Menace Early Access Shows Strong Tactical Bones Behind a Wasted Setting
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Menace delivers sharply satisfying tactical combat and squad building in early access, but its faction systems and narrative fail to support the ambition.
Early access is where strategy games either find their footing or get weighed down by their own ambitions, and Hooded Horse's Menace is currently walking that exact tightrope. As detailed recently by Sin Vega over at Rock Paper Shotgun, the game builds its foundation on genuinely satisfying turn-based shooting and tactical squad management. When you are tinkering with loadouts, balancing squad sizes, and watching individual ballistic impacts play out on the grid, the game clicks into a deeply engaging loop that will satisfy any veteran of tactical combat. Yet, the wider experience struggles to maintain that momentum once you step away from the immediate battlefield.
The core premise attempts to add narrative weight by stranding your space marine force in a fractured region where local factions hire you directly with ship upgrade points instead of standard cash. Unfortunately, this system quickly reveals itself as window dressing. Factions never actually conflict with one another, meaning you are essentially just clearing out a checklist of randomized missions with no real strategic choice involved. The overarching narrative twist and the arrival of the titular enemy faction land with a thud, introducing obnoxious, unskippable NPCs that feel more like chores than compelling threats.
Where the game truly redeems itself is in the granular freedom of its character progression and combat mechanics. Instead of rigid classes, hand-crafted squad leaders and vehicle pilots earn targeted perks from a shared pool, encouraging balanced promotion paths rather than relying on a single overpowered carry. Coupled with a ballistics system that tracks individual shots, armor deflection, and morale damage, the tactical sandbox is undeniably sharp. If the developers can overhaul the lackluster faction dynamics and smooth out the interface roughness during early access, Menace has the mechanical chops to be something special.
For players jumping into early access, the takeaway is clear. Treat Menace as a pure tactical sandbox for now, and you will find plenty of rewarding army-building and combat puzzles to solve. Just do not expect the narrative or the faction politics to give your campaign any meaningful emotional stakes quite yet.
Tags: Strategy, Turn-Based, Early Access, PC Gaming
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun