Super Trench Attack! is a comedy isometric shooter taking place in a World War setting. Brought to you by Retro Army it is as much of a parody game as it is an action game. You start out as a fresh recruit right after the enemy has invaded your lands, but worry not, you will be popping headshots in seconds.
Graphics
The game has a very particular retro feeling when it comes to the graphics style. It does a little bit remind me of Papers, Please. It should be said that this art direction might be unappealing to some people, but all in all it does look good. Only thing that can be mentioned is the sometimes bit jerky animation quality.
Under the hood
It should be noted, that the game operates with ‘plenty of goofball humor'(quoting the devs on this one). Some people will absolutely love it, while others will roll their eyes every two seconds. It is present in every single part of the game, from the story to such simple things as shooting an enemy in the head. You even get a little buddy who will follow and aid you in your quest to defeat the invaders. He is simply called … Buddy.
The combat system is fluid and generally fast paced. Most enemies die in a few shots. You can do headshots for more damage, and if the enemy doesn’t die from it they will become stunned. It is easy to stunlock enemies this way, however if there are too many they can stunlock you aswell. Most of the challenge comes from enemy numbers, as single enemies can be dealt with quite easy. Right now only mouse and keyboard is supported, but Xbox controller is coming shortly with a brand new patch(also featuring a survival mode!)
There are four big open areas to explore. You can go out to them anytime to discover secrets, or parts that the campaign leaves out. It is usually worth the trip as most of the times there is some kind of treasure waiting at the end. These open areas can be a bit tricky to navigate at times. The minimap helps a lot, but sometimes it is not natural where you can cross a wall as gaps and holes are not reflected on the minimap. To ease the pain of walking ages to get to the further parts of the game, it uses a tunnel system that let’s you quick travel between some locations.
There is a slight RPGish element in the game, as your character can level up and gain boosted stats.
There is a slight RPGish element in the game, as your character can level up and gain boosted stats. Various items can also be purchased to buff yourself. The biggest issue for me is the lack of firearms. You get a pistol and a rifle. There are no other kind of weapons, just upgraded versions of these. However you have infinite supplies of grenades. I can understand that there were no machine guns available in the first World War, but the game is a parody in the first place and I think it would have been okay to go a bit crazy with experimental weaponry.
To shake up the gameplay there are also on-rails shooting sections or ‘shooting galleries’ as the developers call them. I didn’t have much problems with them, but some people might find them boring. It can be an issue for them, as 3 of the boss fights are actually play out this way.
Sound
As it is a comedy action game, the sound effect are also a bit exaggerated. Tanks blow up like they are filled with C4s, the pistol spamming will sound like you are firing a machine gun, and enemies will die loudly(more death sound variation coming with the patch aswell). The soundtrack is surprisingly nice. It fits perfectly with the environment. I especially liked the music playing when you are in the main camp.
Verdict
Super Trench Attack! is definitely not for everyone. However if you enjoy the humor, and like the gameplay you won’t be disappointed. The storyline is extremely simple, and the game can be beaten in about 4 to 8 hours, depending on exploration and achievement hunting. It only costs 5$ and there is even a demo available. If you like the idea I would say its a bargain.
Super Trench Attack! is available on Steam right here.
