Homicidal All-Stars: The mix of XCOM and Schwarzenegger film makes an excellent first impression

While there are now quite a few games that, at their core, emulate modern XCOM (you know, push characters behind half-height or high cover and still shoot, reload, or use another ability in the same turn), I like Homicidal All- Stars out of the box better than most. How can that be? Because it’s so damn playable!

Which is due to the little things that the Polish studio Artificer has considered here. That you can move the camera freely, for example, while the opponents are making their moves. That you can accelerate the speed of their movements by pulling a shoulder button. Or that when you move your own character you can see at a glance who or what he could be attacking from there and the probability that the salvo will find its target.

Sounds like trifles, and it is, but it does a hell of a lot to ensure that tactics go wonderfully quickly! You can tell that there were experts on the matter – which a look at the developers confirms. Some members of the team have worked on something similar before. The creative director Kacper Szymczak alone was the lead designer of Hard West and Phantom Doctrine. It’s possible that he and his team are now really turning up the heat.

After all, they come up with some cool ideas when they send their heroine, Scarlett, through the brutal gauntlet of a reality TV show. A live commentary (can be deactivated in stages) reports directly on what is happening, behind fences there are spectators chanting and traps make it difficult to reach the actual battle areas.

You don’t just line up tactical battles in rounds; rather, each level consists of several of these fights as well as exploring the environment. Key cards open locked gates there, healing stations restore health and Scarlett will find first aid kits or grenades in containers. It’s a cool mix, as running around doesn’t feel like stretched playtime, but is an important part of this kinky entertainment program.

The battles themselves are then almost congruent with XCOM, right down to the controls, with the opponents appearing to be cleverly taking action and making good use of the Overwatch ability, among other things. And while you only control Scarlett when exploring, her companions are of course also available, which you are also responsible for in combat. It is enough if one person thinks about the whole thing. Even if Scarlett goes down, she just gets back up with less life after the win.

Also similar to the role model, she also recovers between levels in the… well… “home” base: probably a former prison that doesn’t even seem to have toilets. At least that’s what I noticed when walking around freely and searching the quarters. In any case, you can also record these quotes there, with which the participants of real competition shows recapitulate their experiences. I like how consistently Artificer pulls through the topic of reality TV.

There are also fans who stand at the fence in the levels and ask Scarlett for an autograph. You can then reply to them in a super friendly, snappy way or sometimes with a nasty broadside because they don’t even know their name – which in turn influences their image. And that decides which sponsors she can opt for to get various benefits. The first gives you first aid kits, others increase melee damage, offer price reductions for weapons or a faster increase in experience points. You need the latter to unlock additional skills, while you can buy not only new weapons but also consumables at sales stations.

There is also an Ironman mode, you can adapt the game to your own preferences using numerous options and at least the preview version runs very well on the Steam Deck. In other words, I’m really looking forward to Homicidal All-Stars! The combination of exploration and turn-based tactics suits the cynical scenario and the turn-based combat feels exceptionally good. I haven’t watched TV in dozens of years, but I guess I’ll have to tune in for this show.