Heroes of Mount Dragon Review – Brawl, Morph, Repeat
“It’s a Saturday morning cartoon that lets you punch goblins in the face, then turn into a dragon and do it again with fire.”
Enter the Realm of Üna
The first time I booted up Heroes of Mount Dragon, I felt like I had just stepped into an animated fantasy show that aired somewhere between TMNT and G.I.Joe. Bursting with hand-drawn charm and arcade swagger, RuniQ’s debut title throws you straight into the world of Üna, a colorful, chaotic realm where ancient dragons once soared and mythic warriors now fight to restore balance.
There’s no time wasted: the Celestial Dragon is missing, the land is in turmoil, and you (a freshly hatched Dragon-Soul) are one of the few heroes who can stop it. So grab your friends, pick a hero, and get ready to brawl through forests, swamps, deserts, and dungeons, with dragon fire at your fingertips.
“Transform mid-fight, juggle enemies in the air, then breathe fire just because you can. That’s Mount Dragon at its best.”
What Is Heroes of Mount Dragon?
Developed by veteran talent from Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Crash Bandicoot, and Skylanders, Heroes of Mount Dragon is a 2.5D co-op beat-‘em-up that draws inspiration from genre classics like Turtles in Time, Castle Crashers, and Towerborne. It supports 1–4 players via couch co-op or online, and features both cooperative and competitive modes.
At launch, four heroes are available, each representing a different combat style and a bonded elemental dragon. Four more are teased for future updates. The twist? You can transform into your dragon form mid-battle, unleashing new moves and combos on the fly.
Gameplay – Punch, Morph, and Curse Your Friends
Combat in Mount Dragon is quick, combo-heavy, and accessible without feeling shallow. There’s a nice balance of button-mashing mayhem and deliberate timing. You’ve got your standard combos, charged attacks, aerial juggles, dodges, and then the dragon transformations, which change your move set entirely.
Each hero (a dual-dagger rogue, a bow-wielding ranger, a beefy brawler, and a spear-fighting paladin) plays differently enough to matter, though some mechanics, like ranged aiming, can feel finicky. Core combos are shared across characters, but their unique specials and dragon powers encourage experimentation and team synergy.
The real fun shines in co-op play, where you and up to three others chain together chaotic screen-filling attacks. Add in “curses”, random modifiers like inverted controls or shrinking characters, and the game becomes a delightful mess of laughter and last-second teamwork. It’s classic couch co-op fun, with the added bonus of online play.
Modes include:
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Adventure Mode – A short but punchy campaign across eight environments.
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Competitive Brawls – PvP modes with modifiers and score-based bragging rights.
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Upgrades & Unlocks – New moves and upgrades are earned across playthroughs, though some are awkwardly gated by level transitions or UI hiccups.
The game’s biggest drawback? Repetition. Despite multiple acts and locales, stage layouts and enemies blur together. You’ve seen most of what Mount Dragon has to offer after 2–3 hours, with environmental variety and enemy types feeling more reskinned than truly different.
“It’s a co-op blast for the first few hours, but by hour four, you’ll be begging for more than goblin #28 in forest #3.”
Presentation & Worldbuilding. Dragon Energy Meets Dungeons & Doodles
If there's one area where Heroes of Mount Dragon absolutely soars, it’s the presentation. The game combines 2D hand-drawn characters with lush 3D backgrounds, creating a layered, cartoon-like visual style that’s both nostalgic and modern. Think Dungeons & Dragons meets Saturday morning anime.
The world of Üna feels lovingly crafted, filled with colorful landscapes and whimsical fantasy vibes. While there’s no full voice acting for the main cast, the narrated cutscenes add a theatrical flair that helps sell the stakes, even if you’ll occasionally mash through the text bubbles mid-stage.
Lore-wise, the game ties into a wider universe: it’s based on a book series that evolved into a boardgame and now a videogame . You can feel the depth of that source material, even if the game only scratches the surface. Each character hints at larger stories, and we’re hopeful future expansions will dig deeper into those arcs.
“It’s the kind of game you load up after homework and before dinner, then argue about who got the coolest finisher.”
Final Thoughts – Soaring Ambitions, But Still Grounded
Heroes of Mount Dragon is a wild and enthusiastic debut. It does well in the fantasy beat-‘em-up formula with flair, delivering a joyful, dragon-punching romp that’s best played with friends. The blend of expressive art, energetic combat, and co-op chaos makes it a fun entry for couch coop game nights, or online with a friend far away.
But there’s room to grow. More enemy variety, clearer progression, and expanded environments would help the game evolve from “fun diversion” to “must-play staple.” Right now, it’s a promising hatchling with wings that occasionally falter mid-flight.
Still, if you love arcade brawlers, fantasy cartoons, or just want to shout “DRAGON FORM ACTIVATE!” and mean it, then Mount Dragon is worth the flight.
“It’s not perfect, but it breathes fire, and that counts for something.”
Heroes of Mount Dragon earns a cautious thumbs up—held aloft by its charming dragon theme, expressive art, and fun co-op brawling. While the game needs more polish, variety, and the promised post-launch content to fully soar, fans of old-school beat-‘em-ups and party-style chaos will still find plenty of fun in its fiery world.
Come for the art, stay for the co-op, and hope the devs feed this dragon just a bit more content soon.
