REVIEW – Iron Danger is not a fresh game, as it was released for PC at the beginning of the pandemic. It took Daedalic Entertainment a while to bring it to other platforms, with a time management mechanism that kills us more often than a “news” channel that uses the term “left” in a far-right country (in a disgustingly negative connotation).

The game was released at a time when only PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were available, and although it was released for current-gen (not next-gen) platforms this week, Daedalic, who left game development after likely this year’s most prominent flop, Lord of the Rings: Gollum, confirmed to Gematsu that the PS4 and X1 versions have been canceled, leaving us to look for Iron Danger only on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series.

Death and Rebirth on the Battlefield

The game is full of traps, and opponents rarely indicate what move they use to inflict often lethal damage. Defensive moves (dodging attacks, defending) are not flammable, leaving us sometimes open to taking damage, but the time management mentioned at the beginning is the trump card. You can turn back time, so after TimeShift, released in 2007 (and rebooted after a year and a half of delay), it’s again possible to manipulate events in this way in this turn-based action RPG, where the background leans towards Norse mythology with its steampunk style. You control a soldier and a young girl (Topi, Kipuna), and then Kipuna gains her time-reversal and fire powers (so it’s a bit of a magical experience). The combat switches from real-time events to Trance mode split into rounds, and characters get their bars broken into half-second segments (heartbeats).

You must manage who you attack with that because each move uses heartbeats, including reactions to attacks and traps. On PlayStation 5, you rotate the camera with the right analog stick, move with the left, and press to switch between running and walking. Use X to confirm actions, Square to switch between characters, D-Pad to bring up the journal and map, left to stop an action, down to stop a pair action, and L1/R1 to switch between moves/spells (you can rewind up to five seconds). And abilities will be improved: Kipuna can spell Topi’s weapon, so he can use it to set his opponents on fire if his earthquake ability isn’t enough nearby. These tactical elements define the gameplay of Iron Danger the most; without them, it would be pretty much a non-existent product. However, getting through fights with as minor damage as possible will often be repetitive because you never know when something worse is coming.

Stumbling Graphics and User Experience

Action Squad Studios has provided full voice acting for the characters who don’t sound quite right (the less relevant someone is, the more forgettable their voice becomes). The graphics are similar, as it’s sometimes hard to put together what’s going on in your head. The movement of the characters isn’t that sophisticated either, and the user experience was a bit confusing. The problem with the UX is that there are interactive objects, but sometimes it seemed that some were not, even though they looked like them. The camera handling didn’t seem all that great, either. It was adequate for the purpose but perhaps could have been slightly better.

It should also be added that the game is essentially linear because, in most cases, if you deviate slightly from the route you are on, you can almost bet that you will soon find yourself at a dead end. Therefore, it is not worth wasting time on exploration. For those who want to get a platinum trophy, four gold, five silver, and fourteen bronze trophies are to be won. Still, you have to die, for example, a hundred times (which shouldn’t be difficult, as it’s a fundamental part of the gameplay and the time rewind). However, the design of the characters seemed a bit unusual. For some reason, it felt like a kind of bootleg Pixar, and it’s hard to explain why…

Balancing Risk and Reward

Iron Danger went all-in on time manipulation. It can be risky if the game is boring or lousy, but it’s not. You don’t get tired of it, so it’s not too long, and the story is average, but at least you can be creative in the middle of the fights. Still, you can feel that the developers have stretched beyond their blanket (a game of this caliber and size doesn’t need full voice acting…), and it’s worth saying that time manipulation is what the game is all about. Without it, it would quickly become forgettable. That said, the game isn’t bad, so it’s worth a seven out of ten, and as it’s not full-priced, you don’t have to pay 60-70 euros for it, so for fans of the XCOM style, it’s worth a try, while there’s a feeling that many will jump ship shortly afterward. And after one playthrough, there’s not much point in another.

-V-

Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment

Developer: Action Squad Studios

Style: turn-based tactical/action RPG

Release: March 25, 2020 (PC)/2023 August 16 (PS5, XS)