Metal Slug Tactics Review

The Metal Slug series is always a title I look out for in the arcade. I love these high-action run-and-gun style titles, so I was a bit concerned when I saw that it was going to be a turn-based tactical game. Earlier in the year I checked out the demo, and it was surprisingly good, even with the limited amount of the game that was available to play. Has developer Leikir Studios made Metal Slug Tactics a title that you will need to pick up? 

When I played the demo, it was on the PC, so I was using the keyboard and mouse for my control scheme. Being able to click on exactly where I wanted my character to move along with the attack and the target was great! So, swapping to using a PlayStation controller seemed a bit daunting. I do have to say at first it seemed very complicated, but after playing through the tutorial and a couple of missions, it was a lot easier to use. It even lets you move a character and undo the move if it doesn’t let you attack the foes you want or take full advantage of their sync abilities. Sometimes it’s a bit tricky to figure out the best spot to move to so it was nice to be able to see how everything would line out once I moved.

If you have played any games in the Metal Slug series before, you will be familiar with General Donald Morden. Through a radio transmission from Margaret at HQ we learn that he has escaped and is busy getting all his old friends in the Rebel Army back together again to take over the area. The first enemy base is located in Sirocco City, with fighters in the Argun Palm Desert, the Herkanet Tombs, and the Soursop Jungle. Once the areas are liberated, the enemy will abandon their position and attack you with their huge war machines. It is up to you and your team called The Peregrine Falcons, to stop the rebels from taking over. 

The team of fighters is made up of the characters you know from the original Metal Slug series: Marco Rossi, Eri Kasamoto, and Fio Germi. At the start there are only three characters unlocked, but there are six others that will be available as you progress through the game. You will take a team of three fighters into battle, so once more options are available you will have to figure out which ones will work the best on your team. Each member has unique weapons and special attacks that you will use in the field against the enemy. I love seeing that each member isn’t just a reskinned version of the same base fighter! 

Before you start the battle, you will select your difficulty between Recruit, which is the default and gives you basic rewards, or Officer Cadet which features more challenging waves of basic enemies mixed with more advanced ones and you will receive better credit rewards. This harder difficulty is unlocked after you successfully complete a run on the Recruit setting. You will alternate turns with the enemy, trying to accomplish your goal and attack each other. There is no time limit, so you can take as much time as you need to plan your strategy. The game also gives you the ability to fast-forward over the enemy’s turn if you are impatient and don't want to wait!

You are shown a map with all the different locations that you can challenge in the area. Each of these stops offer different rewards like gold, ammunition, XP, and reinforcement calls if you successfully complete your mission objectives. This makes it easy to figure out which route you want to take based on the rewards that you think will be most useful to you on your run. Though don’t underestimate how useful the additional reinforcements can be during your mission, they can be used to heal all the members of your team, or if someone is KO’d you can exchange one to bring them back to life.

To get these rewards, you will need to complete Primary Objectives like killing all designated targets, and also Secondary Objectives like winning in three turns. Besides just getting the reward listed for that objective, when victorious, you can select from three mods to give to your characters like getting more ammo or pinpoint. You can have three equipped for each character. Or if they level up and get a promotion, they can choose one new ability to learn, each character can learn up to a maximum of three. When Eri got promoted, I got to select an ability from: Team Leader: whenever she participates in a synchronisation, she gets two adrenaline; Slicing Rush, charges a tile and deals five damage, Explosive Jump where you deal four damage to adjacent tiles.

Metal Slug Tactics has a crisp and vibrant pixel aesthetic, all the characters are animated so they are always moving and never standing perfectly still. You will find that a lot of the enemies are duplicates of each other, but each area you visit has a different selection, like the mummy’s when you visit the desert location. It didn’t really matter to me as I was more focused on taking them out before they attacked my team. I love that some of the prisoners that you rescue look exactly the same as the arcade titles. That long blonde hair hasn’t changed! The music in the game is great, and different for each area that you visit. 

I really enjoyed Metal Slug Tactics when I played the demo, but I am having a fantastic time with the full game. It is challenging when you are playing, particularly in the boss fights where you need to be incredibly strategic and careful with every move you make. Every time you take down one of the rebels you get a real sense of accomplishment, even though there are 10 other enemies who are ready to take you down; as soon as the enemy turn comes around again. Now with the ability to unlock new characters, upgrade your team members, and new areas to visit, I am in love with this game. It is so addictive, and I can’t believe how good this run-and-gun title works as a tactical RPG. Props to Leikir Studios and their great work on Metal Slug Tactics, this game is fun for everyone, even those who don’t normally play this type of game, like myself.