Attack on Titan: Assault APK

Pros

• Large and authentic cast of Attack on Titan characters
• Timed button gestures add variety to the combat

Cons

• Heavily pressures players to spending real money
• Amateur graphics, art, and user interface design

This tie-in game to the popular action anime adapts the world of Attack on Titan into the format of a turn-based roleplaying game. There are some fascinating ideas at work here, but they don't necessarily come together in a way that will satisfy either gamers or fans of the anime. In the world of Attack on Titan, humanity has been reduced to a small number of survivors in fortified settlements occupying a world that has been devastated by giant, rampaging humanoid monsters known as titans. The heroes of the series are child soldiers who make use of unique grappling hook technology to fight these giant monsters, and they serve as the heroes of the game as well.

The conceit at the heart of the series allows for some kinetic action, but that unfortunately doesn't translate into the game's visuals. The 3D graphics look severely outdated, with square textures and muddy detail work that looks like a game from decades ago. But the still character images used to convey most of the narrative have the look of a low resolution copy as well. All of it is tied together with a menu screen that's practically bursting at the seams with icons and notifications. Figuring out what each of the icons means is a trial in its own right, and the nested layers of menus are obtrusive even by the standard of the modern mobile RPG. Fortunately, these features are at least introduced periodically as you begin to level up, so you have a bit more time to get acquainted with what the menus all mean.

Fitting industry trends is one of the core features of the game — the gacha mechanic. Combat units are unlocked by spending in-game currency rolling for a random character. Being able to draft a good team early in the game largely comes down to luck of the draw, and you can find yourself in an uphill battle against the game if you aren't willing to spend some real money or exercise some genuine patience. Once you have a decent roster, you can begin the cycle of progressing through missions and farming content for the materials you need to upgrade your characters and their weapons and add new soldiers to your team.

That combat will look familiar to anyone who's played a turn-based roleplaying game in the past couple of decades. Each characters has a small range of different attacks as well as a special power that takes time to charge, and they each trade turns with the opposition trading blows until one side is all dead. While the different characters occupy different roles, the breadth of strategies aren't especially deep, and success largely involves rolling the right characters and keeping everyone upgraded. But one nice addition is a series of timed button presses that help keep the flow of combat fresh.

Pros

• Large and authentic cast of Attack on Titan characters
• Timed button gestures add variety to the combat

Cons

• Heavily pressures players to spending real money
• Amateur graphics, art, and user interface design