Heroic Quest is a fighting game with an endless runner element. A player must direct a hero to fight many enemies as it walks quickly on a path during a journey through daytime and evening wilderness environments. Their primary objectives are to help the hero kill enemies to survive and earn coins and walk as far as possible.
The player can pick from one of three heroes, Swordsman, Hunter and Berserker, at any time on their quest. They can review a hero's stats (HP, ATK and SPD) before playing to learn the hero's strengths and weaknesses. After they earn a certain number of coins, they can upgrade each hero's Life, Damage and Speed. While on the journey, they can also pick up powerups, including a stronger attack and bubble shield. That said, these protections only last a few seconds.
Heroic Quest is set up to make the player fail early. The player's hero is often quickly mobbed by soldiers, monsters and even birds that want to kill it. The player can direct their hero to walk away briskly and jump out of harm's way on the ground, but they should accept before starting that failure is inevitable, especially during the first couple of runs. Their goal is to earn enough coins to perform Life, Damage and Speed upgrades that can help them last longer, and then try again.