TINY METAL Demo

Although it seems like turn-based strategy games are somewhat easier to handle than real-time titles that require constant attention, the truth is not that black and white, because complexity is increased as real-time control is taken away. Thus, you have more options at your disposal to consider and choose from, which adds additional stress.

TINY METAL is an interesting turn-based strategy game sporting a variety of interesting elements, some of which make the experience a lot more engaging and enjoyable. On the other hand, not all of them are right for the genre, and there are still a few issues to fix when it comes to controls and interface. Granted, this is merely a prototype version, so it’s only natural that it has some annoyances.

To begin with, TINY METAL is designed by a Japanese team, which means that it features a lot of anime themes and a few other specific elements that are also common in JRPGs. In essence, your goal is to train units, upgrade them and use them to defeat the enemy forces. The map is covered by the fog of war most of the time, so it’s important to position your army as efficiently as possible.

There’s even a campaign to keep you busy in single player, and it follows the story of a character by the name of Nathan and his revenge on the Zipang forces. The campaign is also useful if you want to learn how to play, because it allows you to understand the basic mechanics and start from the beginning. Each mission is gradually more complex as you manage to defeat the enemies, so it’s a great way to push your limits.

Overall, the game features enough complexity to be fun over long periods of time, but it also has a few problems. The first one of them is the interface, because sometimes it’s difficult to click on the spot you want to move the units to. The camera is way too stiff for a tactical game, and the fixed angles make it even more awkward to get a good look at the battlefield sometimes.

TINY METAL is certainly going to attract of bit of attention from gamers, especially if it manages to feature decent gameplay mechanics. Until then, you can support the developers by backing the Kickstarter project or by voting for the game on Steam Greenlight.