Antisquad
- May 21, 2014
- Plug In Digital
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Get on itch.io Store"Antisquad is a single-player Turn Based Strategy game, known for its good gameplay, exceptional graphics, and significant grinding. The game boasts stunning visuals, a fascinating story, and memorable characters. The Special Edition includes additional materials and all updates, now available for Linux and Steam OS."
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Reviews
- The game features a fun and engaging turn-based combat system, reminiscent of popular titles like XCOM and Jagged Alliance.
- The art style and character design are visually appealing, with a humorous tone that adds to the overall enjoyment.
- It's a budget-friendly game that offers decent replayability and a variety of characters with unique abilities.
- The game suffers from a lack of depth and can become repetitive due to the grinding required for upgrades.
- The interface feels clunky and poorly adapted from its mobile origins, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- Many players find the difficulty curve unbalanced, with early missions being overly complex and later missions lacking challenge.
- story56 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 86 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered simplistic and repetitive, primarily revolving around a series of missions that involve standard action tropes like killing enemies and upgrading characters. While some players find the characters and occasional humorous events enjoyable, the overall narrative lacks depth and coherence, leading to a grind-heavy experience that detracts from engagement. Despite its shortcomings, the gameplay mechanics and graphics receive praise, suggesting that the game may appeal more to those focused on strategy rather than story.
“The story is a little vague but this is offset by solid gameplay and excellent characters.”
“Each mission is part of a series of missions that make up a chapter, I suppose.”
“Exceedingly complex and frustrating experience trying to play the first missions and being literally flooded with tons of information you will not have the time to understand, comprehend, or even read (because text timeout is way too fast).”
“The game has a simple storyline; missions are to: kill this, go there, push this, kill more, nuke end boss, go to next stage, buy gears, upgrade characters... a feeling of 'deja vu'.”
“Overall it is a fun strategy game worth enjoying, but whereas Shadowrun and XCOM have better stories, this game lacks much of a story apart from a couple of funny events.”
- graphics21 mentions
- 76 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received positive feedback for their stylized art style and solid design, with many reviewers appreciating the unique visual elements reminiscent of titles like XCOM and Team Fortress 2. While some describe the graphics as basic, they are deemed more than adequate for the game's genre, contributing to an enjoyable overall experience. The combination of good graphics, clever iconography, and a charming comic art style enhances the game's appeal, particularly for fans of tactical strategy games.
“This one got lots of humor and a nice stylized art style.”
“The graphic design is lovely and the iconography is clever.”
“The art style of the game is fantastic.”
“Animations and graphics are passable.”
“All I can say is XCOM-style gameplay with Evil Genius/Battlefield Heroes graphics.”
“It does offer some unique features and graphics, but it is still very similar to games like XCOM.”
- gameplay20 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews are mixed, with some players finding it slow, repetitive, and lacking depth, particularly criticizing the AI and combat mechanics. However, others appreciate the simple learning curve, engaging turn-based tactics, and solid character customization, noting that it offers enjoyable gameplay for its price. Overall, while the game has potential and a fun aesthetic, it suffers from a lack of variety and polish compared to other titles in the genre.
“The gameplay itself is fine, enjoyable, but the obvious porting makes it a pain to play.”
“It follows the same turn-based mechanics popularized in games like Jagged Alliance and Fallout, and executes it with a lot of polish and style.”
“Great title - for a few bucks you got tons of content, engaging gameplay, and really challenging maps on higher difficulty levels.”
“The two useful characters, the main guy and the French sapper, are both boring to begin with, and it just makes gameplay slow, repetitive, and boring.”
“The music gets tedious (it's pretty cool for the first few minutes but...), the mechanics are mediocre (no high grounds, no cover, just stand and shoot and run away), the AI is... well there's no AI really.”
“For six bucks, this game has poor variety in missions, clunky combat mechanics, no interesting concepts, lots of racism, and an obvious skill ceiling where money trumps experience.”
- music11 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its fun and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience and setting the mood effectively. While some players find it enjoyable initially, others note that it can become tedious over time. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong point, contributing positively to the game's appeal.
“I really really really tried to like it because the characters seem really cool, the art style is fun, and man, the music is great!”
“The levels are nicely detailed, the art direction reminds me of Evil Genius (love that game too, by the way), the music is very fitting and well done, plus the sound effects are very pleasing to the ear.”
“I spent some time sitting at the main menu eating my lunch before I got into playing, just listening to the music.”
“The music gets tedious (it's pretty cool for the first few minutes but...), the mechanics are mediocre (no high grounds, no cover, just stand and shoot and run away), the AI is... well there's no AI really.”
“(I turned off the UI sounds and game music because they sucked.)”
“The second thing I noticed is the music.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received largely negative feedback, with players noting that it requires repetitive completion of the same missions to progress, leading to a lack of depth and enjoyment. While the game is easy to learn, the heavy reliance on grinding for upgrades and the absence of engaging replayability have left many feeling frustrated and bored. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as tedious and detracts significantly from the game's potential.
“However, to continue through levels, significant grinding is required, and there isn't sufficient replayability to really get this off the ground.”
“The coin grinding gets old doing the same missions over and over again, but the game is very simple to learn.”
“Anyway, I gave up after 4 hours of grinding on the same exact mission again and again.”
- humor7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its amusing humor and vibrant art style, making it a fun experience for players who enjoy a lighthearted approach. While it lacks a deep narrative compared to titles like Shadowrun and XCOM, it offers entertaining moments that enhance gameplay, especially in challenging scenarios. Overall, the humor adds a charming layer to the strategy elements, appealing to those who appreciate a comedic touch in their gaming experience.
“This game has a lot of humor and a nice stylized art style.”
“The look is fantastic, the use of color is beautiful, and the humor is amusing.”
“If you like a bit of humor, then this game is a good match for you.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is heavily criticized for its legacy of microtransactions, which, despite being removed in the PC port, still influences gameplay design. Players are left with a grind-heavy experience, needing to repeatedly complete missions to earn upgrades, with no option for alternative spending to ease progression.
“This is a port of an iPad game that featured microtransactions.”
“Although microtransactions are no longer present in the PC port, you can still see their influence in the design of the game.”
“You either grind your way through the same missions over and over again to afford the upgrades to beat the harder levels, or you have to rely on the grind for upgrades.”
“It is riddled with microtransactions that pester you about spending money on upgrades and cosmetics.”
“See, this is a port of an iPad game that featured microtransactions.”
“Although they're no longer present in the PC port, you can still see their influence in the design of the game, because you either grind your way through the same missions over and over again just to afford the upgrades to beat the harder levels, or with no microtransactions at all, there's not even an alternative; you either grind for those upgrades or you're not going anywhere.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is enhanced by its appealing graphics and a strong soundtrack, contributing to an enjoyable experience despite some users feeling a lack of tension. The missions are described as short, brutal, and filled with surprises, adding to the overall ambiance.
“However, Antisquad is a really enjoyable game and makes up for it with nice graphics, where the characters kind of look like in TF2, a good atmospheric soundtrack, short but brutal and bloody missions, with some nice surprises along the way.”
“But I'm missing tension and atmosphere while doing so.”
“The game lacks a compelling atmosphere that draws you in.”
“I found the overall atmosphere to be flat and uninspiring.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players highlight the game's high replayability due to the diverse characters available for squad formation and leveling up, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging. Overall, it is regarded as a fun experience with significant replay value.
“All in all, it's a fun game with lots of replayability.”
“The many characters to fill your squad and level up make this game have lots of replay value.”
“Once you complete the main story, there's little incentive to play again.”
“The lack of meaningful choices in gameplay makes replaying feel tedious.”
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the visual character design is praised for its overall artistry, there is no specific mention of character development in terms of narrative depth or growth, suggesting that the focus may be more on aesthetics than on evolving character arcs.
“The overall art and visual character design is awesome.”
