Thunder Tier One
Thunder Tier One offers real-time tactical action in which you directly control the team leader of a four person squad. You can customize many of the details of the squad before you enter the mission, by spending your budget on silencers, grenades, flash-bangs, breaching charges, etc.
There is an element of stealth that you can take advantage of but don’t expect a very nuanced AI - on either side. The AI does a decent job of responding to sound and sight but its shortcomings become apparent in the little details: taking cover on the wrong side of an object, jiggling around when they get stuck on a piece of the terrain. Usually your AI teammates do what you tell them - just not in the way you want. A good example of this is movement; I cannot find a way to get your squad to move slower than full speed which makes it hard to do sneaky things when you are close enough to the enemy.
– Real player with 33.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Top-Down Shooter Online Co-Op Games.
Feels like a fantastic blend of SOCOM, Doorkickers, and Insurgency. A few things need ironing out, but the core gameplay is great fun and (on realism mode) very punishing. Once mod support is opened up, it will get even better. A few things I noticed during my few hours so far:
- Camera controls are not as bad as others make them sound, they just take a bit of getting used to. The camera itself could use a little fine-tuning though. Multiple times I had my camera blocked by something (like a crane), or I was getting shot from a spot that was very hard to see. I’m sure it will get better with patches.
– Real player with 22.7 hrs in game
Mercenary Operator: Wolves
i personally dont like 2d games or what the frick this game counted as.. i dont really suggest getting the game as it gets boring very fast
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Top-Down Shooter Character Customization Games.
RoboPhobik
Good game even if I don’t really like the music.
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The game was fun
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It got hard
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Then I decided to slow down and learn the strategies
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Could continue and game got even better
– Real player with 23.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Top-Down Shooter Shoot 'Em Up Games.
Review updated to better reflect the developer’s efforts
RoboPhobik is a decidedly basic overhead shooter with a sprinkling of features found in other genres. You play as one of several characters as you traverse a city populated by robots to rescue other humans and defeat the big boss PAL 9000. While interesting in concept, the execution is not the best and some features are rather basic. I think the best comparison is to certain games from the rogue-lite genre, specifically the indie game Dungeons of Dredmor or like Azure Dreams from the PS1, though this game does not feature the typical feature of losing all–or nearly all–progress when you die.
– Real player with 19.6 hrs in game
—Red—Tether–>
Red Tether features explosive top-down space action with a unique indirect combat system. You’ll face massive space fleets while being armed with nothing but tether-harpoons and your wits.
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Tether-based space combat that revolves entirely around linking yourself with opponents or them with each other.
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Crash massive vessels into another using your tether’s contracting force.
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Rip off enemy weapons and attachments with well placed harpoons.
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Gain superior maneuverability by graple-swinging around spacecrafts.
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Use your ship as a battering ram by slamming yourself into the opposition.
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“Combat-puzzle” gameplay that requires split-second tactical decisions amid fast paced action.
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Learn to counter various fleet elements, including attack ships, support crafts and logistic units.
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Fight through 50+ pre-made waves, or face randomly generated fleets in endless mode.
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Clash with massive boss enemies and turn them into screen-filling explosions.
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Adapt to enemy defenses and maybe even turn them against your opponents.
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Avoid or exploit various hazards like fuel spills, electrified hulls or coolant clouds.
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7+ player ships offer distinct playstyles, advantages and challenges.
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60+ stackable ship and tether upgrades to find.
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Piece together the games lore by finding black boxes among all the ship-debris.
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Extensive game customization options and late game challenge modes.
Intravenous
Intravenous is a stealth-based shooter with a top-down view, and I love it because when stealth goes out the window, you can still pull the situation back.
Gameplay-wise, the game is very, very good. Stealth, while not mandatory, is HEAVILY recommended because the combat is absolutely brutal. Generally, the stealth will consist of you trying your damned best to avoid guards, while the combat will be spamming many claymores at your back. The game heavily rewards exploration of the maps with stuff such as gun supplies and vent shafts that can be used to cheat a level. The gameplay loop is very fun, but on the highest difficulty, the game suffers a bit due to removal of gunplay. On the highest difficulty, since everything dies in one shot, low ROF guns become a joke, while high ROF guns become ““meta””.
– Real player with 18.6 hrs in game
A masterpiece of the genre, a twist of early ’00s Splinter Cell style stealth, with a Hotline Miami-esque top down view. Shadow is your only safety when death is but a bullet away.
Punishingly difficult in stealth or full blown combat, your most lethal tools get you killed just as quick as they will your enemies, a poorly timed suppressed gunshot can bring a swarm down upon you, or frags and claymores blast shrapnel far beyond what you expect. Empty magazines, cans, and bottles make great distractions, and a Chaos Theory inspired OCP device lets you knock out lights and cameras. Dancing around your enemies in the dark is difficult, but one slip and the hunt is on, they don’t let up. The AI is smart enough to avoid a trap, opting to take cover and taunt you out.
– Real player with 17.1 hrs in game
No Plan B: Prologue
“When your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home.“Sun Tzu.
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With that in Mind. This game teaches you to lay it all on the LINE when wagering your plan of execution against the enemy.
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“NO BACKSIES”. you can drill and rehearse over and over fine tuning your approach on an occupied structure but eventually you must execute the plan. At which point you can not change it. Failure is constant success is scarce in this game but the more you play the more aware you become in the strategic head space.
– Real player with 30.2 hrs in game
This is an excellent game and a surprisingly playable demo. If you liked games like Door Kickers, Breach&Clear, Frozen Synapse you will definitely enjoy this one.
PROS
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Excellent timeline system. It eliminates the most frustrating part of Door Kickers: the hassle around syncing operator movement. In No Plan B you can easily ensure that everyone enters into the new room in the perfect moment.
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Active, responsive developer.
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Daily, weekly and monthly challenges sneak in a little competitiveness.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
Operation Thunder
This game is actually a lot more fun than I expected. The level design is well done and the enemy variety and placement keeps the game interesting from start to finish, although Chapter 1 is a little slow. The sounds and music are good as well. The story is solid, it won’t blow you away, but it’s entertaining enough for this type of game to keep your attention.
The game does have a couple weaknesses, but they’re minor and don’t detract from the overall experience.
You can tell that this little gem was made by indie devs that truly are passionate about the games they make. It’s also feels like you can actually communicate with them; I shot a message to the devs about a glitch I encountered and it was fixed the next day. I will definitely be supporting these chaps in the future and I recommend all who like the game to do the same!
– Real player with 3.6 hrs in game
Even though I don’t play a lot of video games, I can safely award this one GOTY in my personal collection. I was surprised at how well made the game is, I can really tell it’s a passion project. It’s nice to buy games from little indie companies because the best part is you actually feel like you can communicate with the developers rather than have my opinions and emails lost in a chain of “no-reply” emails. But anyway, onto the the strengths/weaknesses.
Strengths:
- The game play mechanics, holy sh*t you’d think it’s a Hotline Miami sequel if I didn’t tell you otherwise. Really smooth movement, gun shots don’t do that weird counter strike curve around the wall thing.
– Real player with 2.8 hrs in game
TACTICAL
Fun and addictive puzzle game but with added dimension to speed run. Different ways to approach each level so lots of replayability, enjoyable to try and set faster times and levels get more and more complex so there’s always a chance you’ll find a way someone else hasn’t!
– Real player with 20.6 hrs in game
Given the fact I’m extremely anti-dextrous (using Armlet on Wraith King in DOTA2 is hard as it involves coordinating two buttons to play the game instead of one) and my only experience with puzzle games was the Portal series, this was pure torment. Unforgiving levels demanding both split-second precision and ridiculous amounts of forethought, controlling both movement and aiming at once on the keyboard, just a trainwreck taking a toll on my sanity with each failed pass at sections I thought I had figured out. Yet, in spite of the misery, I kept pressing on until I cleared chapter 3, with each stage crawled through making me briefly feel like the king of the universe. A particularly memorable one saw me blaze through half the level, shooting frozen robots as I passed them, in order to sneak to a safe spot before the timer ran out. Highly recommended.
– Real player with 6.1 hrs in game
Blacklist Brigade
Pretty fun little game. Honestly has more to it than I thought, with weapon and character upgrades, 6 different soldiers who each have thier own couple passive abilities to help the team. Has quite a few gun options(Though there are never enough guns!). Combat, while not to overly difficult, has just enough challenge to where you cant totally yolo everything, unless you just dont care about being downed over and over. Its quite forgiving, with the rather quick and unlimited revives. I also like the amount of UI options.
– Real player with 25.2 hrs in game
My friends and I are huge fans of coop tactical shooters. We got this game because we thought it might scratch that itch and we were not disappointed. Lots of tactical movement and teamwork. Tense firefights that are sometimes quite chaotic. Enough gear and class choices to ensure a team of four can specialize, and also a skill system. Easy to get into and play, and next thing you know you’ve spent a couple hours. In a nutshell: fun.
The game is currently in early access, so be aware it isnt in a completed state (though still very playable). Maps are limited for now, but being added to. The developer is active in the forums and extremely responsive to feedback, which is nice. This is a small title that deserves support.
– Real player with 18.3 hrs in game
Dwarf Slayer
I’ve had more fun playing this then the whole day of trying to figure out what to play in my Steam Library, it’s a great way to spend $2.95 and keep you entertained/frustrated in between games!
– Real player with 0.8 hrs in game