Supercell and I go way back.
I’ve been enjoying their games for over a decade, and have poured probably about a thousand hours combined into Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, and Brawl Stars. Unfortunately, it seems that the company is starting to lose some of their family-friendly identity with some sexualized skins in Brawl Stars and… random swearing in promotional material? Come on guys, this stuff is being seen by kids.
All the while, Supercell has failed to launch a single new title since 2018. Six years is a long drought for a mobile game company, and during that time they shut down seven titles that were worked on extensively, some of which even had public betas. I respect their caution, but it’s clear that there’s been some internal difficulties.
I was quite surprised to hear last month that they were finally launching another new game – and a crossover at that. Squad Busters is Supercell’s newest free-to-play title featuring dozens of characters from several of their games. I’ve been playing almost daily since it was released, and am ready to give my thoughts. Did the company really turn things around, or is this game yet another bust?
Gameplay
Fitting the name, Squad Busters places you in an arena with lots of enemies and 10 other players, and challenges you to build up a squad consisting of characters that you choose. It’s a fast-paced, dopamine-inducing rush to collect resources as quickly as possible, spend them on a new squad member, and repeat. In just a few minutes you can go from having a single baby chicken to a legion of barbarians, gunslingers, and… farmers.
Yes, part of the strategy in building up a squad is choosing which characters to use. You’re always given a choice between a random three, and each character is sorted into a class. For example, early on you might want to choose a “supplier” like the tree-chopping Greg or gold-supplying Goblin. These characters can get you gold which is used to obtain more squad members and gems that determine your ranking at the end of the match. Later when you want to fight other players, you should probably choose the tanky El Primo or high-damage Shelly. I find this aspect of the game quite enjoyable – it’s lots of fun to build up a huge squad and watch them mow down hordes of enemies towards the end.
Unfortunately, there’s also a large number of issues I have with the gameplay. While strategy has not always been of utmost importance in Supercell games (every one of their games lets you purchase upgrades for real money) it has traditionally been a pillar. Clash of Clans, Brawl Stars, and Clash Royale all ask you to plan things out before battle and feature several modes that put everyone on the same level. Squad Busters, on the other hand, doesn’t ask you to think nearly as hard.
Your squad can grow to enormous sizes, and considering that the characters attack on their own when near another person, it can be impossible to tell whether you should engage another player or not. There’s simply too much going on! I’d say about half the fights I’m in feel a coin flip, and usually I don’t know that I’m losing until it’s too late. And since your ranking is determined by the number of gems you collect, the actual best strategy is to only fight players who clearly have a WAY smaller squad, staying out of most other fights. All in all, it’s really more about the flashy chaos than true strategy.
Progression
Squad Busters hands rewards in a variety of ways, but the most important is the random chests you get after each battle, win or lose. These are essentially just loot boxes, and they are fun to open. Each chest can contain a varying number of characters, usually in their “baby” form. There’s also a battle pass (of course) that rotates every month and will cost you 10 bucks, and gives you even more chests, along with gold that can be used to buy more characters.
As per usual, you can upgrade your characters to get stronger. Squad Busters currently allows you to upgrade each character four times, from Baby -> Classic -> Super -> Ultra. It’s pretty easy to get up to Super, but if you want any of your characters to get to Ultra rank before you’re bored of the game, you’ll probably have to pay. I will admit that the buffs each character receives upon upgrading seems relatively minor, so it’s not like you have zero chance if your opponent is a single level higher than you.
My real issues with progression in this game are in the disposable items. You’re always restricted to the same pool of characters when entering battle, and each time you find a character chest, the 3 options presented to you are random. There are disposable (and purchasable) “battle items” which allow you to reroll for different options or get a character for free. This feels quite predatory as you do not have the time to think seriously about whether you should use them, meaning you’ll spend them more often than you should. Supercell mentioned in a developer update that they are planning changes, but what form that will take is currently unknown.
Graphics
The graphics in Squad Busters aren’t exactly crazy, but most everything is pleasant to look at. The characters are given a sort of “chibi” look, which isn’t very impressive but was probably necessary considering the large number that can be present at once. The animated character images in the menus are extremely well done, and I like how they differ based on the power of your character.
Conclusion
Squad Busters can make for a fun time, but it doesn’t have the same depth as Supercell’s other titles. It’s better than the average mobile game, although I don’t see it having a lot of staying power without some major overhauls. And if you have spending issues, you definitely should avoid this game (or any other free-to-play game, for that matter). These types of games are designed to catch susceptible people who will spend hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Scoring: 77%
Gameplay: 3.5/5
Graphics: 4/5
Free-to-play friendliness: 4/5
Morality/Parental Warnings
Violence: Animated, slapstick violence. Some characters use guns or swords.
Magic/Occult: Some characters like the Wizard can wield magic, and the Witch can summon the undead as skeletons.
Language: One of the enemy descriptions uses the phrase “hell-bent”.
Microtransactions: Like the typical mobile game, this one works hard to get your money. Think twice before taking out the wallet.
