Door Kickers: Action Squad

 Xbox One
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 2 out of 9

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  1. SenorKoquonfaes
    May 16, 2021
    10
    The core gameplay loop centres around selecting a character class and then shooting your way through enough bad guys to clear the level. Clear enough levels to finish the chapter, of which there are six of them. If you die, you’ll have to start the level again, unless you earn the “Extra Life” combat perk. There are six different classes to choose from: Assaulter, Breacher, Shield, AgentThe core gameplay loop centres around selecting a character class and then shooting your way through enough bad guys to clear the level. Clear enough levels to finish the chapter, of which there are six of them. If you die, you’ll have to start the level again, unless you earn the “Extra Life” combat perk. There are six different classes to choose from: Assaulter, Breacher, Shield, Agent Fergie, Recon and Off-duty Guy. Each class has its own different weapons, gear and skill upgrades as well as having their own strengths and weaknesses. There’s also a general “Team” skill upgrades that carry across all character classes. Throughout each level, each kill, hostage rescued, bomb defused etc. will fill up a perk metre located in the top left corner of your HUD. The perks are: “Body Armour”, “Gear Refill”, “Medkit”, “Respawn Player” (for online co-op gameplay), “Extra Life” and “Sniper Support”. However, depending on your character class selection you may also have access to perks like “Light Machine-gun”, “SMG Assault”, “MP5K SMG” and “Akimbo Pistols” just to name a few. I found the “Sniper Support” perk to be the most useful, since it allows you to tag up to three enemies and kill them, great for the hostage rescue situations or clearing out a room that’s just a straight up death corridor. “Body Armour” and “Medkit” perks were also quite useful for obvious reasons.

    Each chapter takes you to various levels of increasing challenge which helps keep the game interesting and engaging. Each chapter is comprised of 12 levels. There are four different mission types: “Hostage Rescue”, “Clear Hostiles”, “Bomb Defusal” and “Arrest Warrant”. The former two are going to be the more common mission types, especially early game. “Bomb Defusal” is the only game type that I felt presented a somewhat decent challenge, since your on a time limit (naturally) and the bomb location is randomized on each playthrough of that level. The rest of mission types are all fairly easy to master once you get the hang of the game’s mechanics, enemy types and level layout. The levels are all fairly bit size, lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to maybe several minutes on some of the later maps that are bigger and more challenging. That, along with the “just one more level” addictiveness made it so that I was done Chapter 5 and onto the “Challenges” chapter before I even knew what happened. After completing each level, you’re graded on a 1 to 3 star system. It seems your rating is only affected by killing hostages and using the “Extra Life” perk if you die. Either one of those situations results in a loss of 1 star, so if want 3 stars on a level, it has to be a no death and no hostages killed run. This sounds harder than it is, but once I got use to the core gameplay loop, these runs became fairly easy to achieve. Time to complete and shooting accuracy don’t seem to affect your star rating, so take your time on a level if you need to and don’t worry too much about spraying and praying the odd time if it happens.

    The game’s art style is great. The pixel art is well done, from the character models and animations, to the level design to the design of the weapons and perks. There’s even gore effects if you gib enemies with an explosion. The sound design is well done too. Guns sound punchy, most enemies go down with a few hits or one hit from a weapons “Focus shot”; I found that the Assault rifles just shredded everything. The sound effects when you gib an enemy with an explosion sound fantastic, just this subtle squishy and splotchy sound that is hard to describe. Enemies go down with an audible pained grunt, so you know when to move on to the next target. The music in this game is alright. I only counted a handful of tracks that loop depending on the level you’re on. It’s not grating or annoying, since the levels are over in just a few minutes, but you’ll definitely notice it long before you’re done with the game. On a technical level, the game runs great on Vanilla Xbox One. Levels load up instantly, which is great for a game where dying means you may have to start the whole level again or die multiple times trying to get a feel for a level.

    Overall, Door Kickers: Action Squad has plenty of things going for it that make an easy game to recommend. It’s got a fun and engaging core gameplay loop that’s highly addictive, great pixel art, an accessible achievement list and a ton of replay value. The lack of any story may turn some players off, but i think the game is still plenty of fun without it.    … Expand
  2. Axios2019
    Nov 13, 2019
    10
    Playing since day one even on pc, always fun. High replayability, always trying new tactics or improving time and score. Couch coop is wonderful. Seems that the old Rainbow Six feelings meet side scroll games. Definitely reccomended both for casual players and hardcore players. A unique experience of surgical and tactical Swat breaching that can turn in pure mayehm, as you wish.
  3. Xbox_Alive
    Nov 2, 2019
    8
    Door Kickers: Action Squad is a 2D side-scroller that feels more like Broforce. It's a cartoonishly high-octane game about shooting first, and maybe rescuing some hostages in the process. Very similar to the original game, Action Squad is a lot of fun. Action Squad looks, sounds and feels good, especially in co-op play. You play as one of four SWAT operatives suited in customizableDoor Kickers: Action Squad is a 2D side-scroller that feels more like Broforce. It's a cartoonishly high-octane game about shooting first, and maybe rescuing some hostages in the process. Very similar to the original game, Action Squad is a lot of fun. Action Squad looks, sounds and feels good, especially in co-op play. You play as one of four SWAT operatives suited in customizable weapons, gear and abilities, from riot shields and bulletproof vests to tear gas grenades and sniper support. Your goal is to clear out all the bad guys in each level and save as many hostages as possible. The better you do, the more stars you earn, which means more upgrades for your favorite equipment. As you kill bad guys, you earn energy which can be used to refill your gear, spawn armor or medical kits, or activate screen-killing abilities. The energy system gives levels a good sense of flow. if I take these two guys out first, I'll have enough energy to take out this group of three more easily, and it works great in multiplayer because you can strategize with each other's abilities and resources. I had fun playing on my own, but Action Squad really benefits from the inclusion of local and online co-op. It's fun to experiment with different combinations of operatives. You can play as Shield and hold the line, for example, while your friend rips through dudes as the Assaulter. It feels R6 Siege rescue in these moments, in no small part because, like the original Door Kickers, Action Squad is quite difficult. You can kill most enemies with a few shots, but if you get caught out in the open, you're sure to be torn apart quickly. I was greatly surprised by the retro art style and the strategy involved in the game. I highly recommend picking up Door Kickers: Action Squad for your Xbox One library. I went in with mild expectations and came out with a great appreciation for what KillHouse Games has accomplished with Door Kickers: Action Squad.… Expand
  4. mihai_dmc
    Oct 24, 2019
    10
    What a little gem! Reminds me of the old days of PC gaming. It looks simple but underneath that retro graphics you get a really modern gameplay. It's hard to beat, but not too hard to pick up.
  5. Axios2019
    Nov 13, 2019
    10
    Playing since day one even on pc, always fun. High replayability, always trying new tactics or improving time and score. Couch coop is wonderful. Seems that the old Rainbow Six feelings meet side scroll games. Definitely reccomended both for casual players and hardcore players. A unique experience of surgical and tactical Swat breaching that can turn in pure mayehm, as you wish.

Critic Reviews

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No score yet - based on 2 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. TheXboxHub
    Dec 7, 2019
    90
    Without the multiplayer element, I’d be happy to say that Door Kickers: Action Squad is more than worthy of the fairly low asking price. But with it, the entire experience moves up another good notch or two, providing some of the best cooperative styled gameplay I’ve managed to take in over recent years.
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  2. Xbox Tavern
    Oct 28, 2019
    83
    Doorkickers: Action Squad is a great little action title that has fun with a concept that is often the remit of more serious shooters. The fast paced, fluid controls allow for complete control of the action, the challenge is just right and there’s a serious ‘one more go’ feel to the whole affair. Some may be put off by the lack of evolution to the mechanics, but when you’re having this much fun to begin with, I don’t see that being a problem for many.
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