Strike Suit Zero is occasionally brilliant yet regularly frustrating. For every moment that wows, there are ten that undermine that brief thrill. The game relies entirely on sheer enemy numbers to generate difficulty, gameplay and length. Often times I was sure that I was nearing the completion of a mission only to discover I was barely a quarter done and waves upon waves of enemies were only just beginning.
After a while the dogfighting space combat which began with such promise feels rote. Each and every mission requires you to carry out almost identical actions and with little variation on top of the nearly endless spawning enemies the game quickly grows tired. I was reminded of an episode of Futurama as I was playing Strike Suit Zero and a quote from Zapp Brannigan:
Fry: “I heard one time you single-handedly defeated a horde of rampaging somethings in the something something system.”
Brannigan: “Killbots? A trifle. It was simply a matter of outsmarting them.”
Fry: “Wow, I never would’ve thought of that.”
Brannigan: “You see, killbots have a preset kill limit. Knowing their weakness, I sent wave after wave of my own men at them until they reached their limit and shut down.”
In the case of Strike Suit Zero, the player is the Killbot and the game’s AI Zapp Brannigan. I very nearly did shutdown on multiple occasions having reached my kill limit, but instead of turning my brain off permanently I simply took an extended break. Played in small doses Strike Suit Zero can be fun. In fact it’s the best way to play it. One mission at a time with long breaks in between. The play style really suits a mobile platform except that missions usually run anywhere from 20-40 minutes. If they’d been shorter, then Strike Suit Zero would have been a winner.
For the duration you play as Adams, a silent protagonist who pilots spaceships in the ever growing conflict between Earth and the colonies. Adams becomes embroiled within the threat to Earth and with the power of the titular Strike Suit must fight for his life. The narrative, while hardly original, is intriguing enough to keep you interested at least in the short term. Once the game gets going and you’re busy destroying hundreds of enemy ships the story gets lost. By the time the credits rolled, I almost didn’t care what happened so long as I didn’t have to shoot down one single enemy ship more.
Controlling your ship is actually one of Strike Suit Zero’s greatest strengths. It nails the feeling of flying in space with a great sense of weight and inertia carrying you through the cold dark abyss. Aiming is a little wonky and targeting your preferred enemy means hitting Circle until you cycle through all available targets, but for the most part fighting feels fast, fluid and fun. It only loses it’s edge once you’re forced to fight the same battles time and time again.
On paper, the idea of the Strike Suit is solid, but in execution… not so much. Allowing the player to essentially morph into a Gundam is really cool and the first few times it happens are great. However, once transformed, movement grinds to a halt. The sense of speed and freedom of space flight evaporate and are replaced by what is essentially an overpowered turret. The Strike Suit can move, but only slowly and without any of the grace and fluidity present while piloting a regular ship.
It’s odd that the central mechanic can feel so out of place. It’s also impossible to complete missions without making use of the Strike Suit. Those waves upon waves I’ve been mentioning repeatedly? Without making strategic use of the Strike Suit, defeating their near limitless numbers simply can’t be done. When you feel forced to use a mechanic that reduces the amount of fun you’re having, something is clearly not working the way it was intended to.
Strike Suit Zero is not a terrible game, but it is overambitious and far to repetitive to truly shine. For everything is gets right, there are 10 things waiting to undermine it. It’s best played in very short, sporadic bursts as that way it’s less likely to wear out it’s welcome so soon. If you’re craving a space dogfighter you could do worse, but you could also do much better.
