Retro enthusiasts need to play this game before it leaves Xbox Game Pass

One of my favorite retro revivals from recent years is leaving Xbox Game Pass Ultimate’s game catalog on October 31. If you are still subscribed to this Microsoft gaming service and enjoy retro-inspired games, you need to check it out before it leaves at the end of the month. I’m referring to Metal Slug Tactics.
Released last November by Leikir Studios, Dotemu, and SNK, Metal Slug Tactics is a roguelike turn-based strategy game based on SNK’s classic arcade series. It stays surprisingly faithful to the series’ roots through its genre reimagining, and is actually one of my favorite strategy games from the last few years.
It’s underrated and ultimately got lost in the shuffle of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate’s massive library. As such, I think you should give Metal Slug Tactics a shot before it exits the subscription service’s catalog at the end of the month.
Carrying on the legacy of arcade classics
But now doing so as a turn-based strategy game
The Metal Slug series is mainly remembered for its 2D run-and-gun platformer arcade games. They were simple affairs, but they stuck out because of their excellent pixel art and entertaining, explosive gameplay. I still enjoy booting up the Xbox 360 port of Metal Slug 3 on my Xbox Series X occasionally when I’m in the mood for some old-school arcade action.
While it’s a completely different genre, Metal Slug Tactics still feels like classic Metal Slug. Aesthetically, it looks like the arcade originals, with their memorable, chunky but detailed pixel art. More meaningfully, it found a way to adapt the fast-paced run-and-gun arcade gameplay to a roguelike turn-based format.
At the start of each run, players have to create a three-unit squad. Then, they have to fight through encounter after encounter before squaring off with a boss at the end of the run. There is a story to be experienced here, but that’s not the true highlight. Like the classics it’s based on, gameplay is king.
The repeated runs of a roguelike is the closest thing modern gaming can offer to the feeling of starting a game from scratch at the arcade. It also greatly adds to the game’s replay value. Even though you only have a few more days to play this game through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, that’s more than enough time to go through a few runs and get a general feeling for what Metal Slug Tactics is all about.
Metal Slug Tactics goes beyond just being a nostalgia play
It’s one of my favorite strategy games of the last several years
I play a lot of strategy games, but I’ve never played another one that felt quite like Metal Slug Tactics. Some aspects of the game are very familiar, but it looked to the run-and-gun nature of the arcade game to spice up the typically slow flow of a turn-based strategy game. Each level has an objective to complete, running from taking out certain enemies to moving from one side of the stage to another.
Units can move and shoot throughout the grid-based layout of each level. It’s up to the player to decide which weapons are worth using to maximize damage. Metal Slug Tactics isn’t a strategy game where the best approach is to hunker down in one spot, though. Instead, you’re encouraged to constantly be moving your units, especially in boss fights where the bosses can attack or destory parts of the level.
This builds up adrenaline, a resource that can be used on special abilities to give you an edge in battle, and can set up sync attacks where two units attack an enemy at once. While most strategy games are slow-moving affairs, Metal Slug Tactics keeps things going at a much faster pace that nearly matches the cadence of the action arcade game.
Despite that, there’s still plenty of room for strategic depth, as the player has to decide how to balance building adrenaline, pulling off sync attacks, and killing the enemies. Because of this approach to its turn-based strategy game design, Metal Slug Tactics not only feels like a faithful Metal Slug game but a standout title within the wider genre.
Play Metal Slug Tactics before it leaves Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
It’s a shame Microsoft’s subscription service is about to lose such a hidden gem
Games come and go from Xbox Game Pass Ultimate every month, and I frequently see hidden gems leave the service with little fanfare. Although Metal Slug Tactics garnered decent reception upon its release, it was one of my favorite day-one Xbox Game Pass Ultimate games from last year and flew under the radar more than it deserved.