Metal Slug Tactics, the surprising genre-twist of the classic run-and-gunner, is out now

I would never have predicted there’d be an isometric tactics game based on run-and-gun series Metal Slug, yet here Metal Slug Tactics is, and I am here for it. We’ve been following its development for a while but it’s out now on Steam, and seemingly as strong as its demo suggested.

Metal Slug Tactics is a tactical RPG, to be specific, as well as a roguelite. You fight your way through squads of enemies to unlock weapons and perks for your own soldiers, with those upgrades persisting across the campaign even if you fail and must repeat specific missions.

Nic mostly praised the demo during June’s Steam Next Fest, finding it had more tactical depth than the nostalgic copy-paste he was expecting:

Every turn each character gets one move and one action, but if you take the action first, you also lose your move. This feels on the more restrictive end as far as action economies go, but you can use “synchronisation” attacks to stretch that economy out, further than a pack of Subway meat over a thousand anemic dirt-loafs. These are special tag-team actions you trigger for free by setting up orthogonal flanking postions. For now, though, it’s just Marco. I can pick between a pistol and a machine gun, but the latter has limited ammo. It’s here I notice some nice quality-of-life bits. You can undo moves and fast forward enemy turns, though there is a restriction on the undo-ing, which I’ll unfurl below like a yellowing lettuce leaf on a stale roll that costs eighteen pounds, or sixteen pounds with ten years’ worth of Subway loyalty points.

Nic also took a lot of shots at Subway sandwiches in that article, for he does not acknowledge the glory of the Italian BMT.

Metal Slug Tactics’ demo no longer seems to be available – boo – but the game itself is currently £18.89/$22.49/€22.49 with a 10% launch discount over on Steam.