Capes Hands-on Preview
If you have been following Player 2 for a while you know I have a deep, deep love for both Hand of Fate (1&2) and the Freedom Force games. While different companies developed both games, many of the actual developers worked on both titles. So when I heard history was repeating with a new company called Spitfire Interactive including a host of Hand of Fate and Freedom Force vets, well I had to keep a close eye on their output. Capes was announced as their first game and the pitch was one I immediately could get behind, I mean Superhero Xcom? Sign me up! Now I have had a chance to play and can tell you that the talented team can still weave magic because Capes is shaping up as a winner.
Capes gives off a great first impression. A cool comic book style with simple but effective graphics, it is easy to like from the outset. All the different superheroes have a great rapport, quipping and joking with each other throughout missions and during story exposition. The game kicks off with an explanation that there used to be a strong superhero presence in the city until an organisation simply known as “The Company” moved in and took over. Since that point, superpowered individuals have been hunted down and are considered to be a danger to society. Players take control of a group of young supers who, under the guidance of a grizzled veteran, look to free the city from the control of The Company and bring superheroes back into the light. It is a classic riff we have seen in things like the Xmen and it works well again here.
Gameplay wise, Capes is probably closer to Xcom: Chimera Squad in execution. The focus on unique, upgradeable heroes as opposed to expendable soldiers may seem like a subtle one initially, but it has huge ramifications for gameplay. Knowing each hero and their specialities is essential for success. For example, one hero can teleport behind enemies, stab them in the back and then teleport out of danger, which is good because she has low health, while another has restricted movement and doesn’t hit particularly hard, but can absorb a huge amount of damage so it makes sense to have them in the most danger. To further differentiate these playstyles, each character has an ultimate ability that can be charged by performing actions per their role. Our tanky damage guy earns his through taking punishment, while our teleporter charges hers with backstabbing maneuvers. These ultimates can then be unleashed on the wide variety of enemies for great damage and/or effect.
As these are hero characters, permadeath is not an option, so players are given the chance to revive fallen heroes. If they fail to be revived, then it is game over and players will have to revert to a previous checkpoint. This, along with the unique abilities of the heroes means that Capes feels a bit more puzzle-like in its approach to combat. Getting the right character in the right position makes up a huge part of each level and I often found myself starting over after learning about the level to achieve a better result. This is further encouraged by an upgrade system, that gives players mini-goals in each mission that are rewarded with character upgrade points. For example, use a certain ability three times or avoid taking a certain amount of damage. If these conditions are met, players can use the rewarded skill points to improve current abilities or even unlock new ones, so replaying levels to perfect them is well worth your time.
If you are an Xcom vet, you will need to make a few adjustments to your play style. There are a host of genre norms that don’t exist in this title. Things like cover and overwatch are not present and the old RNG gods have no sway here, if you can hit, you will. This makes sense considering the characters are superpowered individuals and not soldiers, but it does take some adjustment to how you tackle the missions. This actually keeps things fresh and forced me out of my comfort zone, meaning mission completion, especially if all the side goals were met, felt like a grand achievement. It also serves to make sure that Capes isn’t simply a copy of another game and stands alongside the strategy greats while doing its own thing.
I do have one or two concerns that I can see from my time with the title. The first is that I worry the environments and maps are all going to get repetitive. In my time I could only play the first act of the story and I found things a little on the bland side as far as the combat arenas go. I worry that over the course of the whole game, this will begin to wear on me. The other thing I am a little worried about is the lack of any sort of base management meta, something that is pretty normal in these sorts of games. There is very little to do outside of the combat missions and I wonder if those meta-activities that break up the combat in games like Xcom are going to be missed over the course of the game. Having said that, I have only played a small portion of the entire title, so these concerns may be unfounded. I certainly hope so.
Capes is without a doubt shaping up to be another winner from a group of devs who seem to be able to make games tailored to my exact personal tastes. It features likeable and unique heroes, some engaging puzzle/tactical combat and a solid story that helps hold it all together. It is also worth mentioning that with low system requirements and great controller support, Capes seems like it will be the perfect Steamdeck/Handheld PC experience when it releases. Things seem a little dry on the turn-based strategy front this year, so Capes should certainly be on your radar if you like that sort of thing. I, for one, can’t wait to dive into the full experience and see just how the whole thing turns out on May 29th.
