Metal Slug Tactics Review

SNK's Metal Slug series is well-known among arcade fans. It was a prolific series of horizontal run-and-gun shooters during the golden age of arcade shooters, and I have always considered the series to be among my favorites of all time.

However, the franchise didn't see much of its glory days after the release of Metal Slug XX by SNK. There were several spin-offs, but the popularity eventually dried down. In the end, the series landed on mobile decides, which were never my cup of tea. So when Metal Slug Tactics was announced, I was excited to see how the series would change for the better.

Metal Slug games were famous for their simplistic, spontaneous gameplay, pixel graphics, and humorous action. With the release of a stylized city-builder, Synergy, earlier this year, developer Leikir Studio came into the scene while they tried to bring a fresh take to the Metal Slug series with Metal Slug Tactics aiming to pay homage to the aesthetics of its renowned forerunners. For fans of the series, the game brings back fond memories, but for newcomers, it offers a fresh roguelite experience.

Metal Slug Tactics' mechanics are inspired by the primary Metal Slug titles, but they've been modified to meet the new gameplay style, which is perfect for the game's turn-based environment. Instead of the popular side-scrolling action shooter style, the game adopts an isometric perspective and uses turn-based combat. While simultaneously appealing to a whole new audience, it gives fans an entirely fresh approach to getting acquainted with the series.

The roguelite progression mechanism adds a lot of replay value to Metal Slug Tactics. Over a hundred handcrafted maps, twenty distinct mission types, 36 unique weapons, 100 unique weapon mods, and nine iconic Metal Slug series characters await you in this game. You can customize your playstyle by mixing and matching loadouts and tactics as you unlock new weapons, maps, and characters.

Speaking of characters, you get the entire squad of Metal Slug, starting from Marco Rossi, Tarma Roving, Eri Kasamoto, Fiolina Germi, Ralf Jones, Clark Still, and Leona to NPCs characters like Rumi Aikawa, Margaret and MS-Alice. Two more squad members will be added in the coming days as well.

Metal Slug Tactics sees the return of the infamous Rebel Army general Donald Morden, who had been hiding for years. He begins the first step in exacting vengeance on the world with the help of his hidden army that he has quietly assembled over the years. In order to prevent the conflict from becoming an unstoppable disaster, the Peregrine Falcon Squad is once again ordered to do all it takes to defeat General Morden.

For those who are familiar with Into the Breach, Metal Slug Tactics will feel very familiar. The gameplay is very strategic and centered around positioning, while individual runs are kept short in order to encourage replayability. The aim is to maximize the use of your turns while controlling a strong, tanky, and agile character. The game promotes an aggressive playstyle while still requiring careful consideration of movement and action choices; for example, moving your characters can make them tankier by building Dodge for the entire round, while cover objects can absorb damage even more.

The Metal Slug series has its rich history and story, but nothing has ever compared to the intensity of Metal Slug Tactics. The game's dialogue and other modern narrative techniques have naturally explored the game. Rather, the games use identical graphics and settings to convey the story's actual events. Although there are some dialogs in the game, the narrative is largely there to drive the action.

Like its counterparts in the turn-based roguelite genre, Metal Slug Tactics follows the rules of the genre. Each of the game's four zones has a map full of objectives for you to complete. Additionally, at the end of each area, you'll face a tough enemy that requires a unique approach. You get to choose from a variety of skills and powers as your team levels up, thanks to the experience you earn from completing missions.

There are weapon mods that enhance your character's weapon or grant them extra benefits, which are the most prominent items that missions offer, but there are many others. When we talk about weapons, there are two kinds that characters always have on hand: a main weapon and a secondary weapon. Sidearm pistols, which typically have an endless supply of ammunition, are the principal weapons, and they are best utilized against foes with little health or who are weaker in general.

The secondary weapon's ammunition is limited and can be depleted during the run, but it typically deals greater damage. But if you complete some of the missions, you'll get much more. Additionally, as you progress through the game and earn achievements, you'll be able to unlock up to four more weapon loadouts for each character.

The level design incorporates entirely new set pieces while keeping most of the major aspects, such as the characters, vehicles, and bosses, according to their original designs. The pixel art has also been enhanced to be crisper, giving the game a much cleaner look compared to previous Meta Slug titles.

Not to be overlooked are the animations in Metal Slug Tactics, which do a fantastic job of bringing the originals to life. The game's art style and images have brought back the nostalgic and timeless feelings I had playing the Metal Slug series, even in this world when the race for the most realistic graphics fidelity is at its zenith.

Metal Slug Tactics could be the game that finally fixes the long-standing definitional and practical problems that have plagued action-turn-based games. The legendary arcade action game Metal Slug Tactics lives up to its promise of thrilling turn-based strategy. Metal Slug Tactics features the traditional tactical turn-based combat that fans of the genre are familiar with, but it also adds a plethora of new mechanics, some of which are reminiscent of the original Metal Slug games, and many exciting new ways to handle various situations.

Unlike many tactical turn-based techniques, where a steady hand is typically the key to victory, Metal Slug Tactics grants us access to movement. Quickly destroying objectives while wreaking havoc and mayhem on the battlefield is the key to success in this game. I discovered in the process that narrowing down, as is my typical strategy in most turn-based games, leads to a team's total defeat.

On the other hand, Metal Slug Tactics practically rewards players for making mistakes. In addition to being a roguelite, which means you'll learn from your mistakes anyway, the game is incredibly forgiving because you can erase actions and try again after a turn or two. Additionally, the game's coin credits system allows you to use credits earned during the run to resurrect team members. Although it's referred to as Calling for Backup, the coin slot mechanism found on the arcades has become practically synonymous with the series.

Additionally, the mission challenges presented by each setting are varied. It forces you to adjust your strategy during each mission based on your squad members, their equipment, and the benefits they've accrued during your run. In just one run, I managed to get Marco to charge headfirst behind enemy lines, where he promptly eliminated vital targets. On an alternate run, he found himself serving as a support, enabling Eri to unleash devastating damage on the enemies. The variety of missions also made me think on my feet and come up with new approaches, and there are still so many more elements and ways to find.

Regardless of the outcome of a run, you will return to your base of operations and have the opportunity to spend credits—which are earned through missions and exist independently from in-game currency—to acquire new passive abilities and loadouts for your soldiers. There are four different options available to each character, and these determine their starting passives and the weapons they will use during the run. You can obtain more passives at various points throughout your run; they go into a pool.

Along with that, there are additional mechanics, such as the game's sync system, which allows you to combine attacks with your teammates. On certain missions, your squad members can even get on vehicles to increase their firepower. Depending on the objective of the game, Metal Slug Tactics employs a plethora of concepts and mechanics, and I'm still finding new stuff as I play.

As befits a roguelite, players will often lose and have to start over, but with each playthrough, they get experience, weapons, and characters to experiment with. Metal Slug Tactics keeps most of its difficulty throughout your playing, unlike many other turn-based roguelites, where it gets much easier as you continue. In addition to that, you can confront progressively more difficult runs by selecting one of three difficulty levels.

Although Unlocked grants access to stronger weapons and modifications, your success or failure in completing the run depends on your strategies and, to a lesser extent, random chance. The gameplay and replay value of Metal Slug Tactics are very remarkable. Despite being in a completely different genre, it manages to capture the spirit of the Metal Slug series.

Even though Metal Slug Tactics appears to be a nostalgia-driven game at first glance, it is actually a fully-fledged turn-based tactical roguelite at heart. The game's rules and mechanics never seem forced, even though it takes advantage of some aspects of the Metal Slug series.

In addition to providing fans of the genre with a true turn-based tactical experience, Metal Slug Tactics flawlessly preserves the essence of the franchise thanks to its excellent replication of assets from the original Metal Slug games. Plus, the game's roguelite status means you can play it again and again, giving you extra value for your money.

The incredibly detailed graphics and animations are a beloved part of the Metal Slug series. Metal Slug Tactics takes these ideas and applies them in a whole new way, making brand-new visuals and materials that are evocative of the mainline series while updating the graphics to give a crisper portrayal of a whole new genre. It's incredible how nicely the old Metal Slug aesthetic works with the new isometric perspective.

However, Meta Slug Tactics suffers a bit from difficulty balancing. There are moments when the level of difficulty is just too great. Whenever you're on high ground and can't reach a mummy below you or vice versa, or when you're chasing down a target and mummies kill your units in one round while spawning close to them at the beginning, your whole run ends at that moment.

On the other hand, the abundance of revives makes the game even less challenging. If there isn't any scaling according to the number of areas you've completed, then completing all of them makes the run extremely easy, while completing as little as possible makes it easy and ball agony on harder difficulties.

Unlike the original Metal Slug game, Metal Slug Tactics also appears to be lacking in content and variety, which is a major problem. Once you've completed a few missions, it could seem like you've seen it all. Although there is a good deal of variety in playable characters and loadouts, the variety of enemies and missions is quite low. The game isn't for you if you want a complex and fascinating turn-based RPG tale.

Nevertheless, for those who want non-stop, extravagant turn-based combat, the roguelite version of Metal Slug Tactics offers dozens of hours of replay value while still allowing you to brag about your limitless strategic prowess. The game, if not flawless, takes on the series' iconic visuals and introduces new turn-based tactics mechanics. The visual, sound, and animation designs are incredibly reminiscent of the original SNK Metal Slug games, and the game has very high replayability value due to the variety of ways you can use it in different missions.