Play out a Kaiju movie as the (hopelessly) outclassed military in this stylish 2D turn-based strategy game. Construct buildings and defend your city with cannon-fodder tanks, jets and more as the devastating kaiju grow in power with every attack.
Players command a military force tasked with defending a city against towering kaiju monsters. However, the kaiju vastly outmatch the player's units, making it impossible to outright defeat them. Instead, the goal is to slow down the kaiju's advance and buy time for scientists to develop a solution. This asymmetrical dynamic forces players to carefully plan and deploy their limited forces to maximum effect, rather than overpowering the enemy.
The core of the gameplay revolves around the player's deployment and positioning of various military units, including tanks, jets, and anti-air batteries. Each unit type has unique strengths and weaknesses that players must leverage against the kaiju's abilities. For example, jets can effectively damage kaiju from range but are vulnerable in close-quarters, while anti-air batteries counter airborne threats but are useless against ground-based kaiju. Combining these unit types and timing their actions is crucial to slowing the kaiju's advance.
As the game progresses, players face an increasingly complex series of kaiju threats, each with unique abilities and behaviors that require different tactical approaches. Early kaiju may be straightforward, but later "mutations" grant devastating new powers, forcing players to constantly adapt their strategies. This sense of an ever-evolving challenge prevents players from relying on a single winning formula.
The gameplay is further enriched by a deck-building system, where players can unlock and equip "Project" cards. These cards provide powerful special abilities and bonuses that can turn the tide of a battle, but must be carefully selected and timed. Players can also upgrade their veteran "Ace" units, further customizing their tactical options and progression.
While the core gameplay loop may seem straightforward, the game encourages players to experiment with creative, emergent tactics. For example, intentionally sacrificing certain units to bait the kaiju into specific positions, or carefully timing the use of special abilities to disrupt the kaiju's movements. This flexibility and room for player expression is a major part of the game's engaging and replayable nature.
Many reviewers have praised the game's challenging yet fair difficulty curve. Defeating the kaiju is an uphill battle, but the game provides the necessary tools and information for players to devise effective strategies, rather than resorting to unfair difficulty spikes. The ability to retry missions and tweak one's approach encourages experimentation and skill development, rather than pure frustration.