I was not expecting the Metal Slug franchise to transition to the strategy game genre as well as it did.
SNK’s classic action-platformer arcade series is a high-energy, bombastic shoot ’em up perfect for quick hits of destructive gaming goodness. Strategy games are inherently much slower-paced than Metal Slug typically was, so I wasn’t sure if Leikir Studio and Dotemu could effectively make the genre jump with this franchise. I’m happy to be proven wrong.
Metal Slug Tactics is an excellent example of the connective tissue between action and strategy games. This is a strategy game that encourages players to be on the move and constantly attacking, and its roguelite structure harks back to the series’ arcade roots. Metal Slug fans need not worry about this revival misunderstanding the series’ appeal.
From action to strategy
There’s little to write home about with Metal Slug Tactics narrative, as it’s just about characters from previous Metal Slug and Ikari Warriors games once again taking on General Morden’s forces. This was never a story-focused franchise, so that’s not a big deal. The look and feel of Metal Slug Tactics kept me around run after run. Metal Slug Tactics expertly replicates the aesthetics of SNK’s arcade classics with gorgeous pixel art and faithful sound design.
The developers had to get more creative to stay true to Metal Slug on the gameplay front. Metal Slug Tactics is a roguelike where players fight through four regions. Players complete three missions within each region before facing off against a powerful boss. This structure lends itself to bite-sized play, like the arcade classics. While most strategy games require hours of dedicaton to a play session, I have no problem booting up Metal Slug Tactics to get a quick level or run in when I have some spare time.
Once you’re actually on a mission, Metal Slug Tactics still stays faithful. Each unit goes into a run with a unique loadout of two weapons and special skills. Outside of your units’ health, adrenaline is the most important stat to keep track of. Adrenaline for each unit is generated as they move around Metal Slug Tactics’ grid-based battlefields. Move as far as you can with a unit; you might build up enough adrenaline to use a powerful skill. Stay where you are and you won’t get that benefit, but you may have a clear shot at an enemy.
Keep moving
The adrenaline system makes Metal Slug Tactics the rare strategy game where the best option is to run and gun. I was missing out on a powerful resource if I wasn’t moving units each turn. The key to success in Metal Slug Tactics is to keep moving and attacking while maximizing the effect of synchronous attacks, cover, and other passive bonuses for each unit. Then, each mission puts a twist on this with its specific objectives, which can range from killing every enemy to destroying a convoy to keeping at least one unit alive for five turns.
Bosses also mix things up with unique, devastating attack patterns. It’s not on the level of something like Into the Breach, but each level essentially becomes a puzzle to solve. I had to learn how to use and where to move my units most effectively each turn so I could maximize their offensive potential and minimize damage. I was dodging and weaving between enemies with my units much more boldly than I ever would in a strategy game like Fire Emblem Engage or XCOM 2.
All of that makes Metal Slug Tactics a refreshing strategy game, and it’s also what keeps it in line with the series’ design philosophies. Metal Slug is a series where the best thing players can typically do is run and gun without taking critical, game-ending damage. While that’s simpler to do in a platformer, Metal Slug Tactics’ finds a way to apply that feeling to a strategy game and stands out triumphantly.
Pepper in the mid-run and between-run upgrades and other systems befitting of a roguelike, and Metal Slug Tactics is also immensely replayable. When I first heard about SNK making a new Metal Slug game, something like Metal Slug Tactics wasn’t what I had in mind; thankfully, I’m now grateful that this was made.
Metal Slug Tactics is available now for PC, PlayStation S4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. It’s also part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate catalog.