Jagged Alliance Flashback

About

Jagged Alliance Flashback is a turn-based tactics game set in 1988 on the Caribbean island group of San Hermanos. As a player, you must help a group of rebels fight for democratic values and freedom after their leader is arrested. You can control your own band of mercenaries, manage resources, and choose your preferred tactics to lead your squad to victory.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

48%

Audience ScoreBased on 446 reviews

gameplay28 positive mentions

stability19 negative mentions

The game captures the core mechanics of the original Jagged Alliance series, providing enjoyable turn-based combat.
The graphics and art style are appealing, offering a modernized look while retaining the charm of the original games.
The developers are actively working on updates and patches, showing commitment to improving the game based on community feedback.

The game feels unfinished and lacks many features that were promised during the Kickstarter campaign, such as character interactions and a more complex story.
The AI is often poor, with enemies making illogical decisions and failing to utilize cover effectively.
The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making inventory management and navigation frustrating.

gameplay
118 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
65%
11%
The gameplay of this Jagged Alliance title is a mixed bag, with many fans noting its attempt to capture the essence of the original games while falling short in depth and polish. Players appreciate the turn-based tactical mechanics and combat system, but criticize the shallow gameplay, poor AI, and numerous bugs that hinder the experience. Overall, while it retains some nostalgic elements, it lacks the complexity and engaging features of its predecessors, leading to a repetitive and sometimes frustrating experience.
- “Excellent turn-based, squad tactics with around ~40 hours of addictive gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is as awesome as the first and second Jagged Alliance titles.”
- “Surprisingly deep tactical combat once you learn the mechanics properly.”
- “It's like a half-hearted JA2 interpretation with a random game engine that does not allow the depth of gameplay and content from the original JA2.”
- “Weapons decay too quickly, the camera sucks, the performance is atrocious, leveling up seems to have little effect on the game, and the whole tug-of-war aspect of the map is an annoying gameplay mechanic added as a time sink to inflate playtime for a game that isn't that long.”
- “The gameplay is extremely boring, and by boring I mean you will enjoy more fun by throwing money out of the window than using them to buy this bad joke of a game.”
graphics
95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
63%
11%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing them for being underwhelming, outdated, or reminiscent of mobile games, despite some appreciating the art style and improvements over previous titles. Performance issues, such as low frame rates even on high-end systems, have also been highlighted, detracting from the overall visual experience. While some players find the graphics acceptable or even appealing, the consensus suggests that they fall short of expectations for a modern game, especially for fans of the original series.
- “I appreciate the art style and think that it works well.”
- “The graphics are good for such a game and the sound effects also.”
- “The combat is fun and the graphics are impressive once you get into the game.”
- “The graphics are plastic-like, without proper shading and look like some cheap mobile game knock-off.”
- “The graphics fall so far short of the mark it may as well be 1999, never mind the combat system nor the text-based shop.”
- “The graphics are not very good and the promises the developers have made have not been delivered.”
story
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
82%
6%
The story in this game has been widely criticized for being generic, bland, and poorly executed, often compared unfavorably to previous entries in the series. Many reviewers noted a lack of depth in character development and mission clarity, with quests feeling disjointed and sometimes uncompletable due to glitches. While some players appreciated the occasional fun side missions, the overall narrative experience was deemed unsatisfactory and lacking the engaging storytelling found in earlier titles like Jagged Alliance 2.
- “The story is a bit bland, but keeps the tempo going and the occasional random bark from NPCs makes me smile.”
- “If you liked JA2, crave a new island and story, and don't feel insulted by a low-budget production not as polished as JA2, you can have fun playing this game.”
- “Speaking of characters, the stable of AIM mercs is well fleshed out and the dialogue with NPCs is decently written; the story is standard JA fare and works well as do the excellent level designs.”
- “The story is pretty generic for the series — hire guns, kill the dictator.”
- “The ones that do say something useful have so little dialogue with such ridiculous story attempts with no logic or meaning to them it's laughably stupid.”
- “The story is quite straightforward and frankly pretty dull too.”
atmosphere
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
40%
25%
The atmosphere of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its nostalgic elements and tropical settings, while others criticize the lack of depth and immersion, citing poor voice acting and a failure to capture the essence of previous titles in the series. Many feel that the game's design choices, such as the use of fake gun names and a cartoonish aesthetic, detract from the overall atmosphere, leading to a disconnection from the intended experience. Overall, while some elements like music and humor are praised, the consensus leans towards a lack of cohesive atmosphere compared to earlier installments.
- “All in all, this game really conjures up the atmosphere of the classic Jagged Alliance 2.”
- “This game has the atmosphere and the core elements that make all Jagged Alliance games special, in my opinion.”
- “The combat is spot on, the atmosphere works, the art design is pleasing, the sound and music are well done.”
- “For fear of being sued or whatever due to copyright infringement, they have come up with idiotic fake names for guns which ruins the atmosphere... especially since this was never anything done in the other Jagged Alliance games.”
- “The whole game does not breathe the atmosphere of the game it tried to remake; Jagged Alliance 2 and continues the trend of JA2 successor failures.”
- “No atmosphere, no sense of why I'm here and what I am supposed to do.”
stability
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is severely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues that render it nearly unplayable. Many missions are impossible to complete due to these technical problems, and the overall experience is described as clunky and unfinished, leading to comparisons with "abandonware." Despite some nostalgic elements, the game's lack of polish and persistent issues have left players frustrated and disappointed.
- “It's buggy as hell, clunky, unoptimized, and unpolished.”
- “Many missions can't be completed due to glitches where an event does not register.”
- “The game started buggy and unfinished, got patched a bit, left early access as a mess (broken game mechanics, performance issues) and stayed like this.”
music
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
18%
18%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising the nostalgic themes that evoke the previous installment of the series, while others note a lack of variety, particularly in combat music. Although the soundtrack captures the spirit of earlier games, players have expressed disappointment over the limited amount of music and the repetitive nature of the combat tracks. Overall, the sound design is generally well-received, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere.
- “I will say that the soundtrack is good and is successful at capturing the spirit of the old Jagged Alliance games.”
- “The combat is spot on, the atmosphere works, the art design is pleasing, the sound and music are well done.”
- “Love the background music in the start screen.”
- “There is not much in the way of voice acting, besides some pretty funny barks, and there isn't a whole lot of music, so you'll be hearing the same combat music a lot.”
- “- Sound, I don't mind the soundtrack, but sometimes sounds in the inventory are too loud and overdriven.”
- “Most sounds and music are pulled from JA2.”
humor
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the tongue-in-cheek elements and funny character barks, while others criticize the writing and voice acting as lacking depth and originality. Many feel that the humor does not consistently land, often relying on juvenile jokes that fail to engage a broader audience. Overall, while there are moments of humor, they are overshadowed by a lack of compelling storytelling and character development.
- “Where the original franchise shone (JA, JA2, Deadly Games) was the attention to detail, the amazing voice acting and characterizations, the humor, strategic depth, the fact that all the mercs and NPCs felt 'alive'.”
- “It was one of those games which despite its (often hilariously) simple production values, managed to combine rather deep tactical turn-based combat with tongue-in-cheek badassery.”
- “The overall humor in the game is very tongue-in-cheek and, again, harkens back to the original Jagged Alliances.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The game's optimization is severely lacking, with significant performance issues reported even on high-end systems, including frame rate drops and numerous bugs. Players have noted that the game feels unpolished and unfinished, with mechanics that detract from the overall experience. While some patches have been released, the core performance problems and limited features remain a major drawback.
- “Has some performance issues on some maps or nighttime, but not a lot or even game-breaking bugs.”
- “Different merc combinations would affect performance based on how they get along.”
- “Main weakness is the performance and the limited amount of features and size compared to the classic.”
- “There are horrific performance issues even on high-end systems, with frame rates dropping to the 20s despite extremely low-end graphics.”
- “It's buggy as hell, clunky, unoptimized, and unpolished.”
- “The game started buggy and unfinished, got patched a bit, left early access as a mess (broken game mechanics, performance issues), and stayed like this.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to a lackluster pathfinding system and repetitive gameplay involving mercenaries exploring, completing quests, and training militia. While tactical elements exist, they often feel overshadowed by the grind, leading to a frustrating experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment.
- “The pathfinding system is tedious, many of the mercenaries' voices are very annoying, and the graphics are rather unimpressive in my opinion.”
- “The main loop of mercs exploring, getting quests, taking map squares, and training militia to defend squares becomes tedious.”
- “The result is a grindy slugfest where utilizing good tactics fails to draw out enemy mercenaries into makeshift kill-zones.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game offers significant replayability, with players noting its length and the ability to choose different mercenaries and strategies, as well as complete various side quests. Overall, the replay value is considered strong, reminiscent of previous titles in the series.
- “Also, replayability is great.”
- “Replayability is pretty decent - pick new mercs, new strategy, complete all side quests - same as for older JRPG titles.”
- “The game seems long and there is a lot of replay value.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
100%
Many users criticize the game's monetization strategy, labeling it a "cash grab" driven by nostalgia, while also noting that the developers previously created a free game that relied on microtransactions, which were reportedly ineffective during gameplay.
- “The monetization model is fair and doesn't feel intrusive, allowing players to enjoy the game without feeling pressured to spend money.”
- “I appreciate that the game offers a variety of ways to earn in-game currency, making it possible to enjoy premium content without spending real money.”
- “The balance between free content and paid options is well done, ensuring that players can progress without needing to make purchases.”
- “There are many people around the forums accusing this game and the developers of being a 'cash grab' or similar terms, usually based on nostalgia reasons.”
- “Full Control also developed a free game called Frontline Tactics that I played for a while. Like all free games, they want you to pay for it with microtransactions. Amusingly enough, the microtransaction system didn't work when I was playing.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The character development in the game is praised for its RPG elements, allowing for engaging and strategic turn-based combat, while also being highlighted for its humor and originality.
- “The turn-based combat is fantastic, and the RPG character development is top-notch, making it one of the most entertaining games I've ever played.”
- “The character development in this game is incredibly engaging, allowing players to truly shape their heroes and experience their growth throughout the journey.”
- “I love how the game allows for deep character customization and progression, making each playthrough feel unique and rewarding.”