Capes was a game that I remember seeing at Pax and I remember thinking that it didn’t demo well. Yet despite that, I loved the premise so much that I hoped that when I played it that I would dig the game.
I never played X-COM, but I’ve always loved turned-based games and I love superhero games so I figured it at least hoped that I’d love Capes. Did I? Who is this game for? Should you play Capes? Find out in this Capes Review.
Let’s dive into it.
The Narrative:
The story follows a group of super-powered young adults who decide that they want to be superheroes in a city where heroes are outlawed and hunted. With the mentorship of a member of this world version of the Justice League, the new heroes decide to recruit others to take down a shady organization. It’s a story that feels like its exploring a worn premise, but there some slight differences that keep you engaged. I found that the story kept me entertained and maintained a solid pace. The characters have familiar powers yet their personalities are interesting enough. I found that the villains are a bit boring and unremarkable. I’m a fan of gritty superhero stories like Amazon’s The Boys and Invincible and Cape’s story and world has that same kind of tone and personality.
The Gameplay:
Just like X-Com, and Fire Emblem, this game revolves around a turn-based grid system where you take a team and use their skills, to eliminate your enemies. In every mission in Capes, you are also given extra additional goals that you can try to accomplish and if you do you’ll receive extra XP to level up your heroes.
The chess player in me loves this game’s gameplay. Each hero has a set of moves and action points that allow them to impact the battles in various ways. If you enjoy turn based grid games then you’ll likely enjoy the gameplay.
Additional Pros:
The game has a lot of charm to it, especially with its diverse cast of characters, its art style, and the diverse powers that the cast has. It’s was a smart choice to allow players to replay the missions over again and try to achieve all the objectives. Doing so will allow you to gain SP points to grow your character’s skills. It is also a cool mechanic that you can go back and replay older missions with the newer characters that you unlock throughout the campaign. Utilizing the unique powers of the unlockable characters made replaying the older missions a joy.
Another aspect that I want to shout out is the game’s trophies/achievements. They are well thought out, challenging, yet actually attainable. It might be one of the best trophy lists this year.
While I wasn’t a big fan of the artstyle at first, it grew on me. As the story progressed it felt like a comic book came to life. As a comic book fan I really appreciated how each area felt like a panel of a comic book. The area’s are detailed and colorful.
Cons/Flaws:
The game with its many objectives can be very challenging. Even on normal difficulty, this game has a bit of a learning curve to it and if you don’t learn all of its mechanics you will struggle. Despite its cartoon-like appearance and genre of superheroes, many little kids will probably be frustrated with this.
As far as the voice acting goes all is well except that some of the writing is a bit campy and corny. I do think that the voice acting is making the best of the writing however there’s only so much you can do.
A feature that Fire Emblem has that this game needs is the ability to rewind your actions in the middle of a mission. If you make a tactical error in Caps you have to see your choice through or restart the mission from the beginning.
Overall/Should you Play Capes Review:
If you enjoy the gameplay of X Comm and Fire Emblem then you’ll likely have a great time playing Capes. While the dialogue might be a bit corny, and it is missing some features that others in this genre has it is still an easy recommendation. Playing Capes while watch a show like The Boys is an amazing one-two punch of gritty superhero goodness that i’d recommend for a Saturday afternoon. This is a solid entry in the grid turn-based genre.
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Reviewed on PC and Xbox
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