Door Kickers: Action Squad

Genre: Action-Platformer

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local / Local Wireless)

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Review:

Door Kickers: Action Squad, released in 2018 on PC, and ported in 2019 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. This game plays very differently from the original Door Kickers, in that it isn’t a Strategy game but an Action-Platformer. However, the premise is still roughly similar – you’re a member of a SWAT team entering a building filled with hostiles, with the goal of taking out all enemies while avoiding casualties of hostages being held inside.

The presentation here is very different from the original Door Kickers as well, using 2D pixel art visuals that evoke old-school games in the genre. However, the real star here has to be the ’80s-style synthesized rock-inspired soundtrack, with great tunes like Word on the Street, Action Squad, On Vacation, and Ready to Roll. If this game wanted to give players the feeling of shooting pure ’80s nostalgia into their veins, I think they succeeded.

The gameplay, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. To be fair, there are some good ideas here – as you take out enemies and free hostages, you charge up a meter that can be used to activate various progressively more helpful bonuses, from extra armor and medkits to activating a special move. Plus, each of the game’s characters has their own unique skills, and you can customize them from the onset to better suit your play style.

Unfortunately, your gunfire in this game is highly inaccurate and it usually takes multiple shots to down each enemy, with some enemies charging you super-fast. Most characters’ melee attacks are extremely weak too, meaning “spray and pray” is the order of the day. This of course means that you’ll often have little choice but to put hostages in danger as you open fire into a room full of both enemies and hostages. What’s more, all things considered, this is a pretty repetitive game – breach a door or window, gun down enemies, free hostages, breach the next door, gun down enemies, rescue hostages, wash rinse repeat.

It’s a shame that the gameplay of Door Kickers: Action Squad lacks the tactical quality the main series aims for, and despite some clever ideas it ends up being too repetitive, but its presentation is charming enough to make it a bit better than the average Action-Platformer. However, with so many better Action-Platformers on Nintendo Switch, it’s hard to recommend this one.

tl;dr – Door Kickers: Action Squad is an Action-Platformer where players take the role of a SWAT team member entering structures full of hostile enemies trying to take them out and rescue hostages. There are some clever ideas here and a fantastic nostalgic retro-inspired presentation, but this game is too simple and shallow to recommend over numerous better games in the genre on Nintendo Switch.

Grade: C+

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