ApexReaper Reviews

Cover artwork for the video game "Metal Slug Tactics" showing soldiers in a warzone. The title "Metal Slug Tactics" is prominently displayed. Characters are shown on and near a tank, including a male character with blonde hair and a large gun, a woman running with a pistol, and two characters on top of the tank: a man pointing upwards and a woman with red hair. The background features cityscapes and battle scenes with additional tanks and soldiers.

Metal Slug Tactics: A Tactical Run-and-Gun Journey

Metal Slug Tactics is a fresh take on the tactic’s genre with is run and gun mechanics. Come read as I take a look at what this game has to offer and answer the question. Should You Play?

ApexReaper

Latest Reviews

Metal Slug Tactics is a tactical strategy game set in the Metal Slug universe. Let’s take a look at what this game has to offer and find out if it’s worth playing.

Released on: November 5, 2024
Developed by: Leikir Studio
Published by: Dotemu
Avalible on:
Nintendo
PlayStation
Steam
Xbox

Let’s take a look at the game

Metal Slug Tactics is a nice blend of tactics gameplay with rougelike gameplay. You take 3 characters into battle your goal is to take down the big bad. You will have to clear reigns with each region have multiple battles for you to complete. You can only do 3 battles. Then the boss shows up, and you are forced to fight it. This will have you planning out your route to get the rewards you want.

Each battle will have a main mission and a side mission. Each will have a reward this can be a reload for your special guns. It can be bonus EXP to help you level. You can also get gun upgrades or upgrades to what you already have making it stronger. These missions can range from just take out all enemies to take out the marked enemy. Even make it to the exit or escort a person to the exit. The side missions generally have you use a character to get so many kills or take no damage. The side mission will make you have to think about how you’re going to play the battle.

The rougelike part of this game is the upgrades don’t last past the run. Also, the rewards will be randomized so you never know what type of build your going to end up with.

As for the battles this game adds an interesting twist to the tactics gameplay. This game wants you to play it like it’s the arcade game with a run and gun mind set. The more you move in a turn the move dodge you get allowing you to take less or no damage. You also gain adrenaline the same way by moving a lot. Adrenaline is what you use to activate your skill or specials. Each character has a primary weapon with unlimited ammo this can be a gun or knife even a grenade. You will also have a secondary weapon with limited ammo. These weapons are stronger, and you will need to play a mission with a reload reward to get more ammo. These guns can be a grenade launcher to an assault rifle even a flamethrower.

A really fun mechanic this game has is the synchronization. Synchronization allows the other character to attack the enemy you are attacking if their primary weapon is within range. If you plan your turn well, you can have your whole team attacking each target. Some enemies have a special trait. That makes it so you only can do one of these synchronization attacks a turn against them. You can also trigger synchronization using a special weapon to deal even more damage.

If you’re lucky there will be a vehicle for you to pilot. The vehicles are awesome they work different than your standard characters. The vehicles has gas if you run out of gas the vehicle will no longer work. You also have armor. It is like the health of the vehicle. Be careful if there is someone in the vehicle. When the armor reaches zero, the character will die. The coolest part of the vehicles is you can use all the weapons once per turn.

You can also get resupply assets. These are one time use items. They can range from airstrikes to summon a Mech for you to pilot. You can get these from a mission reward. You also get revives to use in battle and can get more from mission rewards.

There are 9 characters in the game you start with 3. You unlock the character by completing runs with characters or completing a run while completing so many regions. Each character has their default loadout making them play different. You can buy different load outs for the characters. Some of the loadouts are locked until you complete a run with the character. You can also buy new skills to be added to the randomized in your runs.

A scene from a tactical RPG game. The isometric view shows a swampy area with characters positioned on small land plots. A character in robotic armor is central, with other characters scattered around, some hiding in bushes. The UI displays turn order and mission objectives: "Kill all designated targets (5/5 left)" and "Contribute to 5 frags with Fio (5/5 left)". "Reinforcements Incoming" banner is visible.
Screenshot from a pixel art strategy game set in a desert environment. The screen shows a battlefield with various soldiers, destructible fortifications, and a tank. The UI displays character stats, available actions, turn order, and objectives: "Kill all designated targets (2/4 left)" and "Contribute to 5 frags with Marco (2/5 left)." The overall tone suggests a tactical and engaging gameplay experience.
Title art for "Aeshi Nero" features a massive, weathered, robot-like figure dominating a desert landscape. The colossal figure is rendered in a pixel art style with a hand-drawn feel. The robot has a large, blocky head with a menacing grin created by orange light emanating from the center of its face. In the foreground is an isometric view of a desert with sandy terrain and a few scattered skulls. The title "AESHI NERO" is presented in bold, orange lettering.
A screenshot from a video game showing the promotion selection screen for the character Fio. Fio is promoted to rank 1 and the player is choosing an ability: Lock On, Eagle, or Acupuncture Boost. Lock On is selected, and the information panel shows the skill does 4 damage and applies fragile, which allows the enemy unit to receive +2 damage from subsequent attacks.
Isometric pixel art game map focusing on a desert island connected by paths. icons for resources (money, ammo, XP) are scattered across the map. Three character portraits (Marco, Fio, Eri) are visible at the bottom with 0/15 EXP displayed. The Legend guide is situated on the right, along with a UI message to "Enemy Response in 3 missions!". Pale sky and distant sand-colored mountains form a washed-out background.
Isometric view of a grid-based strategy game rendered in pixel art. Sandy terrain with a central market stall and scattered cover elements. Three active player characters facing two enemy characters. UI includes turn counters at the top right and character portraits with stats at the bottom left, partially obscured by the hand-drawn character on the screen's left edge. Resolution is typical of retro-style games.

Should You Play?

Yea I do think this game is worth playing. It is a lot more challenging than I thought it would be. With all the replay value this game offers makes it worth the price.

The fresh take on the tactics style gameplay makes this game a unique experience. With the rougelike elements in this game making each run different keeps the game feeling fresh.

Thank you so much for reading this post if you would like to read more click here. If you want to be notified when I publish a new post, sign up for the newsletter. You can do this by entering your email down below.

You can also check out my YouTube channel where I upload my gameplay videos.

ApexReaper's avatar

See You Next Time.

ApexReaper

Newsletter

Enter email to be notified when I publish a new post.