Over the past couple of weeks, I've spent a fair amount of time with Action Squad Studios' latest release, Iron Danger, and at this point I think I can confidently identify it as one of the most unique RPGs I've ever played. This is due in most part to the game's novel approach to combat, which has successfully ensnared my every being with its promise of obtainable perfection.
For most RPGs, taking damage during a fight is more or less an inevitability, and players are left trying to mitigate it as best they can. However, Iron Danger's "combat rewind" as I call it, grants the ability to retry fight sequences literally seconds at a time, which can turn what would otherwise be a messy brawl into an expertly choreographed assault. It's for that reason that I find myself putting on my tactician's cap for even the most inconsequential engagements, because I simply cannot allow myself to take damage. It's kind of a problem.
My goal is always the same - ensure that my characters are out of harms way at the beginning and end of their action, and to make sure that whoever is not in immediate danger is using their particular skillset to their full potential. Needless to say, this dedication to the craft can be an exhausting, often time-consuming endeavor.
If I'm being honest, it took me a little while to buy into the whole turn-back-the-clock-to-correct-missteps thing because I thought having a built-in auto-win mechanic might diminish the overall experience by making things too easy, but then I realized that it's not just about winning. It's about figuring out how to get through a fight without taking a single hit, so that I may dunk on my foes with impunity.
"Over-achiever" is such a strong word, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider it a complete and total failure if even the smallest hit lands on one of my characters. When that happens, I have no choice but to roll back whatever I had done and figure out a better strategy. No exceptions. Mind you, I do feel somewhat vindicated by the fact that Iron Danger's characters are pretty squishy, so it doesn't take much to take them from full to no health. If anything, I think it would be a waste of resources to just "roll with the punches" and use up the game's equivalent of a health potion when I could simply avoid the hit altogether.
Anyway, having finally come around to the reality that Iron Danger isn't so much about trying to blast through foes as quickly as possible as it is treating each engagement like a slow-burning puzzle, I've determined that the "auto-win mechanic", as I previously considered it, is actually the game's greatest asset. Funny how that turned out.
Touché, Iron Danger, touché.