Hero Mode, also known as Mayfield's Game in Australia and the United Kingdom, is a 2021 American independent comedy film[2] directed by A.J. Tesler (in his directorial debut) and written by Jeff Carpenter. Produced by Marcy Carpenter, E.J. Kavounas, and Tesler,[3][4] the film was released in American theaters on June 4, 2021, distributed by Blue Fox Entertainment. followed by video on demand on June 11, 2021. It received mixed reviews from critics.
| Hero Mode | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | A.J. Tesler |
| Written by | Jeff Carpenter |
| Produced by | A.J. Tesler, Marcy Carpenter, E.J. Kavounas |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Bill Brown |
| Distributed by | Blue Fox Entertainment |
Release date | June 4, 2021 |
Running time | 88 minutes[1] |
Financially struggling indie video game business owner Kate asks her son Troy (Chris Carpenter) to develop a video game in time for an upcoming gaming convention in order to save the company. Troy is enthusiastic for the job. But the company's disgruntled coders are not, and in addition Rick, the CEO of a rival company looking to buy out the studio in order to gut it and fire everyone'[4][5]
While in production the film went under the title of Mayfield's Game. Filming took place in Los Angeles.[6]
Before its release the film generated criticism for its perceived unrealistic portrayal of video game development.[7] The film was released in American theaters on June 4, 2021, distributed by Blue Fox Entertainment.[8] It was followed by video on demand releases on June 11, 2021. It opened with $11,843, for a total domestic gross of $21,178.[9]
The film received mixed reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, which categorises reviews only as positive or negative, the film holds an approval rating of 46% from 13 critical reviews.[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigns the film a score of 46 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[11]