When making a mech game, it’s the little details that matter the most. How do your mechs interact with the world around them? Do they fly? Use ammo? Combine into a bigger mech?
It’s definitely something you can feel the developers of Kriegsfront Tactics, Toge Productions have thought of. In the demo, with two different missions in it really highlights the best of the mecha tactics genre- one of tiny little details all leading up to bigger plays.
Lots Of Tactical Goodness
From having to basically lose turns reloading to charging your disarmed mech into an enemy, there’s a lot of really cool things going on in Kriegsfront Tactics. Managing your AP in particular is really interesting, with a variety of actions you can do on your opponent’s turn like Overwatch to catch enemies who move around too much or standing by so you can counter-attack enemies who dare attack you in your line of sight.
As someone who’s not too great at tactics games it’s definitely an eye-opening experience. Watching my blind spots became like a tabletop wargame, and there’s nothing quite so scary as having to decide which way your mech is going to face once your enemies have slipped into the fog of war, out of your line of sight.
And yet, even when you’re not playing at your most strategic, there’s ways to turn things around. I’m especially fond of the body tackle- an option you’ll have even if your mech’s arms have been shot off. One enemy had found the spot I’d been sniping and bombarding all his friends, but it wasn’t long until he’d also found that said sniper was more than happy to tackle him into submission.
I’m especially a fan of the game’s ability to let you even take manual control of some guns to fire them. Rather than just being about hit percentages and damage, it really amps up weapons like the Sniper Rifle- while the FPS genre may treat them as one-shot-one-kill powerhouses, Kriegsfront instead makes them more of a support weapon, since a well-placed sniper shot gives you the potential to rip a pesky shield-arm off an annoying enemy combatant.
For The Love Of The Genre
Admittedly, Kriegsfront Tactics is one of those games that isn’t gunning for mass appeal- the systems feel very much designed for people who like the genre, so if you’reof the impatient kind prepare to feel overwhelmed by things like knowing when to Overwatch and when to Standby, or even just the general concept of a Turn Economy.
But if you mutter words like “Front mission” in your sleep, congrats- Kriegsfront Tactics has a demo out now, and some pretty fun missions with a pretty balanced squad of mechs at your disposal. Just remember- being out of ammoo doesn’t mean you’re out of options.
