Door Kickers: Action Squad

Release Date: September 10, 2018

Action, 2D, for 2 players, indie games, co-op, side-scroll, shooters, splitscreen, multiplayer, singleplayer, internet

8.1

OpenCritic

95%

Steam

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2D retro shooter and spin-off to the Door Kickers series. Door Kickers: Action Squad has you play as a member of an elite anti-terrorist squad. You take part in a series of missions, which usually require you to infiltrate a building and save hostages. This, however, is not easy, as your character can die at the hands of all sorts of criminals: sprinters armed with knives, terrorists wearing bomb vests, or mobsters armed to the teeth.

Mechanics
Technical aspects

Door Kickers: Action Squad for PC is a 2D retro shooter, in which you play as a police operator, member of an elite anti-terrorist squad. The game is a joint work of two development studios: PixelShard, for whom this is a debut on stationary platforms, and KillHouse Games – known primarily for the Door Kickers series.

Mechanics

Door Kickers: Action Squad for PC slightly shifts the perspective from what fans know from the core games of the series, as it presents action from the side in 2D graphics, in which it resembles the Metal Slug series. The campaign is divided into several episodes, each one containing 12 missions. In each new location your job is to save hostages and eliminate the terrorists hiding in the building. This is by no means easy, as death can come at any moment from just a few careless shots. It all depends on how well you prepare the operation. The player can choose from several police officers classes, including defensive operator with a shield, a door-kicking breacher with a shotgun, or a rifleman with a submachine gun. Each character class also has an individual special ability as well as their own arsenal of weapons and tactical gadgets.

The game is focused on sheer action – throughout the consecutive missions you encounter a selection of mad opponents, who really test your reactions: e.g. sprinters with knives, terrorists wearing bomb vests, guns with revolvers or mobsters with an AK rifle. In order to survive these skirmishes you must make a smart use of police tactics, such as breaching through windows and skylights, or classicly, kicking doors down.

At any moment you can also invite a friend to play with you, as the game offers both local and online co-op mode. Two heads are better than one, and the collaboration of different SWAT operators can be a great leverage in the increasingly difficult missions.

Technical aspects

When it comes to audiovisuals, Door Kickers: Action Squad developers chose retro stylistics with a modern touch. Decaying apartment complexes as well as all enemies and hero characters look like they were taken directly from an old console. However, you have to hand it to the developers that the lighting system and particle effects do feel modern.

Last updated on September 20, 2017

Videos and Screens

[1:33] Door Kickers: Action Squad launch trailer

8.1

OpenCritic Rating

Game is Recomended by 83% of Critics. There are 17 Critic Reviews.

OpenCritic

GameSpace: 9 / 10 by Ralph Whitmore

Door Kickers: Action Squad has been a fun action side scroller to play. It is very reminiscent of the retro games I used to play on my Sega Genesis. From the graphics down to music, it has been hella fun.

Full Review

God is a Geek: 8 / 10 by Mick Fraser

Experiment with the different player characters and get on board with the surprising tactical depth, you'll find there's a lot more to it than meets the night vision body-cam.

Full Review

But Why Tho?: 8 / 10 by Rashaad Johnson

Door Kickers: Action Squad was a fun experience. It’s something that can be played when in need of some quick chaos and a bit of challenge.

Full Review

95%