Capes review

Superheroes don’t just exist within the confines of a Marvel comic. While the likes of Spider-Man and the X-Men are more synonymous with the masses, there have been plenty of films, tv shows, books, and games that have tackled the genre, with the likes of The Boys, Heroes, and Invincible being some of the best out there. Spitfire Interactive has attempted to create its own band of heroes in Capes, in a turn-based video game nonetheless, and you know what, it’s pretty darn good.

The story isn’t particularly ground-breaking. Superheroes are now considered outlaws in the totalitarian King City that is watched over by The Company. If you have powers, you’re on their most wanted list, and this has caused a rogue band of heroes to help those being hunted by the shady organisation. While the story doesn’t do anything you haven’t seen before, it’s the interactions between the heroes that makes Capes more enjoyable, with plenty of heroes all offering something interesting, bringing both diversity and a nice range of abilities to the table.

I’m a bit of a sucker for turn-based strategy games, and having superheroes be restricted by a set number of moves and actions was something I was unsure about. By nature, they are over-powered and far superior to your average human, so how was it going to work? Obviously, we saw Firaxis do a sterling job with Marvel’s Midnight Suns, but they have plenty of experience in the genre. Capes is Spitfire’s debut title, and despite that, it works better than you might have expected, with some tense moments created by the decisions you do or do not make.

While playing through the main campaign, you’ll meet and unlock new heroes which creates a pool of talent you can draw from before each new mission. Each hero has benefits to the whole party and depending on how you like to play, be it a balanced offensive with adequate support or just a full-frontal blitz attack, there are heroes for everyone. You start off getting to know the brute protector Facet who has the ability to draw attacks away from the enemy and crystalise a thick skin so it makes him harder to damage, and Rebound is able to teleport into areas and inflict damage then retreat.

Once you’re familiar with how the basics work, new heroes like Mindfire, Speedster, and Weathervane are added to the mix, each with their own incredible attacks and defence methods that always need to be carefully planned out. You all get movement points to move around the grid-based battle arenas, as well as two action points to start with. Along with basic attacks, you can disarm enemies, buff allies with extra damage on their hits, block enemy attacks, inflict debuffs on enemies like vulnerability, and more. There are plenty of options to choose from when you mix up your approach.

There are two things Capes does that I really enjoyed, and one in particular can change the flow of a fight in a heartbeat. Each hero has an Ultimate, and they are powered up by completing different actions in combat. Rebound builds her Ultimate gauge by hitting an enemy from behind while Facet does so whenever he gets hit. Ultimates can inflict a ton of damage to multiple enemies at a time and can be great for clearing the threat from a big fight, especially as more enemies keep on coming in waves and make victory an ever-increasing challenge.

These ultimates don’t cost an action point either, so they really are a vital aspect of your offence. Another cool ability each fighter has is a linked combo where they can harness one of your party’s attacks or abilities for themselves. They make for some interesting outcomes and while not as fulfilling as the Ultimate moves, they give you more variety when making your decisions. Capes can be difficult, even when you’re only a handful of missions in, and it becomes apparent that simply attacking the enemy isn’t always the way to go. Sometimes you need to play defensive and take care of your party with buffs before you start to throw punches.

By completing missions and side objectives, you earn XP which can be used to upgrade your heroes and unlock new abilities. Simple tasks like using Ultimates in battle or not having a hero get KO’d will give you XP, but there are side missions that also grant you XP to help improve your own personal superhero squad. On the surface, Capes doesn’t do a lot different to many turn-based titles, but the way you synergise between your party and make use of each hero in a fight makes it a lot of fun, even if some of the voice acting and visuals don’t quite hit.

Capes isn’t a bad looking game at all, but some of the animations are a bit wooden. The various locations are serviceable to the story, and the cutscenes work well, but it could maybe do with a bit more polish as it can be a touch clunky sometimes. The visual novel-style cutscenes are pretty good, but some of the voice acting is a bit over-the-top and cheesy. It goes from feeling like it’s aimed at a younger audience to you wandering into a facility where there are bodies strewn across the floor covered in blood. Maybe I’m being to picky because I love a good superhero story, but it feels like it’s not sure who it’s aimed at.

Despite my nit-picking, Capes is an enjoyable turn-based strategy title that makes some of the battles you have incredibly tense. You always have plenty of options when it comes to attacking your enemy and protecting your party, and there are some interesting variables that pop up from time to time that keep things fresh for the duration of the story. I love how Spitfire has managed to take its characters and make them feel different to the wealth already existing in the entertainment medium, and I would love to see more from this developer over the years because Capes often hits all the right spots.