Slime Tactics from Flyhigh Works is the successor to Ambition of the Slimes, and this time we’re in for an RTS game. Learn more in our Slime Tactics review!

 

Slime Tactics from Flyhigh Works mixes 2D sprites with 3D voxel models for larger characters in this streamlined real-time strategy (RTS) release. As was the case for Ambition of the Slimes, for Slime Tactics you will be in control of the slimes, the weakest of enemies in all of RPG history. Slimes are usually the first type of enemy you meet in an RPG, usually during a tutorial section, serving as the first test for your group of heroes so that they can slay them to gain their first experience points to level up so that they can face stronger enemies.

Speaking of tutorials, Slime Tactics will get you started with a short tutorial that will teach you the basics. You will learn that you will have direct control of the protagonist who can shoot fireballs, place slimes on the stage and use items as needed. Slime units are placed on the map by pressing the A button, based on the order seen in the information window. This is important since you will have access to different types of slime. Once the slimes spot an enemy, it is go time!

Slimes will first suck away the souls of enemies with their attacks. You will notice this is taking place because the enemy unit will have a purple bar above it that will be drained out slowly. Once the bar has been completely depleted, a slime will claim the body of the unit it was attacking, turning it into an ally for your cause! This gameplay mechanic is similar to how things were done in Ambition of the Slimes, but the change to an RTS setting does make this one feel like a fresh experience.

 

And once you’ve placed all available slimes on the map, the main character will be able to shoot fireballs to deal some extra damage! Just be careful where you aim because the fireballs can also damage your allies. These fireball attacks will use up some of your magic points (MP), and you can see how much you have left by checking the MP bar below the main character’s health bar in the upper left corner of the screen. MP will replenish over time, so be sure to make good use of your attacks! The protagonist needs to be alive, or it is game over, so don’t go rushing into battle without a plan!

You will have some items available for you, which you can use by pressing the X button. If you have more than one item available, you can cycle between them by pressing the L and R buttons. For example, you might have a yellow potion available, and what this will do when used is provide an area over which a healing effect will be placed, so that all allies that walk over it recover some of their health points. As you can see, Items are very important, so you should always pay attention to which you have ready for a fight.

There are three types of human enemies to deal with: fighters, riders, and archers. These form a triangle, which means that fighters will be strong against archers but weak against riders, archers will be strong against riders but weak against fighters, and riders will be strong against fighters but weak against archers. Unit types will also have different variations, some of which are stronger than others, which is why trying to claim the strongest unit of the bunch might be tempting, but you do need to keep in mind that the stronger an enemy is, the more soul it will have, making it harder to claim. And not only will you be facing up against humans, but you will also have to battle against monsters. While humans will also attack monsters on their own, the humans you have claimed will be stronger against monsters, so be sure to mix it up!

 

Once you’re out on the map, you’ll be able to move between stages with the D-Pad or the left analog stick, or by pressing the L and R buttons. You can also press the X button to access the Party/Shop menus. The Party window is where you can assign which slimes you want to add to your party. The regular green slimes are the basic units, so you have an unlimited stock of them. Other units are available in more limited numbers, and they have different stats and abilities to consider. The number of slimes you can take with you into battle will vary for each stage, so you will need to plan accordingly.

As for the Shop, you can use the slime points from the battles you win to purchase extra slime units for the unit types you have unlocked so that you can have a more diverse group of crawling mashed up goo things. Unit types will also gain experience as you win battles, so sometimes having a varied group of slimes of all different types might be a good thing, but other times it might be best to focus on having only a few types available so that they benefit from the higher level they have.

Since this is an RTS, you can use the guide command to move the units you command to a specific spot. There are two ways of doing this. You can stand next to a particular unit and press the Y button to guide that unit, and you need to be careful with how you use the guide command since you have a limited number of uses for it. The other option is using a perfume item, which will guide all allies within its area of effect. Since this is a powerful item, you can cancel its effects by pressing the B button.

 

Speaking of items, along with the healing potion I mentioned before, there are other items that can boost your odds of being victorious. There is the mine which you can place on the map so that when a unit goes over it, it goes boom. You have a soulless potion that will suck out the souls of the enemy units within its area of effect. And how about a fighter’s statue that lures fighters to it, like a siren’s call? The types of items you can have in your stash will increase as you play the game. You should always use items in battle since your inventory will be replenished once you finish a fight, so don’t be afraid of experimenting to see which items are best under different scenarios! The only exception to this is the items you find inside of treasure chests in a stage since those can only be used during that particular battle.

At the end of each chapter, you will enter a special battle in which you will need to defeat a rather large boss – it is these enemies that are presented as 3D voxel models. While the humans will also be fighting against the big boss, and letting them chip away at its health is not a bad plan, you should definitely be more hands-on since bosses do pack a punch, and if you let it kill a lot of humans, then you won’t have many units left for you to claim so that you can control how they perform in battle.

I had fun playing Ambition of the Slimes (which Tracey actually reviewed for the site), so I was definitely up for giving a chance to this RTS game. I’m here to report that it’s a fun real-time strategy game with simple gameplay mechanics and small self-contained stages that make it easy for even those new to the genre to have fun with Slime Tactics. The game is available for a budget $9.99, and is one you should add to your Nintendo Switch collection!

Disclaimer
This Slime Tactics review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Flyhigh Works.