Mainframe Defenders

A great looking game with terrific combat mechanics, but neither are used to full effect with such a limited number of mission types and sadly uninspired maps. Gameplay: A turn based strategy roguelite. The mechanics are great. Pick your squad of 4 and go through 15 missions until the final 'defense' mission. Each unit has a starting loadout that can be changed and a unique upgrade path. Walls can be destroyed to open new paths and line of sight. Most weapons generate heat and if you accumulate too much heat you take damage. You can also overheat enemies, but I found this is very difficult to do and the damge isn't worth it. Contrary there are enemies specificially designed to overheat you. Pro tip, kill Heaters first. The biggest issue with the gameplay is there are only 5 mission types and 3 of them require you to just kill all the enemies regardless of the goal. Add that to the shear number of enemies and every battle ends up a battle of attrition. Higher difficulties function the same, but there are more enemies, they have more armor and battles just take longer. There isn't too much strategy, either, since enemies can teleport in anywhere, you always want to keep your squad grouped up and focus fire. There are no missions that require any variety, regardless of the goals. Visuals: Very unique, clean and appealing. Only issue I have is a lack of variety. Every map looks idenctical to the last. Narrative: Not really applicable. You unlock some emails after every succesful run, but you unlock them one at a time. Very slow for half a page of text. Presentation: The inventory and menus are very easy to navigate and you never get enough gear to be overwhelming. Once you understand the mechanics, it becomes easy to pick out which gear you want and what is actually an upgrade. Excellent presentation.

This is classical turn based strategy. It is fair, balanced and fun. Biggest pro: Is has no unfair RNG. There is no "change to hit 99% - critical miss" nonsense I hate about other games of that type. So it is actually tactical. On top music and SFX fit, usability is good and does not drive you mad. Confession: I played in easy skill, and will play in normal skill soon. This game gives you a chance to improve your round-based-strategy skills without kicking your balls.

Think of Battletech without the Merc Plot and pilots, just stripped down to a Robot vs Robot game done in the style of something you'd see on the Commodore of your dreams. That's pretty much what you get. There is a lot of playtime and it's sort of game would of loved way back. However whether it will have that appeal today other than something you'd just play a few times ? What it does it does well though.

TLDR; Incredibly solid game design with a lot of heart and replayability. Get it! This is a fully turn-based tactics game. You control 4 robots who can each load 4 equipment items. Game loop: Home phase: In the 'home' phase, you can use currency to shop in the store or buy permanent intrinsic upgrades for your mechs. You can 'lock' up to two items in the shop to buy later. Then you choose a mission - each shows the objective type, difficulty level, and rewards you'll get if you win. In the mission: You take turns in an "alternating activation" style - you spend your mechs' moves and attacks in any order you like, they the enemy all move/attack. Features: "fog of war", fully destructible environment, great and varied status effects and enemy types, environmental hazards/boons, some basic stealth, occasional allies or enemy spawners/repair stations/reinforcements. If you win, you get rewards and back to the Home phase. If you lose the run is over, but you get points towards a new unit unlock and for selectable unlocks based on your progress. If you lose, What's great: The overall game design is downright amazing. There is enough complexity to make play super engaging but not enough to bog anything down. Snappy controls/animations, respects your time! Meta progression - unlock cool new gear that keeps adding to the possibilities. The enemy types, AI, mission types, and difficulty curve are all well designed and provide challenge. Lots of great status effects and build possibilities - this is probably the heart of the game. Fun synthwave music and cohesive (if simple) visuals. The value - how is the price this low! What's bad: Only that these developers haven't put out more games yet! They are working on one though. Highly recommended for anyone who likes turn-based small squad tactics, and nerding out on build possibilities.