a fine enough game. it does use the "idea" of metal slug (balls to the walls all the time) in a tactics format somewhat decently well. however with that said it goes against the "usuals" of the tactics format, meaning playing defensively. if you play defensively in this game, you die. a lot! a whole lot of dying.

the biggest oddity of the offense-focused gameplay is that you kind of need to move your units *then* attack, as opposed to the tradtional tactics gameplay of playing very defensively long term. this game needs you to move your units for combos, as aggressively as possible, then get the combo offs, and reap the rewards which are usually significant damage mitigation and adrenaline for special moves.

it's a little weird and somewhat demanding, i don't think i'll ever go for the true ending, but i think it's at least interesting, even if most people will bemoan not getting a new, actual metal slug title, especially considering the debacles of the IPs after they stopped making traditional metal slug games. for a lot of fans, the art style (even if good) in this game will probably not please them as it kind of goes against the intentional design of the older games.

price is a bit of a sticking point, you can tell effort went into this, but at that price point especially in the vast market of roguelikes where you have a lot of competition, i can imagine it will turn a lot of people off. still think it could be worth it for people on sale, at the very least

a fine enough game. it does use the "idea" of metal slug (balls to the walls all the time) in a tactics format somewhat decently well. however with that said it goes against the "usuals" of the tactics format, meaning playing defensively. if you play defensively in this game, you die. a lot! a whole lot of dying. the biggest oddity of the offense-focused gameplay is that you kind of need to move your units *then* attack, as opposed to the tradtional tactics gameplay of playing very defensively long term. this game needs you to move your units for combos, as aggressively as possible, then get the combo offs, and reap the rewards which are usually significant damage mitigation and adrenaline for special moves. it's a little weird and somewhat demanding, i don't think i'll ever go for the true ending, but i think it's at least interesting, even if most people will bemoan not getting a new, actual metal slug title, especially considering the debacles of the IPs after they stopped making traditional metal slug games. for a lot of fans, the art style (even if good) in this game will probably not please them as it kind of goes against the intentional design of the older games. price is a bit of a sticking point, you can tell effort went into this, but at that price point especially in the vast market of roguelikes where you have a lot of competition, i can imagine it will turn a lot of people off. still think it could be worth it for people on sale, at the very least