“We wanted to evoke ‘that feeling’ players had when playing the original “DARK SOULS” and other games” – Souls-like action game “False Hero” [Developer Interview]

This series features interviews with the developers of intriguing new indie games. In this installment, we bring you a mini-interview with the developers of *False Hero*, a Souls-like action game developed by Torchlight Games and released for PC on September 22.

This game is a soul-like action-adventure featuring the “empty shell” of a scholar from the Kingdom of Masks as the protagonist. A key feature of the protagonist is the ability to “steal enemy attack moves,” enabling unique combat where players think on their feet in response to enemy attacks to create their own combos and fight by dodging. The game also supports Japanese.

*False Hero* is available for 2,480 yen (1,984 yen with a 20% discount until November 15).

――First, please introduce yourself. What’s your favorite game?

I’m FlorianFlorian. I’m 26 years old and developing *False Hero* on my own. Making games has been my dream since I was a child, so I’m truly grateful for all the support this game—my debut title—has received.

It’s hard to narrow it down to just one favorite game, but some of my favorites include FromSoftware’s *Souls* series, *The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time*, and *Outer Wilds*.

――Could you tell us about the game’s key features? Also, how did you come up with the idea for it?

Florian: *False Hero* is designed to evoke “that feeling” players had when playing classic FromSoftware titles like the original *DARK SOULS*.However, its most distinctive feature is a unique mechanic: “stealing enemy attacks.” For example, if you encounter an enemy using a cool move—like a scholar throwing books or a giant eyeball firing lasers—you can steal and learn those attacks.

The idea for this system was inspired by the “Combat Arts” system in *DARK SOULS III*.My favorite weapons were the ones that allowed me to recreate the cool moves of specific bosses. For example, using “Gale’s Greatsword” let me perform aerial attacks just like the Slave Knight Gale, while “Freide’s Scythe” allowed me to recreate high-speed combos like those of the Nun Freide.

I wanted to be able to chain together these various moves in succession and even recreate the attacks of every boss and enemy that appears in the game. That’s how the idea for *False Hero*’s battle system was born.

――Were there any works that influenced the development of this game?

Florian: *False Hero* was heavily influenced by FromSoftware’s *Souls* series, but we also drew significant inspiration from the 3D *The Legend of Zelda* series, such as *The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time* and *The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess*.

In this game, players will take on a number of vast, interconnected temples. There, they’ll encounter puzzles that must be solved by making full use of abilities unlocked within the dungeons. For example, players will learn the ability to extend vines to operate levers in the distance or grow bridges to cross valleys.In another temple, you’ll grow wings to reach distant locations. This is directly influenced by the familiar *The Legend of Zelda* dungeon design philosophy, where acquiring new abilities opens up new exploration routes.

――Could you share one episode that left the deepest impression on you during the development of this game?

Florian: In the early stages of development, I didn’t even have a clear answer myself as to what kind of game I wanted *False Hero* to be. As a result, I spent years learning the game engine, and my days were filled with constant trial and error.

The most memorable—and most enjoyable—part of development was the moment when my vision for what *False Hero* should be finally crystallized, and I was able to focus 100% on adding new content.

Once all the core gameplay systems were complete, I was able to focus on adding cool new bosses, new attacks players could steal, and stage design. During this phase of development, I was truly “in the zone,” and it was a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to reaching this phase again as soon as possible in my next project.

――What kind of user feedback did you receive after release? Please share any that left a particularly strong impression on you.

Florian: The feedback was entirely positive, and I was surprised by the warm words from everyone who enjoyed the game. What made me happiest of all was when players told me, “I was able to experience that same feeling I had when I first played the original *DARK SOULS* all over again.”The thrill of playing a FromSoftware game for the first time is truly wonderful, but when I learned that we’d been able to recreate that feeling through our own game, I was so happy it brought tears to my eyes.

――Taking user feedback into account, could you tell us about your plans for future updates?

In the month since Florian’s release, we’ve already rolled out several patches to address balance issues and improve stability.Immediately after the game’s release, it became clear that the difficulty was a bit too high, and we received a lot of feedback from players—particularly regarding battles against multiple enemies simultaneously in the late game and the scarcity of healing items. As a result, we’ve since made improvements such as adjusting the difficulty of late-game bosses, adding a healing item enhancement feature, and toning down group battles that felt unfair.

I’m still very active on the Steam forums, and I love receiving feedback and ideas on how to make the game even better. Additionally, the publisher is currently preparing for a console port.

――Could you tell us about the Japanese localization for this game? What was included in the localization, what were the challenges, and what has the reaction been like from Japan?

Florian: *False Hero* has been fully localized into Japanese since its initial release. Allcorrect Games handled the localization, and they did a truly fantastic job, supporting us through every challenge we faced during development.

I’m especially grateful that they helped us prevent a major issue before release. The problem was that some characters were displaying as Chinese characters instead of Japanese kanji. I wasn’t aware of the specification that certain Unicode code points are shared between Japanese and Chinese characters, so it was a huge help that they discovered this issue before release.

Currently, about 3% of the players for this game are accessing it from Japan. The response from Japanese players has been fantastic, and all the Japanese reviews posted have been positive.

――Is it okay to stream and monetize this game?

Florian: Of course! I love seeing streamers and YouTubers play this game. I watch YouTube a lot myself when I have time, so it’s a really strange feeling to see my own creation featured in a video.

――Finally, please share a message for our Japanese readers.

Florian: Japanese games have played a truly huge role in my life. From *Dark Souls* and *The Legend of Zelda* to all the other wonderful games born from your culture, I’ve been immensely influenced by them.

I hope you’ll enjoy my own expression of respect and passion for these beautiful worlds born in Japan!

――Thank you very much.