Mercenary Kings (2014)

In this frantic 2D action game, you are part of the Mercenary Kings, the most skilled team of warriors-for-hire on Earth, but when your comrades have fallen and the fearsome forces of CLAW have seized an island-wide top secret Laboratory Base, you must do what it takes to stop them.

Shooter Platform Role-playing (RPG)Strategy Adventure Indie Action Fantasy Historical modern warfare crafting military robots run and gun female protagonist side-scrolling cyborg steamPlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One

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Character

Plot-driven, unpretentious, relentless and resolved.

character-ledplot-driven
unpretentiousprestige
contemplativerelentless
resolvedopen-ended
gravecomic

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From the critics

A few lines from each review; the whole review is on the critic's site. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.

PlayStation UniverseGarri BagdasarovApr 20148.5/10
Despite the repetition, Mercenary Kings offers an addictive customization system and a good all-round shoot 'em up experience.
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Game InformerMatt MillerApr 20148/10
An enormously entertaining shooter that starts to wear out its welcome after multiple repeats of the same stage maps
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God is a GeekMick FraserApr 20148/10
Like any good game in the Metal Slug-style, Mercenary Kings is by turns maddeningly frustrating and wonderfully cathartic. A special brand of distilled mayhem keeps the pace fast and the payback high as Kings rewards you for every foray into its deadly world. But its unwillingness to fully explain its crafting element, the inconsistent mission design and the odd teeny-tiny bug hold it back from perfection. Still, the leaderboard system and simple, gung-ho mechanics ensure that it remains good fun until the over-long campaign eventually out-stays its welcome.
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GameSpotJason VenterApr 20146/10
Mercenary Kings heads down several familiar paths at once, to mixed results.
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Metro GameCentralRoger HargreavesApr 20146/10
Less than the sum of its many and varied parts, Mercenary Kings never gets the mix of modern and retro influences right – apart from with the amazing visuals.
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Snippets via OpenCritic, where 42% of critics recommend it.

About the game

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One
Developer: Tribute Games
Publisher: Tribute Games
Released: March 25, 2014
Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
Perspective: Side view
Engine: FNA

IGDB rating 7.2/10 from 25 ratings.

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