Kaiju Wars (PC)

Hi guys and girls, today we’re taking a look at a new title from Foolish Mortals Games. The new turn-based tactical game releases on Steam on the 28th of April and sees you defending the city from attacks by giant monsters known as Kaiju. As mayor of one of the world’s mega cities, Flotio, it’s your job to take command of your troops and scientists and lead your voters to a brighter tomorrow. The only thing is, well, it seems tanks and troops don’t fair well against giant monsters who can crush them with their toes. Who knew?

Kaiju Wars, as mentioned above, see you take on the role of the newly elected mayor in the midst of a Kaiju invasion as the head honcho of a city with over 1.2 billion people. It is your job to keep your citizens safe from these terrible creatures. With the aid of Dr. Wagner and Major Danger, you will need to balance military power and brain power in order to stand a chance at re-election in the future. As you clear missions and repel these towering monsters, you will slowly discover why this is suddenly happening and just where these monsters came from.

The story itself doesn’t have a lot of meat to it and rarely takes itself too seriously. Most of the interactions between the characters are quips or just simply a little strange. However, all the key elements are there with a little mystery and some sense of impending danger. Truthfully, anything more would likely be fluff to draw out the game’s narrative. All you really need to know is stop the big monster. I found myself liking the concept and the interactions between the cast members, as well as the writing overall, as well as the attempts at being humorous.

Visually, the title looks very retro while also having some pretty good design choices. Everything about the title seems like a nod to the 70s and 80s movies that clearly inspired its creation. One of my favourite parts was the designs and animation for the kaiju. They are somehow as dorky as the movies that spawned their creation and are terrifying.

This influence seems to spread into the games’ visual novel story telling segments, with characters such as the major looking like he stepped right out of the silver screen. The visual choice as a whole feels very deliberate so as to seemingly stir up nostalgia in fans of these older forms of media. The one thing that bugged me was the character models being far off to the side to the point of only seeing a third of them. I’m not sure if I missed something or if it was deliberate, but it just seemed a bit off.

The games’ audio, much like the visuals, seems to follow the same set of rules and while it is simple, for the most part, it is quite effective. I can’t say I really have a reason to fault it, outside of limited variance, it does exactly what it needs to at any given time, be it the BGM or the sound effects.

Gameplay for Kaiju Wars takes place across multiple missions, with each one providing a new challenge. Generally speaking, your aim is to repel the huge monsters that are attacking your city and crushing your voters. This is actually easier said than done, as your military might is basically cannon fodder before these hulking behemoths. Each mission takes place on a 2D isometric field with different buildings, locations, and terrains making up each of the maps. Some of these will be your source of income, allowing you to build new air bases or army bases as well as deploy troops, while other buildings will earn you research points that allow you to drive some of the Kaiju should you earn enough of them. As the mission goes on, more of your buildings will be destroyed, meaning you will earn fewer coins and points.

The opposing Kaiju will swat basically any building or unit it comes into contact with with a single blow, making your units and buildings little more than minor annoyances for the hulking beasts. With that said, it is technically possible to reduce their hit points with your units, but if you do so, they tend to return a few rounds later and continue their rampage. All is not lost, however, as if you do manage to injure it enough to make a temporary retreat, you will earn a nice amount of research points towards driving it off for good.

Each unit you build has a limited range and attack power as well as unique skills that you will have to balance and utilise to slow the behemoths down and keep the good doctor safe. They don’t really pack much of a punch, with most doing 1-2 damage and requiring a single blow to be taken out, yet they remain the key to surviving each battle.

Honestly, it’s easy to feel helpless as the monsters tear through your city and crush your units, but you do have a few things to help you with your mission, such as secret weapon research and ace units. The former is a special project you can create that has varying effects and can be done at labs. While these don’t require funds to produce, they do take time, and the results can turn things around pretty quickly if used right. These projects can produce unique and powerful units that outclass any of the basic units available to you, so they are definitely worth trying out if you’re having a hard time. The latter type of unit, “ace units,” are units you power up using medals earned by clearing objectives in missions. While there is a limit to how much they can be improved, this small improvement can make all the difference on the battlefield. However, this only applies to a single unit of that type. As this is the only way to improve a unit’s stats, this should not be overlooked. The gameplay can be quite challenging, and honestly, there were a few times when it gave me a hard time. Unit placement is key, and a single mistake can cost you dearly. That being said, a smart play and a little luck with the RNG can see you utterly demolish a stage.

Another point I want to make with the game play is the ability to create your own maps using the map editor. You can create your own stages using any of the games’ rule sets and kaiju’s. These can be uploaded for others to take on, as well as allowing you to take on other people’s creations. I found this to be a great little addition and eagerly await seeing what kinds of missions the community comes up with.

Overall, I like the idea of this game, and it does a great job of making these monsters feel unstoppable. I do have to admit to not being very good at the game, but at the same time, I can’t deny I had fun trying it out. I am sure that those who enjoy tactical style games will enjoy trying to save the city of Flotio from the threat it faces and I look forward to what the community does with their own creations. I can see myself recommending this game to fans of the genre and of the old-school Kaiju movies.

4

Summary

Defend humanity from Kaiju in this tactical trip down memory lane

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