Ironcast Reviews
The Switch eShop is attracting a fair few match up puzzlers of late, but Ironcast should be the first one to be considered. It might be a port, but you would be forgiven for thinking this was designed from the ground up for the Switch.
In the end, Ironcast is easily a fun game that you can get caught up in while playing. It keeps you engaged and planning, but not to the point where it becomes a chore.
Ironcast is a neatly compiled amalgamation of various video game genres and is fairly intuitive to boot. It's easy enough to boot up and jump straight in without much handholding.
At the end we have turn-based tactical game with roguelike notes, in a rather interesting setting and standard, but harmoniously blended game mechanics that will appeal to all those who are not indifferent to this genre of games, IronCast ruthless to newcomers but at the same time, it generously rewards those who are able to pass at least five tasks in a single life.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Having to re-start the game after every death can be absolutely soul crushing but the satisfaction you get from winning an exhausting battle against an enemy Ironcast is remarkably satisfying.
Ironcast is a solid strategy game, easy mechanics and a deep level of customisation makes it worth coming back to.
A decent strategy puzzle-RPG that displays all the good bits and mitigates the bad ones, pip pip.
Ultimately, Ironcast stands tall as a much more innovative and deep game than I initially expected. A steep difficulty and solid strategy-first combat system take some getting used to, but intuitive controls and a smooth gameplay experience make it easy to get the hang of on a rudimentary level.
Ironcast will attract players who are into carefully selecting their elements before stepping into combat. Thanks to its interesting and well implemented mechanics, this is a game that can easily turn into an addictive experience. It should also be noted that Ironcast could use more variety and that its random components can have a disproportionate weight on the game's difficulty.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Ironcast can be brutally difficult, but typically it is from poor strategic choices and not due to the lack of certain resources in the matching portion of the game. The inclusion of the Commendation Marks adds to the replay value of the game, as you can experience new content with each consecutive playthrough.
Ironcast has found itself the right home on the Nintendo Switch. In the way it plays, Ironcast benefits from spontaneous game play sessions which the Switch can provide due to its tablet mode.
I haven't had the chance to play it on the PC, so I am going into this with a fresh open mind.
Fans of mechs and match three will find a lot to like in Ironcast, but even they will eventually tire of the repeating missions and random nature of the game.
Ironcast has a fascinatingly complex base game, filled with myriad details to keep track of and a brilliant sense of strategy. Unfortunately, while serious tacticians will find themselves enjoying the nightmarish difficulty, anyone looking for a lighter challenge will be left in the dust, as permadeath and a merciless RNG slow progress to an unsatisfying crawl. That may seem like a personal problem rather than a serious criticism, but there is so much richness here that a lot of players will probably never get to see — repeating the same missions over and over again is only fun for so long, and "so long" is exactly what I said to Dreadbit's fiendish genre-blend.
Despite these issues, Ironcast is a very solid game and worthy of putting a good few hours into. It mixes genres nicely, but it has other features that really work to dampen the enthusiasm that even the most ardent RPG fan might have for it.
Like most roguelikes, though, the true game is about fighting back against the randomness, and you do this with each lesson you learn about the sorts of augmentations to prioritise, and each trick you uncover for minimising battle scars and maximising scrap. If you've got the stomach for the learning curve, you can probably cut it in this army. And if you can, you'll discover a game that's tense and personable and clever.
The story is a touch blandly presented, but hardly an important factor in the scheme of the game. It's completely novel, and that's a rare thing to say about any game, and even rarer to conclude it succeeds in its originality.
I've found Ironcast to be an addictive title that keeps me coming back for more, even up against all the other fun titles vying for my time on the Switch. The price point of just over $20 AUD is reasonable. I've gotten a good five or six hours so far out of it and can see myself coming back for more.