Capes (Switch)

Capes is a strategy RPG that pits superheroes against villains but with a few twists on the formula to keep things fresh no matter how experienced with superhero stories you are. Taking inspiration from a huge variety of comics, the game creates a whole new world filled with heroes and villains. The game released May 29^th for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and PlayStation.

The story of the game takes place in a dystopian world where Villains came out on top against the heroes and King City is now run by The Company, who outlawed heroes and anyone who develops superpowers is deemed a criminal. This leaves a small group of vigilantes, growing in numbers by getting to new heroes before The Company do, to fight back against The Company to take back the city. This is all a fantastic premise for anyone even vaguely interested in superheroes, with a satisfying twist on the usual heroes vs villains plot, with you taking control of the underdogs in the battles.

The story and characters take inspiration from all sorts of comics to tell a strong narrative throughout. The cast of playable characters are all great characters with interesting backstories and personalities that work well in the small team of vigilantes. The story of the game was clearly written by fans of the superhero genre, and this benefits it a lot, leading to the story and cast of the game being one of the games standout features.  

The game plays out as a strategy RPG and people who have played games like XCOM or more notably to superhero fans: Marvels Midnight Suns, will feel right at home with the games combat. Each hero in your team has a set number of actions per turn that allow them to use their unique powers, for example: one early game hero can produce crystals out of his body to either block off tiles on the map or to stop enemies in their tracks, whereas another hero can teleport around the map, striking enemies from behind for extra damage. One interesting mechanic is the team up mechanic, that lets heroes’ abilities combine for extra effects, such as being able to bring another hero with you while teleporting or chaining lightning across crystals. These add an extra layer of depth while trying to decide what heroes to bring along to a mission. Each hero also has a powerful ultimate ability that is charged using that character’s key mechanics which can turn the tide of a mission instantly if used well.

The missions themselves can prove challenging but always felt doable, providing a nice challenge. The missions are split between main missions and optional patrol missions, these patrol missions are usually smaller scale stories like sneaking into a warehouse to recover a laptop, complete with full stealth mechanics. Gaining EXP to upgrade abilities can feel slow through these missions, with each mission having optional objectives to complete to add an extra challenge. Overall, the main combat of the game is great, with a lot of unique and interesting mechanics that make choosing your heroes wisely to make use of team up abilities an extra level of choice rather than sticking with the same heroes throughout the game.

The visuals of the game follow a fairly comic book inspired style. For the most part this works out in the games favour, with dialogue being presented in comic style speech bubbles. The major characters themselves have interesting designs which make them stand out well from your average enemy, with each design reflecting the characters abilities somewhat.

However, while passable, I wouldn’t say the visuals of the game are one of the games biggest strengths, with the visuals not really standing out in combat. This isn’t to say the visuals are bad, with some great 2D portraits of the characters alongside some fantastic stylistic choices. The game also features some great voice acting alongside some music that fits the game well but the suffers from the same issue of while the music is good, it didn’t stick out to me.

Overall, Capes is a solid strategy RPG that the developers clearly let their love for comic books shine through in which benefits the game a lot alongside some interesting combat mechanics making for a fun experience with a lot of the depth coming from the synergies between members of your team. While the presentation did not stand out to me, it didn’t hurt the game and I enjoyed my time with it, particularly the cast of characters and interesting narrative.