The Metal Slug games are a series of mid-to-late 90s-era run-and-gun action platformers that make arcades worth visiting. They stood out thanks to wildly detailed and cartoony pixel art and boisterous sound effects exploding from the cabinet. At its core, Metal Slug is a basic action game. In most ways, it is less complex than any Contra entry but was elevated due to its incredible presentation that most modern games still can’t top.
Once in a while, fans might see Metal Slug spin off into other genres. Several touch-based mobile games and a GameBoy Advance title dialed back on the arcade sensibilities. One time Metal Slug had a 3D third-person shooter on PlayStation 2 that never left Japan. It seems like Metal Slug’s cartoony military sensibilities could be applied to all kinds of genres, but what about strategy? Can Metal Slug work as a tactical game? Find out in our Metal Slug Tactics review!
Metal Slug Tactics
Developer: Leikir Studio
Publisher: DotEmu, Gamera Games, SNK
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (reviewed)
Release Date: November 5, 2024
Price: $24.99
Metal Slug Tactics had a unique opportunity to do something with the Metal Slug world and it does nothing. Anyone hoping for this to be an epic strategy RPG with characters to care about going through an epic arc will be sorely disappointed.
While it is true that the Metal Slug games don’t have much of a story, to begin with and amount to something best described as GI Joe meets Looney Tunes, Tactics was the chance to make something interesting.
This was the chance for Metal Slug to go full-on Final Fantasy Tactics meets Advance Wars with its story and characters. What you get is a paragraph at the start and some generic dialogue with static art between missions. There is no plot apart from “Go defeat Morden” and then thwarting some aliens.
The lack of story makes it impossible to latch onto anything in Metal Slug Tactics in a meaningful emotional capacity. This ties directly into the gameplay too. Without any substantial context for the events on screen, how can anyone care about anything in the game? Sure, Tarma has a cool design with a wild streak about him, but that’s all he is.
Metal Slug Tactics doesn’t have to be some kind of war drama that tugs at your heartstrings or comes with political commentary, but having something at all would have been preferred.
There should have been a plot that was like Team America: World Police meets XCOM. Playing up the humor, satire, and violence in a story would have made Metal Slug Tactics unique among strategy RPGs since most take themselves seriously.
Metal Slug Tactics is mostly just a string of battles with randomized elements thrown in. This in itself is a novel idea that keeps the gameplay spicy, keeping gamers on their toes. The problem is the rogue mechanics that reset every character back to basics after a run. Completing a run can take about 45 min to an hour and then all the progress made in building up a character is gone.
There is no growth apart from unlocking more characters. More abilities appear when party members level up, but don’t get attached because everything is temporary in Metal Slug Tactics. This profound feeling of detachment compounds with the lack of emotional investment, making it hard to care about anything in the game.
After battles, players can choose abilities or passive skills or exchange them for more coins. Thankfully, coins are never lost when the party dies and can be spent on restoring ammo for special weapons, upgrading abilities, or purchasing weapon mods… Not that it matters much because it’s all lost if the party dies or when a run is completed.
After the initial wave of disappointment washes over you, Metal Slug Tactics is a decent tactical game. Arranging units on a tile-based map is easy to navigate and the UI is clean and readable. Each character has a basic sidearm with infinite ammo and a special weapon with limited ammo. The abilities are creative and push players to think outside the box when commanding their platoon.
The abilities and signature Metal Slug weapons and tanks are all well and good, but where Metal Slug Tactics‘ strategic gameplay shines is with its endurance and synchronization mechanics. Players can only have a party of three units, but Morden’s army or the aliens will always outnumber them. If a player attacks a foe while it’s in a friendly unit’s range, both characters will attack the foe.
Strategic gameplay revolves around setting up the platoon to maximize damage by syncing them and causing a chain reaction. Compounded with the adrenaline system that pushed players to move units are far as possible to earn points to use abilities, the battles become thought-provoking and tense.
The boss battles are a highlight and heat things up since they usually have devastating attacks and basic enemies respawn infinitely. These battles always feel like the bosses have a dangling sword of Damocles that’s on the verge of crashing down due to the intense pressure and stakes.
Scrambling and making use of every piece of cover while HP dwindles and the floor beneath your feet explodes makes Metal Slug Tactics one of the most exciting tactical games around. It’s fast-paced and animations can be sped up. It’s too bad it’s trapped in what feels like a mobile game.
The pixel art and animation are on par with the Metal Slug games of the past. The big isometric environments are made with prefabricated elements that fit together seamlessly. Characters are lively and bursting with personality. Everyone has a distinct silhouette and is instantly readable.
The only disappointment with the graphics is the mixing of HD hand-drawn assets that clash with the chunky pixelated aesthetics. The HD art, while technically well-drawn, does not fit with the Metal Slug style.
The character designs and art of Metal Slug is typically very exaggerated and goofy. The portraits in Metal Slug Tactics are generic anime-style which goes against the silliness of what the franchise has been since the mid-90s.
Metal Slug Tactics is a frustrating game because of its unrealized potential. The core mechanics are sound and there was a lot of thought put into the abilities, enemy types, and skills. Even the visuals look great apart from the miscalculation with the HD portrait art.
Regretfully, the lack of an emotional connection to anything and the roguelike and mobile game-inspired gameplay undermines Metal Slug Tactics‘ strongest features.
Metal Slug Tactics was reviewed on a PlayStation 5 using a code provided by DotEmu. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Metal Slug Tactics is now available for PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
