Lock and load soldier, it’s time to stand for king and country in Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble on the Nintendo Switch from the team at Area 35.
Tiny Metal is an exciting, isometric styled turn-based strategy game that puts players in control of a commander and their various units on the battlefield. Players can choose from a variety of modes from the fully voiced campaign mode, Single player Skirmish mode and Online Multiplayer mode. Each side gets a commander that has various attribute modifiers that can affect armor, mobility or line of sight but this can also change unit production costs. As with all War Simulation games, players will start the match with a small armed force that depends on settings and mode selected. Moving across the battlefield, players will have to capture cities, factories and other buildings to earn money which allows the construction of further units and resupply of existing units. Tactics play a vital role in Tiny Metal and there are plenty of different mechanics at play to let you find a style that suits you, bonus objectives will also allow players to mix things up and really push themselves to try new play styles.
Those that are familiar with the “Advance Wars” series will instantly recognise the style that Area 35 is trying to replicate but you can tell that they have put in some real passion and made it their own. Character models and illustrations are crammed full of charm, colour and unique personalities that makes Tiny Metal a well crafted and loving homage to a long languished series. The voice over work is fantastic, commanding officers have some great interactions with each other in the Campaign mode and the individual units all have some great personas that make them feel like much more than just pawns on a chessboard. There are also plenty of unlocks from new skirmish maps to music tracks, that are redeemed by spending currency players can earn from each battle.
Tiny Metal is a game that is perfectly suited to the varying play styles of the Nintendo Switch, from short pick up and play battles to long drawn out skirmishes that really get you thinking tactically. Controls feel nice and are well adapted to make use of thumbsticks with the only gripe being an occasionally fiddly cursor locking itself into the movement boundaries rather than being free floating. This is only a minor concern as most of the time players will find themselves rapidly switching between units, traversing the battlefield and issuing orders.
There is also a bit of “Unreal texture pop in” when viewing the campaign mission map but nothing that will spoil players enjoyment of the game.
Don’t let the colourful and cute graphics fool you, Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble is a surprisingly deep turn-based War simulation game packed full of replayability and is a fantastic addition to the switch.
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Mat Panek
Retromancer – Collector, repairer & fan of retro games & tech. Atari to Amiga, Nintendo to Sega! LD, Zip, Beta and a proud dad! One half of the TiredParents on Twitch.
Follow Mat on Twitter and Twitch
Disclosure: Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble [Nintendo Switch eShop code] was kindly provided by Stride PR for this review.
