An Excellent Foundation With Some Presentation Problems

Summary Strategy enthusiasts will enjoy the deep tactical gameplay in Capes, reminiscent of XCOM and Marvel's Midnight Suns.

Progression in Capes ties neatly into the story, rewarding players for engaging with abilities beyond simple damage boosts.

Despite some presentation issues, Capes offers a fun and rewarding team-based gameplay experience for fans of superhero tactics games.

The genre of superhero tactics games isn't as popular as one may expect given the dominance of Marvel and DC in pop culture, yet Capes does its best to make a name for itself amongst the titans that are The Big Two. Set in a world where the supervillains band together to form an organization simply known as The Company and wipe out the premiere team of heroes, super-powered individuals are in hiding or on the run as they attempt to survive in a tortuous police state. It's certainly an intriguing premise, and one that's elevated by deep and engaging tactical gameplay.

Anyone who's played XCOM or the more recent Marvel's Midnight Suns will be instantly familiar with the mechanics on offer in Capes, as players progress through missions to unlock new characters and gain experience to upgrade their existing team. Combat takes place on a grid, restricting participants to a certain amount of movement and actions per turn, meaning planning is essential, especially when positioning plays such a key role in defeating the enemy. Like most tactics games, missions are methodical puzzles of outwitting the enemy team, which makes for a slow but nonetheless rewarding experience when executed correctly.

Capes 7 / 10 Pros Deep and interesting tactical combat that rewards experimentation

Intriguing premise with some nuanced takes on the superhero genre

Excellent understanding of what makes composing teams so fun in the tactics genre Cons Visual presentation is inconsistent and unappealing in places

Voice acting can be genuinely distracting

Some mission designs artificially lengthen the combat time, which isn't needed thanks to its high quality

Stay One Step Ahead Of The Enemy

Capes Wants Players To Think Before Acting

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Perhaps what's most compelling about Capes is the game's progression, a mechanic that ties neatly into the story. The bulk of the narrative focuses on a group of young, inexperienced heroes working under the veteran, cynical gaze of Doctrine, a Batman-esque figure. Completing missions and the optional challenges therein rewards experience and skill points that can be used to upgrade and improve certain abilities.

While it may initially feel underwhelming when many of the improvements are slight damage boosts or the ability to disarm foes more efficiently, these advantages begin to stack up quickly. Capes wants players to engage with abilities that aren't just necessarily "do more damage," given that aspects like whether enemies have weapons and the overall mission turn order are significant factors in winning or losing. It's more challenging than one would believe at a glance; even on lower difficulties, missions can spiral out of control if players don't make full use of their team's abilities.

Missions are methodical puzzles of outwitting the enemy team which makes for a slow but nonetheless rewarding experience when executed correctly.

The team-based aspect of Capes is another strong point as the game encourages using the full roster of heroes to find compositions that are better suited for different missions. Balance is important when putting together a squad; ensuring that glass cannons like the teleporting assassin Rebound are adequately defended by the crystalline tank Facet or the lightning-infused Weathervane is the key to overcoming the enemy. Every mission will see the team outnumbered, but with careful placement, ample use of team-up moves, and perhaps too much patience, even the largest group can be defeated.

Capes' Presentation Is Hit Or Miss

Its Voice Acting And Pacing Don't Help Matters

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While Capes does succeed on a mechanical level, its presentation will no doubt be difficult for some to accept. It strives to emulate the aesthetic of comic books and Saturday morning cartoons, but the art direction often looks flat and dull as character models look more like tabletop miniatures than powerful superheroes. Cinematics are either rendered in-engine with stiff animations and wonky movements, or with a sketchbook visual novel style that removes any kind of emotion or drama from the characters given their limited range of facial expressions.

This problem isn't helped by the voice acting, which ranges from serviceable to grating. Characters speak as though they're reading their lines in isolation rather than talking with one another, making for dialogue that's often stilted and inorganic. Conversations are best when it's just two heroes engaged in one of the unlockable casual chats (which tragically don't have a mechanical benefit ala Fire Emblem) but in larger groups, it's difficult to take anyone seriously.

The narrative itself, while presenting some interesting twists on the genre, also spins its wheels during several sections, resulting in a story that outstays its welcome approximately halfway through its runtime of 40 hours or so.

The other major issue with the game is both the minute-to-minute and global pacing as Capes feels padded in a way that doesn't provide a meaningful extension of the game. Missions are often inflated with additional waves of enemies that swarm the team, making for a tedious slog to wrap things up even after the main objective has been completed. The narrative itself, while presenting some interesting twists on the genre, also spins its wheels during several sections, resulting in a story that outstays its welcome approximately halfway through its runtime of 40 hours or so.

Final Thoughts & Review Score

3.5/5 - "Very Good" By Screen Rant's Review Scale

Capes is an excellent foundation for what could be a fantastic tactics franchise. Thanks to its excellent mechanics, squad-based dynamics, and progression, Spitfire Interactive's debut game will no doubt find plenty of love from those who appreciate small-scale strategy games that emphasize positioning and clever teamwork - it's just a pity that its writing, voice-acting, and animation vary so dramatically in quality that it's difficult to really appreciate its story.

Screen Rant was provided with a Steam code for the purpose of this review.