A tactical classic with intense top-down SWAT action | Full Review - Door Kickers

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I played Door Kickers on PC many years ago and now, playing it’s mobile port, it brings the same intense and strategic gameplay that made it a hit on the larger screen. Developed by KillHouse Games, Door Kickers offers an intense mix of tactical planning, real-time execution, and satisfyingly challenging missions — assuming it goes well.

🟩Pros

+deep tactical planning

+intense real-time action

+intuitive touch controls

+100 missions + mission editor

🟥Cons

-No cons

At its core, Door Kickers is a top-down real-time strategy game that puts you in command of an elite SWAT team, from planning to execution. Your mission is to neutralize threats, save hostages, and complete objectives within a variety of scenarios. The game's strength lies in its tactical depth — both in pre-planning and in the actual real-time execution, offering an impressive array of tools and options to tackle each mission.

Touch controls are overwhelming at first as opposed to trying this first out with a mouse, but for those who are used to playing mobile games and especially for those who haven't played the PC version, this won’t be a major issue. Actually, the touch controls are intuitive and the game is more playable than I expected. The game's interface has been optimized for smaller screens without sacrificing functionality or visual clarity. However, If you have a tablet to play this with, it can definitely help provide a much better experience, it’s recommended but not essential.

Before each mission, you can meticulously plan your approach by setting waypoints, determining the entry points, assigning roles, and analyzing enemy positions. The freedom to strategize and adapt your plan to the ever-changing situations is where Door Kickers truly shines. It’s just like drawing on a floor plan or blueprint and directing your squad what to do. Every movement, every turn, every opening of a turn, every grenade, every peek and eventual breach is up to you.

Once the mission begins, the tension mounts as you execute your plotted plan in real-time. You have the ability to pause the action at any moment to reevaluate your strategy and it adds an extra layer of real-time tactical depth, allowing you to make any changes and just not hope your initial plan pans out successfully, as well as allowing you to make calculated decisions rather than relying solely on reflexes. This blend of real-time action and tactical planning creates a unique and immersive gameplay experience.

Door Kickers offers an impressive amount of content, with over 100 challenging missions across various environments, including hostage rescues, bomb defusals, and assassination prevention. Each mission presents a different set of obstacles, floor layout, and requires a well-thought-out plan to achieve success. The escalating difficulty curve ensures that even experienced players will be put to the test.

Furthermore, the game features a mission generator, allowing players to create their own scenarios and share them with the community. This user-generated content adds a virtually limitless replayability factor, ensuring that the fun doesn't end even after completing the main campaign.

As for your SWAT team, you are free to customize your own lineup and loadout for the characters. As you gain more stars by completing missions, you can unlock new classes to use like the assaulter, breacher, or stealth. And come up with a load out that matches these classes accordingly and synergies with other teammates and mission layouts. There is perma-death if these members die in a mission, and they will be replaced by a newly trained recruit, so you somewhat grow attached to these members sort of like an RPG game in iron man mode, and learn to actually care for their survival.

You are free to come up with your own challenges for yourself and approach the missions in any way you see fit. Challenge yourself and do the missions with a solo operator? Want to focus on a stealthy approach? Or a loud guns out approach? Or do you want to challenge your planning skills and strictly avoid pausing in-game and just purely rely on your initial plan? It's kind of a sandbox game, where you are just given a playground, a vague goal, and the tools to play with it.

Although Door Kickers doesn't boast cutting-edge graphics, it presents a clean and functional aesthetic that serves its purpose well. The top-down cut-out view of the levels provides a clear and comprehensive view of the action, allowing players to assess the battlefield with ease. There is a cone vision gameplay mechanic to obscure enemies, so it's still realistic in that sense. The user interface is intuitive and doesn't clutter the screen, ensuring that the focus remains on the tactical aspects of the game.

In terms of sound design, Door Kickers delivers an immersive experience. From the tense tactical background music that heightens the atmosphere to the satisfying sound effects of breached doors, radio chatter, and silenced shots, each audio element contributes to the game's overall tension and engagement.

Conclusion:

Door Kickers is a tactical classic that successfully translates the thrilling gameplay of the PC version to anyone’s pockets. With its deep tactical planning, intense real-time action, and intuitive touch controls, the game offers a highly satisfying experience for strategy fans and those who would like a taste of being a SWAT strategist.