Missile Command Delta Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch 2, Switch, & Windows PC)

In 1980, one of the hottest arcade games was Missile Command. It carried all the hype and rage, as kids and adults alike rained missile hellfire on enemies. With just your joystick or cursor on a touch screen, you pinpoint the area you want to strike. And depending on your ingenuity in determining the coverage area and impact, you’re able to destroy all incoming missiles. 

As you can imagine, gaming sessions get steamy. It’s highly intense as streams of missiles fly toward your cities, and in a matter of milliseconds, you have to strike them all down. And often, however small, the suspense before discovering you’ve succeeded, as you watch the chaotic explosions rampage onscreen, is damning. 

This is the exact jittery feeling and chaos duo developing team 13 AM Games and Mighty Yell plan to replicate in Missile Command Delta. And not like the usual remasters you’ve played through, even by Atari. This time, they want to entirely flip the original gameplay on its head. But are their development efforts successful? Let’s find out in our Missile Command Delta review. 

Reason for the Season

Rather than simply start firing on all cylinders, raining hellfire missile parade on enemies, Missile Command Delta kicks off with a lighthearted adventure story. It tells of four groups of high school friends, daring one another to go into an abandoned underground bunker and spend the night. 

Things quickly turn awry when the doors lock behind them, alarms go wild, and they discover that they are under missile attack. Whoever is waging war against them is unknown. But it’s apparent that the Cold War-era technology throughout the bunker has something to do with it. 

In any case, it’s entrusted to you, the player, to ensure the survival of your friends through firing missiles back at your assailants. And to do so, you’re declared the proficient character to handle the multiple computer terminals dispersed throughout the bunker. 

Shifting Gears

This is the first half of Missile Command Delta’s gameplay, the handling of the missile station against your attackers. However, it stands out due to its significantly different mechanics compared to the original 1980 Missile Command. Before, you launched missiles in real-time, using your joystick or cursor to pinpoint the area to strike. In Missile Command Delta, however, we shift gears to a tactical, turn-based gameplay system. 

You have two monitors: the left showcases your defense bases and the incoming missiles, and the right showcases the missile cards at your disposal. The missile cards are a deck-building minigame where you choose the missile type with different energy costs, range, blast, and other unique properties. Here’s where your decisions matter to take out all the incoming missiles successfully. 

Rather than simply react quickly, you find yourself taking the time to plan ahead and think through every action you take. Especially since your actions can have drastic consequences when not carefully thought out. Admittedly, the move from real-time to turn-based action put forward two different ways of play. And you might find yourself drawn to either one. But there is a commendable level of pleasure and satisfaction from enacting a well-thought-out plan. It is truly rewarding to face increasingly difficult challenges and come out on top.

Uphill Climb

You’ll often solve several terminals, perhaps three, in a row to unlock new gears, areas to explore, or even lore. Each offers a significant degree of challenge that intensifies as you progress. However, with the increasing difficulty comes training modules that show you the ropes. 

Worth mentioning, also, is that the terminals have a target energy cost that you must launch missiles totaling less than or equal to the cost. And meeting the target can have lore and story advantages. However, progress is not locked if you fail to hit the target, which paves the way for replayability, challenging yourself to breeze through all the challenges. 

That said, I recognize the potential tediousness and frustration of solving some of the terminals. Onward, a greater number of incoming missiles flood the screen with explosions while you’re juggling with shields and launching your own attacks of varied range and area of coverage. And it can all get chaotic on the tiny terminal screen. 

Coming up with an ingenious strategy at these points can be hectic, worsened by the long-winded time it takes for the explosions to fully complete. Considering also that you’re tackling several terminals in a row, it can get draining. Fortunately, Missile Command Delta changes pace with the narrative, exploration, and puzzle-solving section of the gameplay. 

A Way Out

Yes, Missile Command Delta does, in fact, have a plot that you unravel during your exploration of the bunker. You’ll move around the rooms in first-person perspective, searching for keys to open locked doors and cabinets. You’ll collect notes that reveal more lore, secrets, and even clues on solving the environmental puzzles you come across.

All of these were not present in the original Missile Command. And so, it’s quite refreshing to be playing through an entirely new take on the beloved arcade classic. Unfortunately, the execution leaves something to be desired. It’s not all terrible, but certainly hardly the unforgettable adventure that would leave a mark in gaming.

For one, we’re moving from a lighthearted night of adventure to a truly high-stakes situation anyone would completely panic over. Missiles are raining down on you, for reasons beyond your knowledge. And so, the narrative should have exploited that: the spiking tension, the chaotic moments of arguing, and survival instincts kicking in. At its core, Missile Command Delta’s narrative has a high potential for a truly intriguing adventure. And it just doesn’t quite cut it. 

Adventure Awaits

The writing, at points, is genuinely strong and compelling. And the characters do have unique personalities. Even more so is the addition of a relationship system. Your decisions and actions do affect the dynamics within your friendship group. Onward, new characters come up who further add to the mystery of the bunker and its relation to the friendship group. I’m just not quite sure it’s all enough to truly fascinate and intrigue every gamer. 

Indeed, the gamers who might find the narrative worthwhile may be longtime fans of the original Missile Command. And those who don’t mind enjoying some level of intrigue and mystery-solving, however small. The puzzles, as well, can provide some level of fun. They are hardly taxing, allowing you to discover new areas of the bunker and unearth story clues. Some might be too easy, and at times, boring. In contrast, the more challenging ones can be tedious. 

Overall, though, there’s some level of satisfaction in progressing through the story and unlocking more complex terminals alongside it. 

Complementaries

As for the graphics and audio design, they’re decent. This is a retro-future. And so, as much as Missile Command Delta brings the original to the modern day, it still retains its nostalgic charm. You explore low-poly, hardly sophisticated environments in the bunker. The details aren’t the most intricate either, and the color and overall environmental features can come across as flat. On the other hand, this game feels designed for the veterans of the original, those who might appreciate a cleaner but ultimately retro aesthetic.

The music score is a different story, though. It’s definitely one of the commendable features, with its ethereal sound design. This, if not the story, puts you in the high-stakes situation the characters are in, with incoming missiles wiping them out at a moment’s notice. And when solving the Terminal challenges, the tension comes across the most, the soundtrack building in momentum and intensity. 

Verdict

It’s definitely impressive for Missile Command Delta to completely veer off in a different direction yet still capture the high-stakes feeling of the original. Rather than react quickly, your job is to carefully assess the incoming missiles and respond with a well-thought-out plan. And when your plan fails, there’s room for trial-and-error, challenging you to experiment and remain open-minded to different solutions. 

Missile Command Delta uses a turn-based action gameplay system that skillfully captures the tense pause you take before making your next move. And succeeding in a challenge feels rewarding, also pushing you to take on more complex scenarios.

While you’re incentivized by the new items and story bits you unlock from solving Terminal challenges, ultimately, it can grow tedious, perhaps even frustrating, on the more taxing levels. And the environmental puzzles, unfortunately, don’t do enough to make up for it. 

Sure, you’ll enjoy the change of pace from planning missile attacks to solving puzzles and unlocking new lore and story bits. But when the puzzles are easy, and tedious when challenging, and the story fails to capture the high-stakes situation of anticipating missile attacks at any moment, your intrigue easily fades away.

Still, veterans are likely to enjoy the glorious return of Missile Command, however imperfect. Even on the tidbits that don’t quite hit the mark, veterans, and perhaps turn-based lovers, will still appreciate the satisfaction of destroying every one of the incoming enemy missiles.