Delta Squad
Nintendo Switch

Developed By : Eskema Games
Published By : Ratalaika Games
Category : Twin-Stick, Action, Arcade, Multiplayer
Release Date : Nov 1, 2019

Twin-stick shooters seem to be a flood in the gaming market nowadays. It seems to be quite easy to flip a game to a top-down perspective and get both of those joysticks to work mowing done floods of enemies in a wide variety of genres. It’s a system that has it’s equal share of flops as well as hits, and can come in such numbers that the term “shovelware” is easy to apply to these. So can a game like Delta Squad on the Nintendo Switch edge out it’s competition, or fall flat on it’s face out of the gate?

A sequel to the previously released FullBlast, that games surviving group (this game’s titular Delta Squad) has thwarted the alien invasion and saved Earth. Or…so they had hoped. But when one threat gets squashed, another rises up, and such is the case now as they must deal with General Rumanovsky. This madman seeks world domination through a virus that will completely obliterate humanity, unless our heroes can squash yet another threat.

The game takes place in a world comprised of five different areas. Each one is run down by a plethora of zombies and otherwise altered human beings due to the good generals virus. Each area operates much the same in terms of what you’ll do. There are a series of objectives you’ll be tasked with completing which will appear via a series of crates as you complete each one in turn. These will start as typical things such as acquainting yourself with the area by killing a number of areas, before moving on to more specific things like dismantling bombs or radio towers.

To explore these areas, you’ll need to choose from one of the four offered characters in Delta Squad. These include an Engineer, Medic, Infanty and Heavy. Each character has varying levels on the three different stats provided : Speed (how quick you move around), Defense (how much damage you can take) and Power (how much damage you dish out). Each one comes with their own special secondary weapon as well, which can be useful depending on your playstyle. So if you want to slap out some bigger damage then take the Heavy with his grenade launcher, or if you want to prolong your own life take the Medic with his medkit for healing.

Every character operates the same on the ground. You can move around and aim with the two joysticks, fire your primary weapon and use your secondary (this is your characters special weapon). Other than walking around and firing, the only thing your characters can do are roll to dodge out of the way of an enemy attack, and interact with certain things within the world.

One of the great features in this game is that you can drop in and play wherever you want. There are five areas and all are accessible as soon as you fire the game up. No beating bosses, no completing X amount of missions, just pick a spot to drop and do the best you can, then pick another and see how you do comparably. This alone helps Delta Squad feel very approachable even if you find yourself struggling to gain some footing against the zombies.

Visually and audibly, this game is pretty great. It does an amazing job of capturing the older top-down feeling, while modernizing it with stronger graphics from today. This was a huge plus, at least in my opinion. I have played more games that have kept a “retro” vibe in these top-down titles than I have ones that chose a modern approach and it was quite refreshing to say the least.

If you’ve got people you like to game with locally, Delta Squad supports up to four person multiplayer through it’s campaign. However, that’s not the only thing you’ll have access to. Solo or partied up, you can also play all five of the levels on a survival mode. This is what you would probably expect : a wave survivor to test yourself on how long you can last against increasing-sized waves of enemies.

Whether you are looking for a game to play lengthy sessions of, or just something to dip in quickly to here and there, this is an option you must consider adding to your library. Even moreso if you are a fan of top-down twin-sticks, because this one is an absolute blast. The controls are simple which means its super easy to jump right in and start blasting away. While this title is easy to apply the “shovelware” term to, its definitely a title that stands out compared to a lot of the others.

So again, if you’re a fan of twin-stick shooters, don’t let this one pass you by. Grab your copy of Delta Squad from the eShop and strike up the battle against Rumanovsky today!