⚠️ Tiny Metal - Nintendo Switch - REVIEW "Too much dialogue and not enough challenge?" ⚠️ #GameDev #IndieGame

Tiny Metal launches with lengthy load times on the Nintendo Switch and then jumps to a lengthy cut scene intro that just types text at you at a hundred miles per hour and is almost impossible to keep up with.

Tiny Metal has been described as the successor to the Advance Wars franchise which unfortunately I have never actually got round to playing.

Tiny Metal has you move infantry, tanks, and aircraft with varying speeds and combat stats around a battle grid with the objective of capturing the enemy’s Head Quarter building or destroying all of the enemy armed forces. 

Meanwhile, you will jostle for control of resource-generating cities and unit-producing factories on the war map.

The basics of this game are well designed with each of the attacking units having strengths, weaknesses, and counterattacks that have you trying to work out how best to use them in any given situation within the game. 

This gives the gameplay lots of potential for tactical play which is exactly what you are looking for in this type of video game.

One thing that instantly jumped out at me was the fact that the AI isn’t too clever and could maybe be a bit more clever and cunning as most battles were winnable first time round with not much head scratching involved from my side of things.

Another thing that I noticed very quickly was that the objectives were always the same: defeat all enemy units or capture their HQ. Diversity of missions is not this games strong point.

In terms of the story, it is pretty predictable and almost forgettable in my opinion. The pacing is dragged down by way too much talking between missions and an almost impossible to follow speedy text dialogue which leads to you skipping through the talking and getting back to the action as soon as possible.

My time with Tiny Metal did actually begin to endear me to this video game as I felt like I was almost doing a tutorial for the genre in general before I go and play a more advanced version of this type of video game. 

I think the visuals worked pretty well and in handheld mode, on the Switch, the images looked sharp and the gameplay map was well designed. The units are designed to be cartoony and fun and I think that this was definitely achieved.

Summary
So, in summary, I would say that the campaign and the AI are okay but unimpressive.
Tiny Metal, however, does have the potential to have been a deep and entertaining wargame. 
BUT it is let down by too much dialogue and not enough challenge.
That being said, it is actually fun to play a quick few maps but maybe not for prolonged periods of play.
I would say that this game deserves our melting rating which means that fans of the genre will have some fun with this £20 eShop title but for those looking to get into the genre maybe you should wait for something with a bit more substance.

💧❄️ RATING: MELTING ❄️💧

Ratings Explained

ICE COOL (Great Game Recommended)

MELTING (Recommended with reservations, one to consider if you are a fan of the genre)

MELTED (Not A Recommended Purchase)