After an unsuccessful attempt on the PS5, I managed to give Strike Force Heroes a run on the Steam Deck, which turned out to be a good experience. This deathmatch-based multiplayer felt better suited to a more console environment—at least in my household—but Valve’s portable came out on top.
There’s an immediate retro vibe to the game, first for those who were around in the time of G.I. Joe/Action Force, as the cinematics resembled a Saturday morning cartoon and wouldn’t be out of place if there were an accompanying toyline at your local store. It makes sense, as the members of Strike Force have individual traits.
Using a familiar setting, there are four base units to choose from in Strike Force Heroes, which are the Medic, Tank, Commando and Assassin (with a Ninja via DLC). You might immediately have an idea who your go-to would be from the outset, but it’s surprising how different they play out – most likely due to the frantic arena gameplay. Even when you start to establish yourself, it’s well worth exploring and levelling up the other characters/classes as they sometimes have associated weapons and perks that suit your playstyle.
Take the Tank. In the past, I’ve admired the knuckleheads such as Brick from Borderlands, or Haggar from Final Fight, taking some hits, but giving an equal amount back. This, naturally, applies here, and you hit just as hard. However, the Tank’s speciality, besides being a shield, is to do close-quarter damage, and the default pistol and later shotgun, for me, was rubbish. However, a katana or two later, and Tank is now my favourite.
Through each skirmish, killing an enemy grants XP, as do other bonuses such as staying alive, getting headshots, and capturing flags. Said missions in Strike Force Heroes are predominantly a deathmatch with the first to kill X number of opponents, or variations of capture the flag, or boss stages where the boss will spawn little strays that will stop you from making quick progress. It can get very samey, but the fastplay nature and the varied classes and perks make it worthwhile.
Sure, the narrative is quite fun, as it represents those classic cartoons well, where our heroes get themselves in ridiculous scenarios, and these added cinematics not just bookended the campaign, but throughout, were a really personal touch. Strike Force Heroes is predominantly a local/online multiplayer with heaps of replay value from the standard gameplay alone, but for solo gamers, the campaign is pretty decent.
There are core missions, again, segmented with cutscenes, and following completion, there is a wealth of optional sub-missions and challenge modes, each with its respective star ratings. It makes sense to play through all of these for the sheer hell of it, though levelling up your character through kills and objectives will unlock perks for that class, from damage dealing to regeneration. Each class can carry a primary and secondary weapon, with the former being exclusives such as assault rifles, katanas and shotguns, plus a handful of gadgets that grant speed boosts and ammo reserves.
In the time I’ve written these paragraphs, I’d have switched my class two or three times, as discovering new perks or trying out new gear and cosmetics (also available in a shop), gives so much more depth, and one gun alone can turn the tide of a battle. In terms of features, customisation and overall gameplay, it’s a blast.
Of course, Strike Force Heroes is likely to show you most of what’s to offer in the first 30 minutes, as later missions are revamps of earlier ones with a shift in biomes, or changing the narrative, but still being a capture the flag game. These are all fine and not a hindrance to the experience, as it’s no more different to a rogue-like in that respect. Because it’s fast-paced, Sky9 Games’ shooter may prove frustrating, too.
These frustrations could be being sniped by enemies off-screen, or having rubbish bots support/or even worse, friends helping with capture the flag/intelligence missions, as it’s imperative to keep moving. If you aren’t proactive, a losing round can seem longer than it is. My own issue was somewhat minor but also significant at times: the platforming elements. Standing next to a ledge and intermittently being able to reach it while being shot at caused one too many situations where I lost around, and we all know what it’s like when you’re a sitting duck and can’t do Jack.
With that taken into consideration, Strike Force Heroes has a rogue-like loop to it where you’ll be straight back to ‘Start Game’ after a mission – win or lose – trying out new weapon configurations, spending your cash on cosmetics, or simply levelling up your class to see how much that new perk will change up the play. Then, once you’ve got that all under your belt, you’ll be doing it again, maxing out the very challenging difficulty levels that it boasts for some time to come. More so, if you have any friends/squaddies you can call upon.
