Achtung! Cthulu Tactics
Achtung ! Cthulu Tacticsplays host to an exciting assumption : it ’s a turn of events - based tactical shooter that puts a Lovecraftian twist on World War 2 . The title takes place in the same universe as theAchtung ! Chthuluboard game , with the franchise ’s first foray into television games borrowing its core gameplay component fromXCOM .
The game brings a few turn - based gameplay machinist of its own to the table , but is it worth pick up in a musical genre highlighted by the likes ofXCOMandJagged Alliance ? The answer depends on how hungry you are for newfangled tour - based strategy content .
touch on : Read Screen Rant ’s XCOM 2 Review
InAchtung ! Cthulu Tactics , thespian control a squad of four elite allied soldiers . LikeXCOM , turn - base fighting will have soldiers use natural process points to move around a roofing tile - based map and set on both Nazi and occult target . take on cover and flanking enemies is an important part of the biz , though developer Auroch Digital has opted to use a simplified binary star - based cover organisation rather than the full cover / half - cover system ofXCOM . Between combat the squad moves as one as it progresses through the function , so player wo n’t be able to pre - position soldier before each segment of fighting . When combat begins , each soldier ’s particular role becomes apparent : there ’s a long range aggressor , a short grasp rape unit , an all - around drawing card , and a forest fire fighter .
Achthung ! Cthulu Tacticsexpands on this core expression with a few unique mind , and adding a bully amount of profundity to the typical tactical experience . The most significant of these is Momentum , a secondary class of action points . As soldier range up , they can unlock Modern specialty motility that habituate up Momentum . Any soldier can habituate each turn of events ’s allotment of Momentum , forcing players to think about who should apply the extra period and when is the good metre to unleash them . This supply a raw bed of deepness beyond standard natural action point in time , as serious purpose of Momentum will often be the conflict between success and failure .
UnlikeXCOM , players inAchtung!Cthulu Tactics will also need to worry about each soldier ’s thought cone shape . Instead of a 360 academic degree line of lot , soldier must look in the correct direction to see enemy . Changing view direction costs action distributor point , pull player to think about what centering they want each soldier to wait toward the end of a turn . Each soldier also has their own skill tree filled with unique attempt and bonuses . Each successful mission adds experience and can potentially level up the soldier , bring home the bacon reason for histrion to do the side pursuance . If a side quest is n’t completed before the next storyline mission though , it vanish eternally .
The plot is mere to follow , and will be familiar to buff of theAchtung ! Cthuluboard biz . An elite police squad of ally military group is tax to take down the Nazi regime , with the occult being utilize by both English . The plot never really takes base beyond this surface level , and is pushed almost exclusively through small voiceovers forward of each commission . Given the exciting subject material , Achtung ! Cthulu Tacticsfalls victim to an underutilized setting , and that ’s a shame . The storyline ’s falter is exposed even more by uninspired articulation act , with any mid - mission account advancements simply being delivered by text .
The biggest misstep thatAchtung ! Cthulu Tacticsmakes is that of repeating : after the first few mission , player will have see most of the enemy they ’ll chance throughout the secret plan . struggle the same foe type over and over catch stale even in the game ’s relatively short effort , peculiarly when those enemies only have a few select voice lines . musician will feel this gumption of repeat in the map batting order too , with familiar forest mapping feeding player into the same form of firefights from start to finish . There ’s the occasional breakup in mapping character , but this intimation of fresh breeze is extremely short know . The Lovecraftian influence is also underplayed , with the occult enemies test to be generic and flat alternatively of hauntingly creepy .
player will also witness some truly absurd AI choices when it comes to enemy movement , which is well - neigh inexcusable in a tactical game . Enemy soldiers who have flank an allied soldier will occasionally run across the map instead of assail , with many choices making zero tactical sense . There ’s a few graphic singultus , too : even on a comely rig , enemy soldier coming into eyeshot from the fog of war seems to get some visual lag . Achtung ! Cthulu Tacticshas a pretty elementary graphic dodging , so there ’s evidently some optimisation issues under the hood .
The ingredients are all there forAchtung ! Cthulu Tacticsto be a fantastic scheme title , so it find dissatisfactory that the game end up being altogether fair . An underutilized setting act host to some interesting gameplay mechanics , but the entire experience is hindered by repetitive map figure , a want of variety in enemies , and some suspicious AI alternative . Despite its flaws , Achtung ! Cthulu Tacticsmanages to be passably entertaining , though it fails to be a standout ingress in its own genre . For its mid - range price point , it ’s still a good pickup for turn - free-base strategy enthusiasts . For everyone else , it ’s severe to argue against sticking with the likes ofXCOMto set about with .
More:How XCOM 2 Brings The Stress of Strategy To Consoles
Achtung ! Cthulu Tacticsis usable on PC , PS4 and Xbox One , with a Nintendo Switch release derive in the future . Screen Rant was provided with a PC download computer code for the purposes of this review .
