The launch of a new superhero MMORPG on Steam was the dreaded crash landing. The reviews are as disastrous as the player numbers are low.
Which game is it about? Ship of Heroes finally launched on Steam on September 22, 2025, after 8 years of development (as claimed by the developers) and several delays. Recent signs already indicated a stormy launch:
- There were repeated difficulties with the approval process by Valve
- The previously announced pricing model with full price (58.99 Euro) and monthly subscription faced a lot of criticism in the community
- On Reddit, reports accumulated on launch day that the developers were deleting critical posts in the Steam forums – some critics were even labeled as “trolls” by the developers
While it’s refreshing that the developers of Ship of Heroes bypass typical service revenue sources like microtransactions and in-game shops, many players feared that, based on the shown screenshots and trailers, the quality of the game might not justify a full price plus subscription.
Here is the new launch trailer for Ship of Heroes:
“This makes me deeply sad”
How was the launch? As catastrophic as feared. Due to the enormous entry barrier (from the high purchase price), hardly anyone ventured onto the servers. According to steamdb.info, there were 100 people online at peak.
The reviews on Steam show that fears have been confirmed. The 25 reviews so far are 28 percent positive (therefore “mostly negative”). Under the new launch trailer on YouTube, an interested player asks why the ratings are so negative. The response of a developer:
There are a lot of Homecoming trolls who are just out to sabotage us and trying to harm us with bad reviews.
With “Homecoming,” the developer likely refers to the similarly named private server for City of Heroes, which received official permission from NCsoft last year for operation. Ship of Heroes strongly resembles the superhero MMORPG from 2004 in many aspects.
However, what stands out when reading the current opinions on Steam is that players who have been looking forward to Ship of Heroes for years often write, wishing the developers success, and are now giving thumbs down for various reasons.
- Meralux writes on Steam: “This makes me deeply sad. So many years in development and it looks worse, feels worse, and is worse designed than the game it should be a superior version of. The engine is really terrible, the controls are clunky, the AI synchronization sounds terrible, and the icons look like a high school project. […] I really wanted this game to be a success, but stay far, far away from it.”
- mistrblond complains on Steam: “I like the game, to be honest, but it’s not worth 60 dollars. I bet if it cost 20 dollars, they would have thousands of players right now. We need a game like this, but we need our money more right now.”
- stefanw1337 explains on Steam: “I had long contact with the developers and tried to help. The new version is now a bit better, even if it’s hard to imagine that it was worse before. […] They should re-market it as Early Access in my opinion and not require a subscription for now. […] I see a HUGE potential here. I like the setting and the ‘world’.”
– “I would advise anyone not to pay the 60 euros + 15 euros subscription. I was able to sneak a peek into the Closed Beta (the last one before the launch). It’s not worth the price, the NPCs use AI voices (of the bad kind), the graphics and gameplay feel like a mod for Second Life or something. I advise everyone to wait.”
T4nnenhirsch explains:
– „This is the first time I’ve read about the game here and watched the trailer on Steam.
What a shame for the indie team and their ambitions and efforts, but the video wouldn’t even motivate me to try it if it were f2p.”
What is being praised? In the few positive reviews, players praise especially the numerous options in character creation, the graphics, and the nostalgic gaming experience that reminds of City of Heroes.
- Keromor writes on Steam: “The game looks quite good, the voice acting is partly okay, it definitely has potential and clearly reminds me of my time with COH/COV many years ago. The price to support the development of the game or the monthly fee does not bother me… I will support them for a while and see how it develops.”
- dreamwalker246 sees it similarly in their review on Steam: “A fun and nostalgic nod to City of Heroes, with a pinch of indie awkwardness. […] The character creation options are diverse. […] The graphics are decent. […] Characters seem to look better than the environments. The performance is great. The housing is extensive.”
The developers of Ship of Heroes seem to have at least achieved one of their goals: to offer fans a new MMORPG in the style of City of Heroes, thus without major Marvel or DC licenses, but with many character options and superpowers.
You can also expect missions for groups of up to 10 players, 60-player raids, crafting, and a housing system. Except for the two raids, you should be able to complete all content solo as well. If you want to team up with other players, you have to use chat or other social channels. The developers consciously refrain from an automated dungeon finder.
