Narcos: Rise of the Cartels Reviews

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels is ranked in the 7th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
4 / 10.0
Feb 26, 2021

It should be noted that in order to be able to finish the game at all and thus "besiege" the game crashing, I had to use the trainer and literally fly through the missions without passing the NPC's turn. I can understand if someone in a single player game uses cheats/trainer to have unlimited ammo, life and just go kill NPCs and that's how they react. After all, games are made mainly for relaxation and entertainment. However, if I have to use a trainer in order to finish the game at all (because otherwise the game crashes), then something is very wrong.

Review in Czech | Read full review

May 9, 2020

When Fire Emblem: Three Houses released in the second half of 2019, it thrust tactical RPGs into the spotlight once again. Named in many Switch owners top three games of the last 12 months, fans new and old enjoyed all that Fire Emblem had to offer. It’s only natural then to see interest rise in similar titles that are subsequently released. Queue Narcos: Rise of the Cartels.

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GameSpace
Top Critic
6 / 10.0
Jan 9, 2020

An inadequate tie-in game for the Netflix series Narcos that pales in comparison to its source material.

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6.5 / 10.0
Dec 26, 2019

A fun, but simplified take on the turn-based strategy genre, think "baby's first XCOM" and you're on the right lines. Its flaws are obvious but easily overlooked for newcomers to the genre. If you're a die-hard strategy fan, consider giving Narcos: Rise of the Cartels a pass, it won't have much to offer you.

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5 / 10.0
Dec 19, 2019

Your enjoyment of Narcos: Rise of the Cartels is going to be heavily based on whether you can accept its strategy game conceit.

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6.5 / 10.0
Dec 13, 2019

Overall, Narcos: Rise of the Cartels offers some unique strategy mechanics to help distract you from the game's slow nature.

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4.5 / 10.0
Dec 8, 2019

Rise of the Cartels presents some interesting ideas, but so far it isn't a title worth buying, especially not for the full price. Of course there are some pluses like great soundtrack or familiar faces from Netflix's show. Unfortunately, the game fails with terrible and irritating combat system, additionally, it gets boring faster than it should.

Review in Polish | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Dec 6, 2019

While making a few adjustments to a tried-and-true formula, Narcos: Rise of the Cartel is a surprisingly enjoyable tactical strategy game that does its job well with the Narcos license.

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5 / 10.0
Dec 6, 2019

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels is a strategic turn-based combat game that simply doesn't work. Despite a high-sounding name, the managerial part and the strategic depth are lacking; moreover, the variants to the classic X-Com gameplay are strange and poorly designed.

Review in Italian | Read full review

5 / 10
Dec 4, 2019

If you are a fan of the Netflix's series, the game should suit you for a few hours before all of its flaws eventually spoil the party. Narcos : Rise of the Cartels lacks depth and is not a very interesting tactical game.

Review in French | Read full review

Dec 2, 2019

If anything, Rise of the Cartels shows that doing turn-based games in which every unit moves in its own turn instead of the traditional team-based mode is a bad idea. Tactical battles turn into a back and forth between two or three units, it lacks depth the genre is known for.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

Gaming Boulevard
Timmy Adriaens
8.5 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2019

In conclusion, Narcos: Rise of the Cartels may be the best TV/movie turned game I played in a very long time. I consider it to be detailed and highly intricate in its design. Keep your head cool or your team will take some hits though...

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Chris Wray
Top Critic
3 / 10.0
Dec 1, 2019

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels is the perfect example of one decision ruining any chance a game had of being reasonable.

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Nov 29, 2019

This could have been a good game tie-in for the Netflix show. It has source material to work with, high in-game production value, and a proven XCOM-style strategy concept. If only the game would actually let you execute some tactical strategy.

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5 / 10.0
Nov 28, 2019

With many good turn-based strategy games available on the Nintendo Switch, you are much better off finding an alternative to Narcos: Rise of the Cartels.

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2.7 / 5.0
Nov 28, 2019

Without sounding cynical, ‘Narcos: Rise of the Cartels’ suffers from the same curse that looms over most video games that derive from TV shows and movies.

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Nov 28, 2019

There's simply no reason to play something so utterly bereft of thought as Narcos.

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4.5 / 10.0
Nov 27, 2019

Netflix’s Narcos series sucks you in and this game just literally sucks. I honestly expected a lot with how fast-paced and exciting every episode is. The video game just went the opposite direction and if the developers are going for another round at this, I suggest they make major improvements.

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Metro GameCentral
Top Critic
6 / 10
Nov 27, 2019

Turning the Netflix series into an XCOM clone is a bold choice, but the dumbed down tactical options and lack of polish are destined to disappoint fans of both franchises.

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5 / 10.0
Nov 26, 2019

The successful Netflix series becomes a video game. However, the final result is certainly not the best.

Review in Italian | Read full review