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Narcos: Rise of the Cartels

Curve Digital, Kuju
Nov 19, 2019 - PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5
Weak

OpenCritic Rating

52

Top Critic Average

22%

Critics Recommend

PC Gamer
41 / 100
Eurogamer
No Recommendation
Metro GameCentral
6 / 10
Hobby Consolas
65 / 100
TheSixthAxis
7 / 10
Nintendo Life
5 / 10
COGconnected
63 / 100
PC Invasion
3 / 10
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Narcos: Rise of the Cartels Trailers

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels | TV Opening Credits Recreated thumbnail

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels | TV Opening Credits Recreated

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels | Release Date Trailer thumbnail

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels | Release Date Trailer

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels - Choose Your Side | Cartel Trailer thumbnail

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels - Choose Your Side | Cartel Trailer


Narcos: Rise of the Cartels Screenshots

Critic Reviews for Narcos: Rise of the Cartels

A mediocre XCOM-like in the form of a deeply worrying depiction of militarised police.

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Eurogamer

No Recommendation / Blank
Eurogamer

The hit Netflix show becomes a fun, if functional, turn-based strategy.

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Metro GameCentral

Unknown Author
6 / 10
Metro GameCentral

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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Narcos is a simple "tactics" game, which some fans of the Netflix series will enjoy because of an interesting use of the official license. After a few hours it gets repetitive, because of its lack of different maps.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels is a decently executed turn-based strategy title. Sure, sometimes it's a bit too easy, but when the enemy moves efficiently it become a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Just be warned that you'll grow attached to your squadmates, and hate if you lose them. This is for you, Ruiz!

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Considering how integral the back-and-forth tussle between El Patron and DEA is to the show, recreating such a violent game of chess in 'tactics' form seems like a match made in heaven. But even with some welcome gameplay twists – namely those real-time Kill Shots and Counteractions – the slow nature of its single-unit turn mechanic and the totally unremarkable AI makes this generous offering of missions far less exciting than it should be. As a genre, a turn-based tactics setup really suits the cat and mouse nature of this real-life-inspired cartel war; it's just a shame certain elements let it down.

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Licensed games still get a bad rap these days and Narcos: Rise of the Cartels probably won’t convince the naysayers. But buried beneath the murky graphics and presentation is a pretty decent and entertaining turn-by-turn tactical game.

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Bland, boring, and uninspired, Narcos: Rise of the Cartels isn't quite the tie-in product that fans of Netflix's series would want to see. It's bogged down by flawed fundamentals, a repetitive campaign, and unengaging gameplay.

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