Developer: KillHouse Games, QubicGames
Publisher: Ultimate Games S.A.
Platforms: PC, Switch, Android, iOS
Tested on: Switch
Door Kickers – Review
Door Kickers, not to be mistaken with Door Kickers: Action Squad, is a real-time strategy game that originally released in 2014 and was positively received by the critics at the time. Due to this great reception, a mobile version was quickly made to reach out to an even bigger crowd by releasing it for both on Android and iOS, where it also did its job pretty well. Now, years later, Door Kickers has made its way to the Nintendo Switch, giving players a shot at controlling an elite squad of SWAT operatives and clearing out many areas of criminals and terrorists in a great RTS game.
Story
While Door Kickers does have a Campaign mode, we can’t really say that this game has a story. The game is about an elite squad of SWAT operatives that gets sent all over the world to stop criminals and terrorists. You’ll be sent to a range of different locations, like houses, warehouses, parking lots and more. Each campaign is comprised of a series of missions that vary from simple missions, that require you to eliminate all targets, to hostage rescue missions. In the Campaign mode, there are multiple campaigns to undertake, and you can freely switch between the campaigns even in-between missions. Sadly, to play the Campaign mode, you have to reach squad-level 6 first to unlock it.
Graphics
Door Kickers looks quite good in terms of graphics with its isometric perspective. Cars, furniture and other items look quite detailed, but your squad and enemies look very simple which tends to break the immersion. Unexplored areas will remain in a light blue color that hides everything in that area until your squad has entered. Enemies will appear when they get in the line of sight of one of your squad members. When enemies are killed, they will disappear after a few seconds, leaving a white outline of their body; like you’d see at crime scene investigations in shows and movies.
Sound
The music in Door Kickers has a gentle vibe to it with a good rhythm and some drums that fit the game’s genre. When in a mission, the music retreats to the background, so you can focus on developing your strategy to carry out the mission successfully. While planning your strategy, the units you control will constantly say things like “okay” or “affirmative” each time you stop drawing their path. When your squad encounters enemies, you will hear both the enemies and your squad respond with very accurate lines like “hostile spotted”, “the cops are here” or “tango down” after killing an enemy.
Gameplay
Door Kickers is a real-time strategy game that puts you in command of an elite squad of SWAT operatives from a top-down point of view. This squad will get into many risky situations and it’s up to you to guide them to victory by killing criminals and saving hostages.
When looking at the controls of the game, it sure looks like a heap of things to remember at once. Luckily, the first few missions in the Single Mission mode are made for getting accustomed to the controls bit by bit. As you progress through these missions, more controls will be added and you can learn them by playing, instead of having to figure it out all by yourself. For this reason, the Campaign mode is locked until you’ve reached squad-level 6. While the Single Mission mode is comprised of standalone missions, the Campaign mode features multiple campaigns that are comprised of a series of missions that need to be completed chronologically. As you progress through the missions in Single Mission mode, you’ll get more utilities to use against your enemies. At the same time, the difficulty will also increase heaps compared to the first missions, so you’ll require more and more tactical insight. After completing every mission and campaign, the fun’s not over yet, as you can unlimitedly play randomly generated levels at a difficulty of your choice.
When you start a mission you first have to deploy your units in the Deploy mode. After you’re done positioning your units, you’ll enter the Planning mode. Here, you can draw a path for each of your squad members before the mission will start. After you’ve planned each and every move of your squad, you can start the mission and your squad members will begin to make their move. Your squad will shoot at whatever’s in their way as they will automatically respond to enemies appearing in their line of sight. When you notice your squad is getting in trouble or you just want to change their movements, you can pause the game and enter the Planning mode again to change your approach. This way, you can switch from fully planning the whole mission to a step-by-step approach by hitting pause before you enter a new room.
Your squad will earn experience every time they take part in a mission, which in turn earns experience for your squad level. As you level up your squad level, you will unlock classes for your squad members. These classes are Pointman, Assaulter, Breacher, Stealth and Shield. Each class has its own loadout that can be customized to your wishes. To purchase new weapons and equipment for your squad, you need to spend stars, which are earned after completing missions. You can earn up to three stars per mission, if you’ve perfectly handled the mission. This means that you have completed it within a short amount of time and without losing squad members. Eventually, you’ll have racked up a lot of these stars so you can take a good look at improving your squad members’ equipment. Unlocking a weapon will make it available for all your squad members so you only need to purchase it once.
Conclusion
Door Kickers is a very tactical game that requires you to plan out all your squad’s movements to counter any resistance you get in each mission. If you’ve taken a good look at the controls and then start playing the Single Mission mode, you’ll get the hang of every control in the game at your own pace. As the missions get harder, you’ll need to step up your game as well, and we definitely noticed that this isn’t really that easy to do, which makes the game much more challenging. Door Kickers is a great real-time strategy game that will push you to make better plans all the time. If you’re a fan of RTS games, then we’d definitely recommend playing Door Kickers as it will keep you entertained for hours without being repetitive.
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