14 DAY TRIAL // 
I need to keep my radar as close as possible to Big Donk, while staying out of hiw stomping way. I then move two squads of tanks right in front of the creature, knowing that they will get trampled but will significantly slow it down. Meanwhile, my airfields pump out two bombers, ready to drop a lot of ordnance on it, while I choose to run the operation that allows me to build another army base for free. I’m confident that the monster will never reach my precious research labs but I’m not sure that I will get the medal handed out for reaching an objective inside the time limit.
Kaiju Wars is both developed and published by Foolish Mortals Games. I played on the PC via Steam, but gamers can also get it on the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 4, and the Xbox One. The title offers engaging turn-based strategy mechanics with a presentation that celebrates huge monsters and the people that try to stop them.
The story setup is classic: powerful creatures emerge and threaten to flatten cities and defeat all military forces sent against them. The player is the mayor of a mega-city that stands in the path of the monsters. Major Danger and Doctor Warner come on board, offering military assets and scientific expertise. And there’s a shadowy force behind the scenes that are trying to help the creatures. All the narrative beats are familiar, but the game executes them well (the running commentary from citizens is very funny).
Kaiju Wars is all about obstacles. The legally distinct-from-Godzilla-and-friends creatures want to pummel things and always move towards a building. The player needs to use assets ranging from classic tanks to experimental weapons (I quite like the transforming robot) to try and stall them until the scientific effort can produce a serum that will drive down their aggression. This is easier said than done, especially when working on the Hard difficulty.
Everything happens in turns. Click on the monster to see what it plans to do and where it will move through. To limit their abilities, players can build army and air force bases and then deploy units, each with their own tactical role. Tanks and infantry are good at limiting enemy progress, fighters have good counter (meaning they deliver damage when destroyed), and so on. All these units are very cheap to repair and throw back into the fight, trying to slow the kaiju and keep them from their objective.
Players also need to deal with opposition operations, designed to enhance the destruction and make defense harder, mainly by exposing where the serum is being researched. But the humans have their own special projects, one of which can be activated each turn. The variables interact with each other in interesting ways, making it hard to plot a winning strategy (there’s no saving during missions). Medals, acquired via gameplay, can boost veteran units that will put in the most work against the monsters.
The campaign keeps gamers on their toes by throwing a wide array of scenarios at them. I initially relied on the airforce to both keep the kaiju occupied and had to adjust quickly when I encountered a situation that only gave me ground forces. Experimental weapons are good choices, but they have long setup times. Radars, with the appropriate operation, can boost science quickly, but the creatures have their own special abilities that can destroy them quickly. It sometimes takes one play through a mission to understand what the parameters are and to make the expected mistakes, before adjusting one’s approach to actually reach objectives.
To ensure that players have content to engage with outside of the campaign, the developers also offer an editor and custom missions, the ability to engage with challenges and compare scores with the community, and even moments of limited coop play.
Kaiju Wars has a presentation equally inspired by classic monster movies, comic books, and low-quality web series (I love the cardboard-like background of the rest of the city at the edges of the screen). The game takes plenty of care to always give players the information they need to create the best possible plan. But it also delivers tension and action moments, despite its turn-based nature. The sound design is as fun, with a tinge of rock and orchestral that underlines the coolest moments of a level.
The Good
- Kaiju tactical engagements
- Loving spoof
- Pumping soundtrack
The Bad
- A focus on replaying missions
- Some difficulty spikes
- Some hit-or-miss humor
Conclusion
The development team has been quick to react to player feedback, adding more options. And I hope that they will also introduce more scenarios and, maybe, a few extra mega-monsters to deal with. Kaiju Wars is not revolutionary, but it delivers a tight strategy package that celebrates its inspirations while spoofing them.
Review code provided by the publisher.
