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Fallen Hero

Fallen Hero is a series of interactive novels written by author Malin Rydén and published by Hosted Games, in which players control a former who, after betrayal and experimentation by the Rangers organization, acquires telepathic powers and embarks on a path of villainy to exact revenge in the fictional city of Los Diablos. The first installment, Fallen Hero: Rebirth, released on March 15, 2018, is a 380,000-word text-based experience without graphics or sound effects, where choices shape the protagonist's dual identities, relationships with allies and former friends, and development of abilities such as mind possession and customizable combat armor. Players can select the character's gender (male, female, or ), romantic orientations (, , bisexual, or aromantic), and personality traits, leading to branching narratives focused on secrecy, alliances, and moral ambiguity in a setting. The sequel, Fallen Hero: Retribution, released on February 2, 2023, expands to 1,400,000 words and builds directly on Rebirth's endings, allowing players to pursue villainous careers as a thief, mob boss, politician, or hero hunter while managing multiple bases, identities, and deepening relationships amid escalating conflicts. A third book, Fallen Hero: Revelations, is in development as part of a planned , with a released in 2025 that explores the protagonist's past and preparations for further vengeance, maintaining the series' emphasis on player-driven storytelling and psychological depth. The series has garnered positive reception for its nuanced exploration of identity, betrayal, and redemption, available on platforms including , , and .

Episode Overview

Synopsis

The Fallen Hero series follows the , known as Sidestep, a former who, after being betrayed and experimented on by the Rangers organization, gains powers and turns to villainy in the fictional city of Los Diablos. Players control Sidestep's actions, managing dual identities, relationships, and power development through branching choices. In the first book, Fallen Hero: Rebirth (2018), Sidestep awakens in a puppet body after the betrayal, using to navigate secrecy while stealing resources like a nanovore sample and a targeting matrix. The story culminates in a villainous debut at a museum gala, involving confrontations with former allies such as Charge and Lady Argent, and alliances with figures like Dr. Mortum, all while balancing personal vendettas and moral ambiguities. The second book, Fallen Hero: Retribution (2023), picks up one month after the debut, with Sidestep choosing a villainous path as a thief, mob boss, hero hunter, or anarchist. Key events include infiltrating a mansion, dealing with explosions and pursuits by heroes like Marshal Steel, and managing multiple bases and identities. The narrative deepens relationships with characters including Herald, Ortega, and returning allies, amid escalating conflicts and power growth. The third book, Fallen Hero: Revelations (in development), explores Sidestep's past through multiple demo paths released as of October 2025. Players escape predicaments, investigate Los Diablos' , recruit new allies like Sky-Raider and Dove, and confront unresolved issues such as a call from the Heartbreak Site. The story emphasizes telepathic expansion, trust decisions, and events like Charge's 40th birthday, building toward further vengeance.

Series Context

The Fallen Hero series is a of interactive novels published by Hosted Games, an imprint of , emphasizing player agency in a genre with villainous protagonists. Set in the 22nd century-like world of Los Diablos, the books examine themes of , , and through text-based choices that affect over 380,000 words in Rebirth, 1.4 million in Retribution, and ongoing development for Revelations and the planned . Unlike traditional superhero narratives, the series inverts tropes by allowing players to shape Sidestep's , , and , leading to nuanced explorations of alliances and conflicts with the Rangers. It builds on the format of no graphics or sound, focusing on psychological depth and branching paths that carry over between books, fostering replayability and long-term investment. The tetralogy's structure highlights evolving interstellar politics and personal agency in a sci-fi setting, distinct from broader franchise lore but resonant with traditions.

Cast and Characters

Principal Characters

The protagonist, known as Sidestep, is a customizable player character who was once a vigilante hero in Los Diablos but turned villain after a betrayal by the Rangers organization and experimentation that granted them powerful telepathic abilities, including mind possession (body surfing). Players can choose Sidestep's gender (male, female, or non-binary), appearance, personality traits, and villain name, influencing relationships and story branches across Rebirth and Retribution. Sidestep's arc focuses on revenge, secrecy, and moral choices while managing dual identities and a puppet body. Ortega, also known as Charge, is Sidestep's former partner and a key with cybernetic enhancements granting , , and electrokinesis via a plasmacore generator. A potential romance option, Ortega's relationship with Sidestep ranges from close friendship to complicated tension due to the protagonist's villainous turn, shaped by player decisions in Rebirth. Dr. Mortum (Mirlene/Merle Abelard) is a brilliant Afro-Caribbean and former villain who designs Sidestep's customizable power armor and gadgets, such as the Disintregun. Affably evil and a romance option, Mortum collaborates with Sidestep through the puppet body, providing technical support and while pursuing their own interests in miniaturization technology. Their backstory involves overcoming transphobia and a turn to villainy in 2009.

Guest Appearances

Supporting characters include the , a team of heroes opposing Sidestep. Lady Argent (Ximena Vega Ruiz) is a boosted Ranger with silver nanovore-altered skin, technopathy, enhanced strength, and shapeshifting abilities. A proactive villain hunter and potential romance in , her relationship with Sidestep mixes enmity and gratitude for averting a catastrophe. Herald is a young, idealistic Flying Brick-type and the newest , serving as a rival to Sidestep who idolizes the protagonist's heroic past. Other notable figures include Marshal Steel, the leader of the Rangers, and the , a loyal whose role varies by player choice. Antagonists like Hollow Ground, a telepathic controlling the underworld, add to the conflicts in .

Production Details

Development and Writing

"Fallen Hero" is an interactive novel series written solely by Swedish author Malin Rydén, who developed the games using , a programming language designed for creating multiple-choice . The first installment, Rebirth, was based on an unfinished book and took nearly three years to complete, resulting in a 380,000-word released on March 15, 2018, by Hosted Games, a division of . The sequel, , expanded significantly to 1,400,000 words, with writing completed by early 2021 and a closed alpha version reaching about 1.36 million words at that stage; it was released on , 2023. Rydén has described the writing process as involving extensive branching narratives based on choices for , relationships, and decisions, emphasizing themes of , , and psychological depth. The third book, Revelations, entered full development around 2023 as Rydén transitioned to full-time writing, with a demo released on October 23, 2025, exploring multiple opening paths to accommodate diverse endings from prior games. The series is planned as a , with Rydén managing complex plotting through techniques like character arguments to develop personalities and ensure narrative coherence.

Filming and Design

As a text-based interactive novel series without graphics or sound effects, Fallen Hero required no filming or visual production. The focus remained on textual and ChoiceScript for branching choices, with no external teams involved beyond the author's solo development.

Themes and Analysis

Narrative Elements

The structure of the Fallen Hero series employs mechanics, where player choices shape a branching storyline centered on against the Rangers following the protagonist's and transformation. In Rebirth, the story unfolds through second-person narration, immersing players in the protagonist's fractured psyche as they rebuild their life in Los Diablos, managing dual identities as a civilian and the villainous Sidestep. Key decisions, such as selecting , romantic , and personality traits early on, influence relationships with allies like Dr. Mortum and former hero , as well as the development of telepathic abilities like mind possession. The builds through and dilemmas, culminating in the protagonist's villain debut, with endings that set up . Character development emphasizes psychological depth, particularly the protagonist's trauma from experimentation, which manifests as body dysmorphia, isolation, and repressed memories. Players navigate internal conflicts, such as balancing vengeance with potential redemption, through "blind choices" that mirror the character's limited agency post-betrayal. In Retribution, this evolves into managing multiple bases and identities while pursuing paths like thief, mob boss, or politician, deepening relationships amid escalating conflicts with heroes. The demo for Revelations (released October 2025) further explores the protagonist's past, unearthing secrets and confronting "ghosts" to prepare for ultimate vengeance, maintaining the series' focus on player-driven emotional arcs. Pacing balances introspective monologues on trauma and identity with action-oriented sequences, such as combat using customizable armor or telepathic intrusions, ensuring replayability across 380,000 words in Rebirth and 1.4 million in Retribution. This structure avoids linear exposition, instead revealing backstory through dialogue and choices, fostering empathy for the villainous protagonist.

Cultural and Sci-Fi Tropes

The Fallen Hero series subverts traditional superhero tropes by centering a fallen hero's descent into villainy, exploring moral ambiguity rather than clear heroism. The protagonist's acquisition of telepathic powers through unethical experimentation evokes sci-fi themes of and the cost of power, drawing parallels to narratives like where heroes grapple with ethical gray areas. Betrayal by the Rangers organization critiques institutional corruption in superhero societies, portraying a world where "heroes" enforce control under the guise of protection. Cultural motifs include identity and queerness, with player-customizable gender (male, female, ) and orientations (straight, , bisexual, aromantic) influencing not just romance but self-perception and societal interactions in Los Diablos. Themes of , , and not feeling at home in one's body highlight struggles, using the genre to metaphorically address real-world issues like trauma recovery and . Romances often stem from sources of or with former allies, underscoring between and . As a sci-fi , the series integrates interactive elements to simulate psychological fragmentation, with allowing and manipulation that blurs and —tropes seen in works like Philip K. Dick's explorations of reality. The planned , including Revelations, continues to bridge personal vendettas with broader societal critiques, emphasizing redemption's complexity in a dominated by good-vs-evil conflicts.

Broadcast and Reception

Release and Availability

Fallen Hero: Rebirth was released on March 15, 2018, as a digital interactive novel available on Steam, iOS, Android, and the Choice of Games website. The sequel, Fallen Hero: Retribution, followed on February 2, 2023, building on the first game's endings and expanding the narrative. A demo for the third installment, Fallen Hero: Revelations, was released in October 2025, accessible via the Choice of Games demo portal and Steam. The series is distributed exclusively through digital platforms, with no traditional broadcast or physical media release. As of November 2025, both Rebirth and Retribution remain available for purchase on Steam, where Rebirth has accumulated over 421 user reviews and Retribution over 380. Mobile versions on Google Play report a 4.8 out of 5 rating for Rebirth based on 3,632 reviews.

User and Critical Reception

The Fallen Hero series has received very positive reception from players, praised for its deep character development, branching narratives, and exploration of moral ambiguity in a setting. On , Rebirth holds a "Very Positive" rating with % positive reviews out of 421 as of November 2025, while Retribution scores 97% positive out of 380 reviews. Users frequently highlight the writing quality, emotional depth, and replayability due to player choices affecting identity, relationships, and abilities. Community discussions on the Choice of Games describe Rebirth as "one of the best" interactive novels, with praise for its intensity and connection to the . Retribution is similarly acclaimed for expanding the while maintaining psychological nuance, with forum users noting its length (1.4 million words) and variety of villainous paths. The October 2025 demo for Revelations has generated anticipation in ongoing threads, focusing on its flashbacks and continuation of player-driven vengeance themes. No major professional reviews from outlets like or were identified as of November 2025, but the series' strong user feedback underscores its appeal within the genre.

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