Transformers: Battlegrounds is a turn-based tactics game developed by Coatsink and published by Outright Games. The story of the base game follows the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, as they attempt to prevent the forces of Megatron from stealing the Allspark and destroying Cybertron by means of a space bridge. The player commands a squad of up to six Autobots throughout the campaign, which consists of four acts. Most missions allow the deployment of a squad of three out of a roster that consists of Bumblebee, Windblade, Grimlock, Arcee, Wheeljack, and Optimus Prime. Missions typically involve pushing through the map to an objective zone that completes the mission, or destroying all Decepticons on the map.
Basic Decepticon units consist of Seekers, light units capable of flight; Scouts, medium units with an overwatch ability; and Brawlers, heavy units with a hard-hitting melee attack in addition to standard ranged weaponry. These enemies remain the staple opponents throughout the game, though they receive increased stats and additional abilities as the story progresses. A sizeable roster of Decepticons feature as well, including well-known characters such as Megatron, Starscream, Shockwave, and Slipstream among others.
In combat, all characters have three action points each. These can be used freely to attack or move and additional points can be used to empower abilities, enabling different effects and higher damage. Attacks are guaranteed to hit even if the target is in cover, provided the target is in range. Abilities can apply effects such as disarming or anchoring a unit but can also buff or heal units. They also have ultimate abilities. These are powered by Energon – a special bar that fills when opponents are deactivated, action points are reserved or you interact with the Energon cubes on the terrain. Ultimates are powerful abilities that can heal friendly units or cause chaos among opponents, particularly when the Energon bar is full as this allows more powerful forms of ultimate abilities to be deployed. Each character has their own unique set of abilities that can be changed as new moves are purchased from Wheeljack’s lab, using Spark Points earned from completing levels.
Environmental hazards or features are introduced gradually and can be very useful, or dangerous: vehicles can be blown up to deal significant damage to nearby characters and the player can whip up dust clouds from piles of dirt on the ground, preventing enemies from firing on any unit in the cloud but also jamming the weapons of concealed units. Characters can also be pushed into terrain or even other units for extra damage. Creative use of these elements can quickly turn the tide of a battle.
The Shattered Spacebridge DLC adds a basic roguelike mode as separate content from the base game. The player progresses through a series of missions offered as binary choices, upgrading their squad and accumulating Spacebridge Fragments before confronting Megatron and his Decepticons. The amount of fragments collected alters modifiers applied to the final battle. These can be negative effects making the battle harder for the Autobots, or a slight buff to level the playing field. The more missions are completed before fighting Megatron, the harder the difficulty of side missions becomes so eventually the player must be forced into the final level or risk losing their units. The final battle allows deployment of the full Autobot roster against Megatron’s forces and is quite challenging, as both sides have access to end game stats and abilities. If Megatron is defeated a new run begins. If the Autobots lose they can try again until their spare lives run out.
Strengths
The combat in Transformers: Battlegrounds really shines when missions are straight-up brawls. None of the characters from either side have any long-range weapons so engagements are at fairly close range. Given that the Autobots are usually outnumbered they find themselves swarmed and chaos ensues, requiring careful use of abilities and combos for maximum effect as well as the leverage of terrain or other units for bonus damage.
Having a selection of multiple abilities for each slot encourages experimentation to see what’s the most fun to use, what works best with the role the player wants a particular Autobot to fill, and which abilities synchronise the best with other abilities. For example, Arcee could be a healer and light damage role or dedicated support depending on her loadout.
The art style lends well to a game set in an animated universe like Transformers despite almost looking like what one might expect to see in a mobile game. It’s very vibrant and watching blocky Autobots transform in and out of vehicle form while doing something like deploying an ultimate ability is entertaining.
Weaknesses
While combat can be a lot of fun under certain circumstances, those free for all battles are quite rare. Most of the missions in the campaign consist of progressing to an objective while being harassed by a constant stream of Decepticons. This mission format becomes very repetitive quickly and it could be a struggle to reach the end game, where the gameplay improves with the introduction of larger-scale battles and new mechanics.
The combat itself is also quite basic compared to staples of the turn-based tactics genre like XCOM. This is great for newcomers to the genre or kids but could be a real turn-off for those seeking a challenge, as even on harder difficulties it’s very simple and easy until the end game.
Verdict
If the target audience is meant to be younger players or as an introduction to the turn-based tactics genre, Transformers: Battlegrounds manages to be a decent title. It’s a very accessible game with a fun ability kit and colorful visuals. While the story seems a bit vague, it could be worth a look for fans of the Transformers franchise. The Shattered Spacebridge DLC adds interesting content to the base in the form of a roguelike mode, providing a decent level of replayability. Repetitive level design really lets down the campaign though and for those more experienced in this genre it’s hard to recommend.
Shaun is eXplorminate’s new tactics eXpert, having expressed an immense love and fondness for the genre. His passion motivated Rob to feature tactics games more prominently here! Look forward to seeing more coverage from him and eXplorminate as a result.