Toy Tactics Paints a Fresh Picture of Strategy Gaming

Romans, Arthur’s Knights, Samurai, Pirates, and an undead legion of the damned. Mix them all together and what do you get? No, not the set up to the most elaborate joke ever told - but Toy Tactics. An RTS that’s creative, novel, and full of surprises. 

It’s special something isn’t its unique blend of factions, its sense of humour, or even its unique presentation that feels like a childhood daydream come to life. It’s the fact that this isn’t like your typical RTS.

Yes, I know. If I had a penny for every time I heard that, I’d have enough to fund my own game and have it be ‘not-your-typical RTS’ - but here I mean it. It does away with all those ingrained systems that may prove an obstacle for players. Micro. Eco. APM. All, a thing of the past - ‘cos Toy Tactics has another way of doing it. A paintbrush.

The Art of War 

Your units are organised into battalions. Rather than ordering them around the map, you just paint on the world, and the regiment moves there. Be that a simple line, a box formation, a wedge, or anything your imagination conjures - draw your command, and your will shall be done.

Surprisingly, there’s quite a lot of control you can have with this. You can split a unit into smaller groups, send them to different locations, split your forces between different elevations.

Units engage on their own terms, and if there’s an enemy within bashing distance, they’ll engage. The trick of the game is picking the perfect location, having your army set up correctly, and utilising the world around you.

Utilising the World 

You’ve got elevation and terrain effects - but the world has plenty more features you can exploit. Chokepoints will wedge enemies in. Bridges provide the same effect - but enemies can be knocked off (an outcome both strategic and hilarious).

Environmental hazards can be utilised to take your enemy by surprise, and there are even neutral buildings here and there which can be captured.

Your paintbrush of command is your greatest weapon - but sending lines of units into the meat grinder one after another will not get you far. At a point, the tools you’ve got aren’t enough. Smart planning and leveraging the world around you will turn a good option into a great one. 

Or, of course, you can start raining magic down on your foes. Who needs strategic planning when you have a flame-tornado?

A Unit for Every Occasion

The game is split between a few different factions, and each has their own quirks, unique units and playstyles. They also all have their own spells and powers - and whether you like the frosty trickery of Arthur’s Knights or the raw destructive fury of the Legion - each has their use.

Within each faction, units synergise and compliment each other in interesting ways. Some are great for hit and run tactics. Some are happiest when bullying a battalion of weaker enemies. Now, none of the ones I experimented with were particularly complicated or overwhelming. Everything loops back to the game’s core pillar - it’s an RTS with depth, but without the headache.

The Campaign 

You’ll experience all of the above in the game’s campaign, which sees you travelling the world as the newest protege of Sun Tzu - author of The Art of War. 

‘Cos you fight with a paintbrush. Get it? 

You’ll traverse the land getting into skirmishes with a powerful undead menace - as well as other powers. The pacing of this was very welcomed. You run into other factions fairly quickly - providing early variety. Then after seeing said faction in the heat of battle, you’re given the option to take the campaign on a new course and play as them, or continue on as you were. This gives some branching alternatives - and freedom to tackle challenges as and when you want.

There’s further incentive to go back and master old levels, with items and objectives attached to each. The former will give you passive bonuses to apply to your units, the latter - the ability to unlock powerful spells to wreak havoc on the battlefield. 

And who doesn’t want to do that? 

Other Ways to Play 

Toy Tactics has plenty of other surprises hidden away. A skirmish mode which sees you take objectives on an ever mounting battlefield. The mercenary mode gives you ramping challenges that reward smart unique selection, and good battle command. Puzzles reward your problem solving ability - something I sorely lack - whereas sandbox takes away the pressure and lets you throw together as many units as you want. They are toys after all, you have fun with them.

The Verdict 

The game hit me in a few waves. I was impressed initially, the visuals, the audio, the premise -  they’re all novel and very well done. But as I got used to one thing, another detail popped up. I figured it would be a bit of a one trick pony, but it kept introducing new mechanics, new features, and new ways to play. 

The world has a ton of character. It’s just fun. Funnily, one game it kept reminding me of was Worms. It has that sense of humour, that slight silliness. It brings a smile to your face, and most importantly, it knows what it is and what it’s trying to be.

It’s not going to steal away any hardcore RTS players. It’s not trying to say ‘this way is better’ - nor reinventing the wheel. It’s just putting forward a fun spin. Something that won’t make you drop all those other strategy titles you’re trying to balance, but rather, give you something you’ve never had before. An avant-garde yet surprising course between main meals. 

It’s bold, it’s fun, and it’s simple enough for anyone to pick up and play and feel like a brainy, distinguished commander. Toy Tactics is a lot of fun, and the sort of game you don’t see often. Incredibly inviting, but with enough strategic pedigree to keep you coming back to check out all its nuggets of content.