Disney's Hercules Action Game scores 8/10 in the verdict of The Games Market editorial team.
Once Upon a Time
Disney's Hercules Action Game, it's time to be Heroes!
by Simon Larocca·November 19, 2025
Sempre more often, nowadays, we come across the figure of the hero, regularly revisited in film, comics, and literature: depending on the reference medium and above all the period of release, the versions change, as do the times and human feelings. In the video game world, the same thing has always happened, but when it comes to Disney and its iconic, highly distinctive universe, the Hero we admire is presented in a decidedly unique, as well as memorable, version.
È the case of the mighty warrior par excellence, the protagonist of Disney’s Hercules Action Game and also mentioned by the pen of Homer. And given the author of epic poems par excellence, Homer, there was, in fact, a need for a “sidekick” (you may not understand this one right away), the irascible Philoctetes, who already from the game’s tutorial will show players what he is made of and what sort of stuff you will need to be made of to complete the adventure.
We are talking about a platform title, strictly in 2D and with a moderately revised and corrected action component (violence is, of course, a sugar jar in Disney sauce, as tradition dictates) that was taken from the Pandora's box of Eurocom, better known for licensed titles drawn from animated films in fact, and produced by Disney's Interactive Studios in 1997, driven of course by the animated film released in theaters and probably one of the most beautiful Disney films ever made. The game immediately presents itself with carefully crafted backgrounds, colorful levels that take up the settings made famous by the film and an arsenal of colors and palettes worthy of Penelope's Loom! But here we will not have to deal with suitors and unlikely homecomings, because in the shoes of the young demigod son of Zeus we will have to reclaim the essence of a Hero and the divine aura, stolen by the fiery Hades, and maybe also the heart of the beautiful Meg.
Unimaginable? Not for Hercules, of course, and all of this is reflected in the game’s ten levels, which will make for a sufficiently challenging degree of difficulty, it must be said, only if you select Hard mode. Hercules can run, jump, and strike enemies with powerful blows, searching for items, coins, and special weapons that will help him in his epic quest across the three worlds available: there are no environmental puzzles or riddles to tax your brain, which is a shame, because the best platform titles to place on the Olympus of memorable games always include a logical component, properly integrated into the game environments.
Degna of note are the game bosses and the related fights that will keep us engaged in a fairly stimulating way: the one with the Hydra is one of the best known, but I personally loved the clash with the gorgon Medusa, the one who can petrify you with a single direct glance: while it is true that the lack of significant puzzles emerges in the game levels, during the battles against the main bosses it will be essential to stay clear-headed in understanding how to interact with the environment and turn the enemies’ own abilities and the building blocks of the place where they live against them. And they are revered.
Hercules Action Game is a polished title with a rather inspired level design, and it also boasts animated interludes taken directly from the film: today, a trick of this kind might make us smile, blatantly used to make the least possible effort in producing in-game graphics sequences, but the golden age of hand-drawn Disney films was just about to start heading down the road to decline in those years; consequently, the inclusion of animated moments between one level and the next remains today a brilliant testament to an effective artistic essentiality that today, perhaps, is nothing more than a…
Mito.
8
Pro
Licensed platform title by Disney, if you’re a fan of Mickey Mouse and the gang you can’t let it slip away, or else you’ll run into Phil’s anger!
Colorful levels and backdrops of absolute quality, with meticulous attention to detail and an epic atmosphere
Funny Boss Fights
Contro
Being a licensed game based on an animated film, there will be no side quests or storylines that diverge from what we have already seen in the cinema: no “surprises,” then.
Three difficulty levels, but only the last will require skill and familiarity with the joypad: forewarned is forearmed…
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
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