Ironcast Est. 1886 Review
Puzzle Warfare with Worth-It Rogue Frustration
Ironcast came with a bang this week on PS4, and I haven’t been able to put it down since. Determination and intrigue fueled my fire as I played this crazy steampunk puzzle rpg created by Dreadbit Games. Ironcast throws you back to the 19th century into a cockpit of a 7 meter tall bipedal war machine and it’s all up to you to save country and queen.
Before hitting “New Game” curiosity drove me to check out the “Commendation Exchange”. Within the Commendation Exchange, the player can purchase new Ironcasts, characters, abilities, and augments using Commendations. A single Commendation is received for every 5,000 XP earned throughout campaign. Commendations can also be found on the puzzle board from time to time. I got the first hint that I would be failing often in this game with the last upgrade section called Boosters: permanent upgrades to starting stats and level up benefits.
Gameplay:
I’ve never been a fan of matching puzzle games like Puzzle Quest or Candy Crush Saga; I puzzle-burnt myself out trying to reach Endless Mode level 280 on Bejeweled 2 back on my Xbox 360. Ironcast brought match-three puzzles back to life for me. Players take turns commanding their Ironcast (on the left side of the screen) against various Steamtanks and other Ironcasts (on the right side of the screen). You are going to need certain resources to strike devastating blows, perform evasive maneuvers, power deflector shields and repair battle damage. Matching three or more of the same nodes supply the resources you need and awards the player with much needed XP (the longer the chain the more XP). Each turn, players can only perform three different matches, so plan you moves carefully.
Ironcasts are equipped with two weapons, a Drive, and a shield. Activating your Drive will increase evasiveness, making it harder for enemies to land shots. Powering up your deflector shield provides a damage buffer and forces your opponent to use high powered single-shot attacks. The amount of resources needed to perform each action depends on the use requirements for the corresponding part equipped. For example, a lower level weapon may only require 2 power nodes and 2 coolant nodes to fire, while higher level weapons take 3–4 powers nodes and 2–4 coolants nodes to fire. There are two varieties of weaponry at your disposal: projectile and energy. Projectile weapons hit the target with high caliber rounds and motor shells, while energy weapons fire plasma burst and electric bolts. It is important to learn when to use each type of weapon. I suggest playing around with different combinations of weapons, but always keep a very powerful single shot weapon; when an enemy’s shield is activated, it’s the only way to pierce through.
As shown above, players can choose which part of an enemy to aim at by holding “square”. This adds a level of complexity unique to Ironcast as players will find themselves methodically taking out an enemy’s drive, leaving their foes as sitting ducks; or forcing the enemy into an endless repair loop, leaving them weaponless.
Design:
Ironcast sends our player out on various missions over a course of 10 days, between each returning to a station base for repairs and upgrades. Mission types include: Battle, Salvage, Trade, Survival, and Collection. Salvage missions force the player to defeat an opponent without damaging a particular piece of equipment on the foe’s Ironcast, in the hopes that once salvaged will be an upgrade to your own Ironcast. Survival missions require you to fend off one enemy after another for a set amount of turns. I found survival missions to be a waste of time. Even though you collect a ton of XP and scrap, your Ironcast is usually left in bad shape. The only available option to repair your Ironcast (other than acquiring a random repair perk at level up) is to spend the valuable scrap resources you just collected in between battles at the station. In Collection missions you must collect a certain amount of crates that appear in the puzzle grid, providing various resources or parts. If you’re in the mood for a classic vs match select the Battle mission option, its pretty straight forward. The most useful mission type are Trade missions. These missions can provide useful resources, while always providing a good amount of XP. On top of that, you do not receive any battle damage.
No matter what mission you choose, once the smoke clears, if the player emerges victorious they are rewarded with experience points, cash resources, and “War Assets”. War Assets bring a whole new mechanic to puzzle games I've never experienced before. You can think of War Assets as the amount of infantry in your army. They can be used in trades if you need emergency scrap or in certain scenarios you can use War Assets to provide support to people in need in exchange for a reward, but there is an even more important use. After 10 days of missions, Ironcast forces you into your first boss battle:
The boss has a ridiculous amount of health and dishes out cans of whoop-ass like a Campbell’s soup factory, but this is where War Assets really help. At the beginning of the battle, the boss’s health is reduced by the number of War Assets you have. I do appreciate the introduction of a new mechanic, but War Assets need to be worth more. I found myself dying over and over again to this boss, AND STILL HAVEN’T BEATEN HIM! I have spent around 300 commendation points so far to buff up my starting stats and level up rewards in the Commendation Exchange, but still have no luck in defeating him.
Presentation:
Ironcast does a great job catering to steampunk fans. The art is gorgeous with fluid animations and hyper attention to detail, even if its only 2D. The Ironcast designs are menacing, painting each with their own unique personalities. Character designs are super classy too, but I was heavily disappointed with the lack of difference story-wise between characters. My favorite aspect of Ironcast’s presentation is it’s soundtrack. Whether customizing your Ironcast at the station or battling it out on the cobblestone, the music is intense and memorable. It seems to meld a symphony of national anthems with epic war sagas like Star Wars, leaving a distinct theatrical thumbprint on my mind.
Conclusion:
Ironcast isn’t afraid to admit its not holding any hands. Even with concise actions, players will run into streams of bad luck. There are many mechanisms in the game to rely way too much on luck. Sometimes you get a bad puzzle board that stops you dead, or your shots continue to miss. I found it to be annoying when I failed to receive good loot on runs where I accumulated a huge stockpile of scrap resources. It became tremendously frustrating when I found great loot, but not enough scrap. The overall experience isn’t ruined by these factors. Ironcast is a must play for match-three puzzle fans! I may have lost to the first boss every time I've faced him (like 10 times), but I’m not discouraged to try again. The rogue-like approach to purchasing boosters and upgrades through Commendations keeps your heart in it for the long haul. I know with enough time my Ironcast will become over-powered in comparison to my wimpy-wimpy Ironcast I’m currently using, and I will not be seeing anymore of these screens:
Thank you for reading. Nolan — Totaltoad
Ironcast gets a 8/10 (Very Good)
Thank you to Zack Hage and Dreadbit Games for supplying me with the code and giving me this chance to share my opinion with everyone. Check out my random video game videos on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd8mNw3LXaEC1AA5nxiThoQ
For more reviews and features like this one, please check out The Cube on Medium.com, or our twitter account @TheCubeMedium
