Metal Slug Tactics review

In the entire history of video games, there have been only a few cases in which a studio performed the forbidden alchemy of completely transferring a game to another genre. The most successful title so far has probably been R-Type Tactics (originally for the humble PSP and now in remake), but I think the crown should go to Metal Slug Tactics.

From a distance, and if you squint really difficult, Metal Slug Tactics looks a bit like Into The Breach – a nice game to collect notes from. Choose three characters and engage in fast-paced, turn-based tactical battles on petite, hand-crafted maps (there is no procedural generation, although enemy spawning locations are unpredictable) where you have the information advantage. Over the course of a single run, you’ll gain transient power and resources, but over time you’ll unlock recent starting options, difficulties, and fun wrinkles, including recent mini-bosses and a path to the satisfying True Ending. However, the essence of combat differs from the desperate precision of Into the Breach.

Everything here happens in the service of running, shooting and generally engaging in an extremely disordered scrum, i.e. pure Metal Slug. Mission objectives focus on fast-paced action, throwing troops into a swarm of enemies with objectives such as “shoot three targets”, “deliver two characters to a location” or simply “survive four turns”, and battles end when the task is completed. Bonuses reward speed. With petite battlefields (often petite enough to traverse in just two moves) and villains who can kill your troops in a few hits, running away is not an option. YOU WILL BE ATTACKED.

So it’s best if you put your three teams in danger. Paradoxically, the riskier you play, the safer you are. Speed ​​is life, and the further a character moves in a turn, the less damage they take when attacking. Before attacking, run as far as you can (with bonuses for jumping over gaps and jumping off high ledges) and they become functionally indestructible, brazenly pirouetting in the air while enemies shoot at them ineffectively. If I could make these kinds of moves in Metal Slug, I would never have to go to an arcade again with a coin worth more than 50p.

Military moshing

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The potential to be unkillable made crazy cartoon tactics – taking advantage of overzealous enemy grenadiers, missile troops, or incoming artillery attacks – not only feasible, but amazing tempting. With rapid enough movement (which can be further enhanced by ending the turn in a blue “cover” space near a stone wall or sandbags) I was joyful to let my enemies blow themselves to pieces trying to hit the invulnerable lunatic who had just jumped right into the middle of their creation .

Sometimes it’s worth just taking the hit – everyone gets revived and fully healed after each fight for free, but screwing up takes away most of the Metal Slug experience; credit feeding. You have a pool of resurrections (resources replenished in certain missions) that allow you to revive characters directly into combat, encouraging you to take risks and push your boundaries. This translates into run-and-gun pacing: destroying enemies quickly enough to complete secondary objectives (providing additional resources or even support drops like the titular, insanely overpowered Metal Slug tank) requires arranging your team in sophisticated formations to trigger “synchronizing” attacks .

The sync attacks really made me feel like a god of war with a galactic brain. As long as the character is within range to operate lighter weapons with unlimited ammo (mostly pistols and knives, but occasionally grenades), they will join any ally they see firing at no additional cost. Get it right and each of your characters will get three (or more) attacks per turn and enemies will fall like dominoes. Position your team a little wrong and you could end up blowing up your own team or being backed into a corner with no room to break out. It’s satisfying when I succeeded, but thanks to the compact missions (and runs – 15 missions or less), destroying was never too frustrating.

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Mechanically, there’s just a lot to like here. Each of the four zones has fun environmental quirks, such as mummified enemies in the desert that cast a curse when touched, turning that character undead, tardy, and VERY powerful for one turn. Bosses are incredibly agile fights of attrition, with your team avoiding ponderous splash damage while trying to outpace the screen-filling mechanical monster in terms of damage. Guest stars Ralf, Clark and Leona (best known from the King of Fighters series) show off their fighting game moves, with Ralf playing rush while Clark grabs enemies and throws them into range so Leona can synchronize her attacks.

Aesthetically, it’s pure Metal Slug and that’s an forthright compliment. SNK’s work on the OG is still unchallenged, but Tactics is making a earnest effort to recreate the look of the game from an isometric perspective. While the sprites may not be as smoothly shaded, everything is detailed, colorful and clear, and the living pixel soldiers jump and move in classic arcade style, making them pop clearly from the (impressively detailed) backgrounds. It’s almost as if they’re bouncing along to a sing-along Tee Lopes soundtrack that combines Metal Slug military march motifs with some soulful melodic breakdowns. It’s just nice to look at and listen to. And yes, the classic announcer voice is here too.

Thrilled

If only every run didn’t cause some minor error. Sometimes it’s amusing and cosmetic, like penniless Ralph respawning with no arms or a teammate forgetting whether he’s still mummified or not, and other times it’s more frustrating: a clearly open tile unavailable for no discernible reason, or only available when my team has blocked all alternate routes , which indicates a certain madness in marking paths.

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There are also some perspective issues, making it unclear which isometric tiles share common planes or lines of sight. There’s nothing game-breaking or impossible to bypass with the occasional click of the Undo Spin button (generously provided twice per mission), but these issues cropped up often enough to tedious Metal Slug Tactics’ metallic sheen. It’s just releasing it before it’s fully ready.

By the time you read this, all of these issues may be fixed, but I can only judge the game I played. So if you’re not ready for a little attack, check out the patch notes. Mistakes aside, Metal Slug Tactics was a great little surprise. Win or lose, it’s difficult to resist the siren of yet another escape by Morden’s army.