Dash Quest Heroes review - An autorunner mixed with an action RPG

It's nice when a game comes out of the woodwork and surprises you. When it puts a new twist on genres or mechanics and freshen things up with some new ideas.

And that's what Dash Quest Heroes does. Sure it might sound generic, but this mash up of an old school ARPG and an auto-runner is full of neat concepts and breezy, different ways of playing.

It won't be to everyone's tastes, but it's a great little midcore game that, if it gets its fangs into you, could well become your new favourite waste of time.

Essentially the game is a three-lane auto runner. You're looking at the action from above, controlling your hero with swipes on the screen.

But as well as being to move around the lanes, you've got a sword and a shield to play with. Tap the left of the screen and you'll swing your weapon, tap the right and you'll block incoming attacks.

You've got special moves as well, and extra gear that you unlock as you play. You're building up your character, learning new skills, and getting better equipment along the way too.

There are boss fights, secret areas, and branching paths to explore as well. And everything is presented in gorgeous, chunky pixel art. The animations are excellent, and the whole thing feels like its from some halcyon past when everything was bright and shiny and good.

While the controls are simple, there's a decent level of challenge here. Checkpoints help you get deeper into the experience, but they're few and far between, and it can get frustrating trolling through the same levels.

Still, there's an awful lot of fun to be had here, and the RPG element give the game that addictive 'watching the numbers go up' beat that so many mobile games thrive on.

Dash Quest Heroes fizzes and bubbles in all the right ways. It's easy to dip in and out of, but there's also a compulsion to push on every time you die. That balance between quick fire sessions and mammoth playthroughs is just about spot on.

Some might find it too difficult, and others might find it a little too simplistic, but for the giant group of players that fit into the space in the middle, there's so much here to enjoy.

It's not quite and RPG, and it's not a standard autorunner. It's something a bit new, and a bit different. And that's definitely worth shouting about.