| Atomix |
Sebastian Quiroz |
80 / 100 |
11-05-2024 |
Leikir Studio’s work offers us a good combination between the classic elements of Metal Slug and the strategic approach of a tactical RPG. Two contrasting ideas merge in a way that seemed impossible, and the end result is fun. However, the game’s performance is terrible. It’s a bad joke to have to wait after doing something as simple as moving a unit. While it is true that Metal Slug Tactics is a good game, it is likely that many will not see it that way after witnessing its terrible performance, and will pass up what could very well have been one of the most fun games of the year. |
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| Cerealkillerz |
Nick Erlenhof |
7.5 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
Metal Slug Tactics is just as visually and design-wise charming as the other offshoots, but this time it takes you into a very sophisticated tactical system with roguelike elements. Unfortunately, some of the gameplay is a little too forced and detracts from the fun, and it’s not easy either, but the motivation to keep unlocking new things and completing just this one map will keep you hooked. |
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| CGMagazine |
Jordan Biordi |
9 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
Leikir Studio combines the fast paced Run & Gun action with tactical turn-based gameplay in Metal Slug Tactics! |
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| COGconnected |
Jaz Sagoo |
70 / 100 |
11-05-2024 |
Leikir Studio has successfully reimagined a classic franchise for a new genre, and despite some issues with system clarity, the addictive gameplay loop offers a fun and innovative twist on tactical strategy. |
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| Console Creatures |
Matt Sowinski |
Recommended |
11-05-2024 |
Metal Slug Tactics is a solid tactical strategy roguelite that does a lot right. The battles are mainly fun, with characters that all feel different and a gorgeous art style. It adapts the roguelite elements well, making each run feel different depending on the characters, weapon loadouts, encounters, and areas that players move through. While not every encounter is as fun as the next, it takes the Metal Slug series in a fun new direction. |
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| GameBlast |
Matheus Senna de Oliveira |
8 / 10 |
11-06-2024 |
In the end, I believe that indeed the game is a great option for the strategy genre, especially thanks to its charisma and originality; besides that, it has a potential for expansions and, especially, updates that will turn it more balanced and varied. |
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| GameGrin |
Alana Dunitz |
9.5 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
Metal Slug Tactics’ move from the arcade to a tactical RPG has turned out better than I ever expected, this game is both challenging and rewarding to play. |
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| Gamer Escape |
Eliot Lefebvre |
8 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
For fans of the franchise who aren’t usually RPG fans, this one is going to be fun. Tactical RPG fans who don’t generally play run-and-gun platformers are going to have fun with it. And if you’re a fan of both? This is a must-buy. It’s a sign of how you can do interesting things in a familiar space with novel implementation. |
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| GamesRadar+ |
Abbie Stone |
3.5 / 5 stars |
11-05-2024 |
“They’ve successfully encouraged the always-keep-moving approach of Metal Slug proper.” |
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| God is a Geek |
Lyle Pendle |
8 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
It’s got a hell of a steep learning curve, but once you learn the ropes Metal Slug Tactics is a wonderful tactics game full of nostalgia. |
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| Hardcore Gamer |
Kyle LeClair |
4 / 5 stars |
11-05-2024 |
To quote the Metal Slug series’ now-iconic POWs, “Thank you!!” |
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| Hey Poor Player |
Francis DiPersio |
3.5 / 5 stars |
11-05-2024 |
While its lack of optimization and frequent glitches occasionally crashed the party like an enemy hand grenade, Metal Slug Tactics‘ fast-paced, feature-rich combat and wealth of unlockable content kept me coming back for more. If you’re a fan of the franchise with a love for classic PS1 SRPGs like Vandal Hearts and Final Fantasy Tactics, then this is a fight worth enlisting in – even if it’s a patch or two away from reaching its full potential. |
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| IGN |
Charlie Wacholz |
8 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
Metal Slug Tactics lives up to its stone-cold classic namesake from SNK’s golden era with its painstakingly detailed pixel art, head-bopping soundtrack, and snappy structure. It magnificently translates the run-n-gun series into its first turn-based tactics game, but doesn’t sacrifice substance for cheap nostalgia, either. |
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| IGN Italy |
Alessandra Borgonovo |
8 / 10 |
11-06-2024 |
Metal Slug Tactics is a very successful transposition of SNK’s historic run-and-gun. It is familiar and nostalgic and offers a good challenge despite its short experience. |
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| Impulsegamer |
Richard Banks |
4 / 5 stars |
11-06-2024 |
Still, just like the Metal Slug franchise in general, Tactics is ultimately stacked with a silly joy that’s hard to deny. Getting to see fan favourites together again will give long-term fans plenty of reason to pick this up, and fans of difficult tactical titles will have enough to get their teeth stuck into. Some things may work better than others, but there’s always room for a good strategy game, and Metal Slug Tactics is easily up there with the best in recent memory. |
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| Kakuchopurei |
Jonathan Leo |
70 / 100 |
11-05-2024 |
This strategy title offers some neat-yet-short challenges, a replayable roguelike structure that lets you mix and match new units as well as tons of unlocks and Metal Slug backstory lore to uncover, as well as features a slew of new mechanics that other future strategy titles should borrow from. …] Metal Slug Tactics is a strange entry in the series, but a fresh and welcoming one indeed. |
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| Metro GameCentral |
GameCentral |
8 / 10 |
11-06-2024 |
A very clever spin-off that subverts your expectations about Tactics games by replicating the gameplay and visuals of Metal Slug through the medium of a fast-paced and surprisingly innovative strategy game. |
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| Niche Gamer |
Fingal Belmont |
6 / 10 |
11-07-2024 |
Regretfully, the lack of an emotional connection to anything and the roguelike and mobile game-inspired gameplay undermines Metal Slug Tactics‘ strongest features. |
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| Nintendo Life |
Echo Apsey |
7 / 10 |
11-07-2024 |
There is a good game here, sometimes a great one. Excellent art and animation, smart gameplay twists, and a genuinely refreshing pace really add some exciting new depth to the tactics genre and are huge positives. But it takes a while for the experience to smooth out and actually become enjoyable, and restrictive gameplay design choices don’t do it any favours, either. Metal Slug Tactics is one for the tactics fans looking for a fresh take, but just know you’ll have to put in some work to see the best parts of it. |
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| Noisy Pixel |
Yuna Briggs |
9 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
Metal Slug Tactics doesn’t quite reinvent the strategy genre, but it does offer up a lot of addictive, explosive, and satisfying action. The core of the Metal Slug series lies comfortably within this new genre, along with plenty of familiar sights, sounds, and characters that will please fans. It’s a great take on turn-based strategy and one that feels distinctly true to its roots. |
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| PC Gamer |
Dominic Tarason |
76 / 100 |
11-05-2024 |
A smart, stylish adaptation that beats the odds to capture Metal Slug’s spirit in another genre, with a few irritating bugs |
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| PSX Brasil |
Eric Oliveira |
70 / 100 |
11-05-2024 |
Despite any nostalgia factor, Metal Slug Tactics fails to reach its full potential as a tactical game, mainly due to its performance issues and crashes. Being just “more of the same”, the roguelite mechanics even offer more replayability, but with little variation in enemies and missions, it becomes just a simple and forgettable title for the genre. |
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| Push Square |
Scott McCrae |
8 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
From the moment it was announced Metal Slug Tactics was a winner in our eyes. Marrying the SNK classic with the turn-based tactics genre is a golden idea on paper. Hearing it’s a roguelike in the vein of Into the Breach was the coup de grâce for this game being anything but a banger. And we’re happy to say it lives up to those lofty expectations. |
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| RPG Fan |
Jerry Williams |
66 / 100 |
11-05-2024 |
Metal Slug Tactics tends to play it safe while simultaneously encouraging players to not play it safe. With few bells and whistles, everything just feels slightly different, rather than a mind-blowing change in gameplay. |
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| RPGamer |
Ryan Costa |
3.5 / 5 stars |
11-05-2024 |
Leikir Studio’s Metal Slug Tactics mostly gets things right in its attempt to spin a run-and-gun action franchise into a roguelike grid-based tactical RPG. The core gameplay mechanics and characters are there, but there’s more that could have been done with the storied franchise. What results is a fun title that grows old as the same routines are made and the incentive to try new strategies are only superficially there. |
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| Saving Content |
Scott Ellison II |
4 / 5 stars |
11-04-2024 |
Metal Slug Tactics being a turn-based tactics roguelike was an unlikely deviation from the series’ norms, but it pays off incredibly well. There’s deep and flexible tactical experience here offering dozens of hours of gameplay. It’s tough but fair as you work through the campaign, and really satisfying when you’re able to clutch a victory in a single battle, or an entire run. Metal Slug Tactics is inventive, clever, and most of all in service of the legacy of the series – now it’s your turn to take up arms. |
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| Shacknews |
Will Borger |
8 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
It nails the run-and-gun feel of Metal Slug, and somehow transforms that into a tactics game, and that’s a hell of an accomplishment. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got an itch, and the only salve is another run. |
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| TechRaptor |
Austin Suther |
6 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
There’s a decent, tactical experience in Metal Slug Tactics, but the roguelite elements and repetition that stems from that make things feel old too quickly. Messy, confusing UI and infrequent bugs also hinder this title from reaching its true potential. |
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| The Games Machine |
Nicolò Paschetto |
8.6 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
Dotemu keeps delivering great re-imagining of classic games, and this time in a completely new genre. It’s almost surprising how good Metal Slug is in its turn-tactic version, and I’m just glad there’s a lot of strategic depth, with the icing of a bit of nostalgia effect. I’d wish for a few more boss fights, but the ones that are there are very good. |
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| The Outerhaven Productions |
Keith Mitchell |
5 / 5 stars |
11-05-2024 |
Metal Slug Tactics takes SNK’s iconic 2D side-scrolling run-and-gun shooter and transforms it into a 3D tactical RPG with roguelite elements that work better than expected. The game shows plenty of love for the Metal Slug series, featuring fantastic artwork, fluid animations, and engaging gameplay mechanics. |
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| Worth Playing |
Chris “Atom” DeAngelus |
8.5 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
Metal Slug Tactics is an excellent adaptation of the franchise to an entirely new genre. It doesn’t play anything like the older Metal Slug games, but in some ways, it still does. It’s fast paced, engaging, and frequently funny and clever. The core mechanics are instantly engaging and a genuine delight to experience. Perhaps the only real complaint I can think of is that the roguelike style might not be for everyone, but even that is true to the style of the original arcade games. Both fans of the franchise and those who can’t tell a Metal Slug from a Metal Gear will find a lot to like in Tactics. |
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| XboxEra |
Jesse Norris |
8.3 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
This type of game has a ceiling it can normally hit. It’s a lower-budget genre-bending revival of a beloved but older IP. Leikir Studio has managed to find an excellent blend of old and new. While it can be insanely difficult on hard, it’s just the right amount of punishing on normal. |
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| ZTGD |
Terrence Johnson |
7 / 10 |
11-05-2024 |
But where this game truly shines is in the excellent strategic elements, even if they are more difficult than I would have liked. MST might not be the return to the Metal Slug series that many fans are hoping for, but it is, nevertheless, a fun and worthy entry into the series ongoing legacy. |
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