Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition

Mercenary Kings: Reloaded takes some serious steps to breathe new life into the gun-toting, fast-paced arcade shooter, resetting your expectations by adding RPG elements such as weapon crafting and loot drops into the mix. It's ambitious, but also sorely repetitious, lacking in mission variety and the kind of enemy AI needed to make the grind feel worthwhile.

Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition is a decent enough little Metal Slug-esque explorer that does what it can to extend upon the usual left to right progression found in most games of a similar ilk. The crafting system is simple enough, and, despite some repetitive mission objectives, it’s an enjoyable experience overall. I did find the screen orientation a big problem, especially in portable mode, which is a shame really because, as a multiplayer game, it does work rather well.

I was a bit torn complaining as much as I did, since I truly did enjoy Mercenary Kings Reloaded. But often I am more critical on things I enjoy, especially when I feel they didn’t fulfill their utmost potential. That said, for $19.99 I got 20 hours of gameplay out of it, which is pretty impressive for a smaller indie title. I can still appreciate all the hard work and heart that Tribute Games put into this, and would still recommend Reloaded for those who missed out on the initial release. It’s a fun game hampered by some design issues, but it’s still a fulfilling experience if you can look past its flaws.

Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition adds two new characters and expands the weapon building but the missions are not balanced for an enjoyable single-player experience. The amazing sprite art and animation is the real star here, but sadly not so much the gameplay. The co-operative mode is definitely how Mercenary Kings was intended to be experienced. The visuals and characters just barely keep this engaging enough to keep people playing solo.

For new players, Mercenary Kings Reloaded has its share of enjoyable moments but there are a metric ton of indies on Switch in the same price range that offer a more rewarding and ultimately better experience.

Its direct gameplay and the quality of its animations, make Mercenary Kings an honorable heir of Metal Slug, even adding crafting into the formula. Although the lovers of tough games may feel betrayed.

With its addictive gameplay, added content, Mercenary Kings Reloaded Edition is a generous run 'n gun title that pays homage to the Metal Slug franchise. But sadly, the game can become tedious and boring if played alone, due to having to go back to the same levels over and over again, which can be fixed if played with friends thanks to its 4-player coop mode.

A fun but not perfect arcade in the likes of classics like Metal Slug, but with modern idead incorporated. If you are one of those who love the high difficulty games, this is an optimum choice.

The presentation is top notch here and really gives off that old school SNES feel.

Mercenary Kings is a modern classic run 'n' gun game and this Reloaded Edition will hopefully allow more gamers to experience its multiplayer mission-based mayhem.