There are a lot of games out there. A lazy Google search will tell you that there are more than 5 million of them. Platformers, shooters, puzzlers, simulators, RPGs, and many more. You could try to play all of them and would not reach even a quarter of them in your lifetime. So why, in a world where so many options exist, would anyone want to play KillSquad?
Don’t get me wrong, this is a perfectly functioning game and one could say it’s fun. But the stale nature and lack of any innovation takes the fun out of functionality. So an ‘Ionality’ if you will.
Ready-up, Bounty hunter
In KillSquad, you take the role of a space-monster bounty hunting mercenary. Each mission is portrayed as a contract and has you land on a randomly generated world to fight giant insects like creatures.
Although every planet seemed almost the same with only a few visual and lighting changes, I shall trust the site descriptions of Killsquad and say they are telling the truth when it comes to the randomly generated content.
Regardless, most missions start via a fully voiced lady by the name of ‘Momma’ who shows up in a dialogue box with her face next to it. (Why I went into detail describing that is because that is the closest thing to an actual cutscene this game has to offer.)
She provides you with your mission, often saying things that sound a bit on edge- psychotic, but that I feel is a design choice, and she has a very talented voice actor who does great job in bringing life to this otherwise very cookie cutter and robotic experience.
Let’s go-a shootin!
The gameplay is one of those isometric dual analog shooters(the ones where you move with L-Stick and wherever you turn R-Stick, it will shoot) with an RPG element. Heroes in KillSquad are class-based, and always start each contract at Level 1. Passive and active skills are specific to each hero, and can be available from the start, or unlocked as the contract progresses.
You get these starting heroes, each with their own weapons and skills, to choose from: Troy the Gunslinger, Kosmo the Anarchist, Cass the Apostate, Zero the Sawbones, and Ekaar the Prodigy. These combine melee and ranged characters to fit different playstyles.
I chose Troy as the dual guns gave me two moves that I liked, one was the ability to do an exploding shot while the other set targets on enemies for a set period of time. Watching Troy quick fire at the enemies proved to be a little cathartic.
Anyways, the game has you go through stage after stage, alone or ideally with up to four friends(surprisingly no local co-op, only online). Each win upgrades your character and gives you a bunch of different things.
Cha-ching!
In this RPG, Each hero has a number called the Vector, which shows how good their equipment is. This includes weapons and other upgrades called Gears. The Vector of the whole team depends on the Vectors of all its members. It’s important to complete contracts and buy better equipment because contracts need a certain Vector to start. If your team’s Vector is too low for a contract, it’s harder to survive. (Yes, I know. Needlessly complicated system)
The role of the shop is to let you spend resources looted from the game to upgrade and enhance your playstyle so you can get stronger and return with even more.
With these resources, You’ll be able to acquire and equip powerful upgrades for each of your skills, which activate during your contracts. This gives you new equipment, such as weapons, power-ups and gear, or, disgustingly,…cosmetics.
The system is not simple at first but with a few more plays and perusing the shop, you get an understanding.
It’s fine, I guess
KillSquad is just another RPG game in a crowded market. Despite its functional gameplay and variety of hero classes, it doesn’t stand out. The main menu is a bit messy, making it hard to navigate. The game’s mechanics, like shooting and character customization, can be fun for a while. But after a bit, they start to feel repetitive. The missions take place on similar-looking planets, which gets boring quickly. Even though the mission introductions have voice acting, they don’t make up for the game’s lack of depth.
In short, KillSquad is an okay RPG, but it doesn’t do anything special to keep my interest.
