran into was the overwhelming learning curve. From the moment the game begins, it dumps mechanics, icons, and systems on you with very little meaningful guidance. The tutorial exists, but it feels barebones and rushed, and assumes you already played and understand the logic behind the board game. As someone coming in fresh, I felt lost almost immediately, trying to decipher what actions mattered and which ones were traps waiting to punish me.

That confusion feeds directly into the game’s difficulty, which spikes far too early. I barely passed the tutorial after countless tries, and I couldn’t pass the first stage at all in the easiest difficulty. My failure isn’t because I was playing recklessly, but rather when I thought I was making smart decisions, the game would unravel in a single turn. Heroes flood in faster than you can reasonably prepare, and one bad draw or mistimed action can completely erase any progress you’ve made. It doesn’t feel like a fair challenge. It feels like trial-and-error with very little room to learn.

Another major issue is how swingy and inconsistent the gameplay feels in Keep the Heroes Out! Some turns go smoothly, giving the illusion that you’re finally understanding the system, only for the next hero phase to obliterate your defenses. The randomness doesn’t create tension; it creates frustration. When failure feels disconnected from your actual decisions, it’s hard to stay motivated to try again.

Deck building and progression should be a highlight, but they barely register early on. You don’t get enough breathing room to experiment or refine a strategy before everything collapses. Instead of feeling empowered by your growing dungeon, I constantly felt underprepared, as if the game was always one step ahead and unwilling to slow down. This makes each run blur together rather than feel distinct or rewarding.

Visually, Keep the Heroes Out! has charm. The monster designs are playful, and the dungeon theme comes across clearly. However, a good presentation can only go so far. The interface often adds to the confusion instead of reducing it, with small icons and layered systems that are difficult to parse under pressure. I understand that a single card may have a couple or more actions within it, but trying to select the correct action can be such a mess. For example, the difference between Undo Action and Cancel Action are two different things, but a novice player may think both are the same thing. Style can’t compensate for this mechanical overload.

To be fair, I can see how Keep the Heroes Out! might click for players who already love the board game or thrive on extremely punishing strategy titles. There’s clearly depth here, and moments where everything briefly aligns do feel satisfying. But those moments are rare, buried under constant setbacks and unclear feedback. For me, the frustration far outweighed the payoff.

By the end of my experience, I felt less like a dungeon mastermind and more like someone being tested on rules I was never fully taught. Keep the Heroes Out! has an interesting premise and a solid foundation, but as a video game adaptation, it fails to onboard new players and pushes difficulty too hard, too fast. I walked away feeling locked out rather than challenged.

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This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.