Metal Slug Tactics review

When a game takes years longer than you expect to release, there’s always an element of fear there when it finally does. Phrases like development hell getting tossed around don’t help with this, and I’m sure we can all think of a game that disappointed us after a hefty wait. Now of course there are plenty of games that make us all wait for years then delight us entirely, proving the old quote “A delayed game is eventually good, a rushed game is bad forever” to be true. Which side of the fence does Metal Slug Tactics fall on, though? That’s the question we all want answered.

The story of Metal Slug Tactics is simple, as it is in every Metal Slug game. There’s a global terrorist threat looming, and only the elite heroes you’ll remember from the Metal Slug games are equipped to take down the soldiers, tanks, and zombies that make up the enemy forces. You do get a little more information of how these villains are affecting each new area you enter when you chat to the commander, but for the most part you’re too busy in tactics style battles to think too hard about the plot.

The tactics combat will feel familiar to fans of the genre, with each of your elite soldiers equipped with a couple of weapon types and the ability to move a set distance on their turn. You can line your characters up to perform follow up attacks when positioned to attack the same enemy though, which always feels amazing and is a necessity in later missions. Figuring out the best way to use Eri and her grenades and Marco and his machine gun will ensure you frag those damn terrorists, but with limited ammo and the fact you’re seriously outnumbered it won’t be easy.

When the enemies’ turn rolls around they’ll rush in and blast at you with all sorts of weapons, and if you haven’t prepared for this you’ll likely fall at the first bullet-y hurdle. To honour the run and gun roots of the series, you can ensure you take less damage by moving as far as you can on your turn. Moving the maximum range will reduce the damage you take from each attack by a few points, and if you can combine this with hiding behind some cover you’ll likely take no damage at all. It’s an interesting system that definitely takes some getting used to, but is worth mastering if you want to succeed.

As well as negating a bit of damage, moving also grants you some adrenaline which can be spent on special abilities. Each character has a different selection of these to use, ranging from handy offensive options like bouncing grenades or ricocheting bullets to the ability to move friends or foes a few spaces for strategic purposes. Initially I thought using these was usually less useful than just attacking for a turn, but as you learn more and upgrade them by levelling up they become invaluable.

There are loads of ways to get stronger in a run of Metal Slug Tactics, from levelling up to learn new skills to gaining mods for your guns. It’s not always easy to work out which option of three mods or upgrades will work best for your trio of heroes, and with a whole lot of mechanics that aren’t explained particularly well it takes a lot of trial and error to secure liberty for the good guys.

I haven’t really mentioned much about the Roguelike structure of Metal Slug Tactics so far, but rest assured it’s there in full force. After choosing your three heroes from a variety of characters from the SNK classics (at least once you unlock them) you’ll be shown a map full of missions to choose from. Each area of the game requires you to complete three missions before a boss shows up to deal with you, and then it’s off to the next one. There’s a whole system where you can rush to the final boss area instead of taking out his underlings too, but that’s not for the faint of heart. There’s no permadeath to worry about with each character at least, and instead you only lose a run if everyone dies in a mission or you fail an objective.

In each battle of Metal Slug Tactics you’ll take three heroes into the fray, and are given an objective and sub objective to complete. Often the main objective this involves killing a certain selection of enemies (or perhaps all the enemies on the stage) but sometimes you’ll have to do something a bit more novel like defending innocent characters or beating up a boss. The secondary objectives are rather varied too, and reward you with extra loot or XP for completing them when possible.

It’s worth mentioning quite what a love letter to the classic arcade series Metal Slug Tactics is. In part this is due to the wonderful visuals that are both nostalgic and gorgeous, but also the audio has some familiar sounds that long term fans will appreciate (“Mission Start” in particular gave me slight goose bumps). Even all the secret characters are familiar faces we know and love, and it’s great to see them back after so long.

There’s a load of depth and content to dive into in Metal Slug Tactics, but that’s also the biggest problem with the game. Even with a short tutorial the game explains so few of the mechanics and gives you barely any hands-on experience with them, and it makes the first few hours of play a slog. I spent so long trying to get to grips with all the random keywords that buffed my characters, and even after dozens of hours and just as many runs I’d have no idea what was happening when certain effects activated. The combination of overly complex mechanics and a distinct lack of help from the game is really disappointing and will cause some to fall off fast.

Metal Slug Tactics is a wonderful tactics game full of nostalgia, and as long as you don’t mind having to climb a particularly steep learning curve you’ll have a great time with it. With interesting and unique mechanics and a whole lot of content, if grid based warfare is your thing then you’ll find a lot to love here.