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Mercenary Kings

I’m pretty sure I don’t like this game. I thought I’d really like it, since it looked like a cross between Metal Slug and Contra, with a more modern design sensibility (and it’s a free PS+ download on PS4), but so far I’m just not really having much fun playing it. The thing that is frustrating me the most is that every mission has a timer – something I’m generally not a huge fan of in games – and since the levels are quite complex, there’s a lot of pressure in trying to finish before the end (so far my missions tend to be find/kill 8 of a type of character). I wouldn’t mind exploring these levels if it was done on my own time – I do love Metroidvania-type games – but with the pressure of the timer, I just feel frustrated trying to access a map that isn’t particularly detailed, and then moving around in rather large levels. They’re also using a Gears of War-type reload mechanic which, in a game like Gears of War is fine since you’re doing it after firing through a rather large clip of ammo, but doing it here every time I shoot 6 bullets is a huge pain in the ass. It could be just me playing this wrong, but I’m not really looking to play much more of it.

By Jean Snow

Production Services Manager at Ubisoft Shanghai. Before that, half a life spent in Tokyo.