Metal Slug Tactics
Leikir Studio/Dotemu, Gamera Games
11/5/24
PC/PS/XBOX/SWITCH
Metal Slug is back, but perhaps not in the way you were expecting! This popular run and gun arcade series first debuted on the Neo Geo back in 1996. A massive hit amongst fans of the genre, Metal Slug went on to spawn 6 sequels, a handful of remakes, and countless spin-offs. Now the franchise is looking to branch out further, with Metal Slug Tactics. But does Metal Slug Tactics offer strategic brilliance? Or should it be blasted away with a ROCKET LAUNCHER? Let’s find out in our full review!
While Metal Slug Tactics is a radically different gameplay experience compared to its mainline counterparts, it still retains the charming visuals, animations, and sound design that the franchise is known for. Your favorite characters are still here too, though you’ll have to put in some work to unlock them all. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though.
Metal Slug Tactics is, naturally, a tactical strategy game set in the Metal Slug universe. While many tactical games focus on telling an epic story that progresses through a variety of levels, Metal Slug Tactics offers a roguelike structure and little in the way of narrative. Players will battle through 4 distinct regions in an effort to defeat General Morden and his army. Who's up for the task? Marco Rossi and the crew of course!
Metal Slug Tactics throws a lot at players from the onset. As you are introduced to the first battlefield, expect an onslaught of tutorials, phrases, and systems that may take a bit to absorb. The basics of the genre are ever present. Move the camera around the map to get a feel for the layout, deploy your team of 3, and strategically move about the map to take down foes. The map is presented from an isometric viewpoint and movement is grid based, with each character having distinct weapon loadouts, (some of which can be purchased) and abilities. Complete the objective for each mission and you’ll move on to the next.
While you’ll initially need to complete the first region of the game to explore the others, Metal Slug tactics eventually allows you to pick whichever region you wish and choose between a variety of missions within that region, giving the game a fairly open structure. There’s a sandy desert, a jungle, a city, and another desert region full of tombs and mummies to be explored. You’ll need to complete 3 missions in succession and defeat the boss of that region in order to complete that specific map. Your run will continue across regions until you are eventually defeated. Once you fall in battle, your run starts all over again.
While having to start again from the top can feel deflating, much like many roguelikes, you’ll gain small rewards and incentives the more you play to help you make it further on the next run. Further incentive comes from side objectives that can be optionally completed during battles. At your main hub you are able to upgrade characters and improve weaponry. This mostly involves spending the money that you’ve earned on previous runs.
Mission variety is a bit lacking, and it wasn’t long before I was feeling somewhat burnt out on the roguelike gameplay loop. Part of the problem is that each run is about an hour commitment. This means that Metal Slug Tactics is best enjoyed in short bursts. I would personally suggest one to two runs max per session to help alleviate repetition. This is a common problem I face with the roguelike genre, so your mileage may vary.
For the most part missions will either involve clearing out all of the enemies on a map, taking part in escort missions, or shooting down specific targets. While these missions were fun the first ten times or so, they aren’t challenging or engaging enough to sustain entertainment value across a potentially 30 hour long game. Thankfully there is a harder difficulty option available that will challenge players a bit further if they feel the game is too easy. Boss encounters are far more interesting when compared to the missions. I found that a great deal of creativity went into each boss, and enjoyed figuring out the best strategy to take them down. One massive robot destroyed the landscape I was standing on, another was a huge submarine that needed to be sunk. These were amongst the best and most rewarding moments in Metal Slug Tactics.
Each of your characters comes equipped with two weapons. These weapons range from handguns to machine guns and even grenades. One of your weapons has unlimited use, while the other has a set amount of ammo. Metal Slug tactics attempts to quicken the pace a bit when compared to other strategy games by making movement a key element of its gameplay. Each time you move a character you’ll gain adrenaline that can be spent to use your special attacks. Movement can also boost your defense should you take cover behind objects, meaning that laying low or sitting idle in combat usually isn’t the best option. In short, this game wants you to get up and move!
Environments can play a factor in the outcome of battles too. Players can blast explosive barrels to take out foes, and even climb up ropes to reach higher areas. Other strategies that can be implemented include standing in close proximity to one of your partners in order to execute team attacks, and even deploying a tank. Tanks are particularly fun to hop into and I wish this was something that happened more often during my time with the game. All told, Metal Slug Tactics has plenty of systems and concepts that fans of the genre will appreciate even if the tutorials aren’t presented in the best way. That said, while its systems are deep, learning every aspect of the game doesn’t always feel necessary, as the AI doesn’t often put up much of a fight. Players can also reset turns up to two times per battle and have a set number of revives at their disposal, ensuring that this will never become an overly frustrating experience.
The visuals in Metal Slug Tactics are excellent, assuming you liked the artstyle to begin with. Fans will be delighted by the colorful animations and artwork that the series is known for. Despite a change in genres, the game still very much looks and sounds like a mainline Metal Slug entry. Environments are lush and colorful, and many of the signature characters and enemies from the series return true to form. Whether its the comical art direction, over the top announcer, or the trademark rockin’ soundtrack, the developers have nailed everything that we love about how this series looks and sounds. Performance was very good too, with my PC running that game at 4K resolution and 120fps. I did however encounter a few small bugs, one of note being my character turning invisible for no apparent reason. This was thankfully remedied by restarting my turn, and I only encountered that particular bug one time.
Perhaps the greatest challenge Metal Slug Tactics faces is that it isn’t what the series is known for in terms of gameplay. While it looks and sounds like Metal Slug, it doesn’t come anywhere close to playing like the games that made the series popular in the first place. It is a spinoff through and through, one that will only satisfy fans of Metal Slug that happen to also love tactical strategy games. This narrows the pool a bit, but in the end, it is a competent strategy game in its own right held back a bit by its roguelike structure. Despite this, Metal Slug Tactics delivers solid fun that makes it worth checking out so long as you know what you’re getting into. There’s plenty of content here too, with a good number of unlockable characters should you want to put in the time.
GOOD
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