In Capes, the stakes couldn't be higher. 20 years ago, King City, once a sprawling metropolis defended by mighty heroes, was snatched away by supervillains who've since turned society into a crime-fueled dystopia. Developing super powers has been outlawed, and yet that's exactly where you and your plucky crew of superhero stars enter the fold, ready to save the day and return the city to its former glory.
Developed by Australian outfit, Spitfire Interactive – a team of industry veterans including writer Morgan Jaffit, who wrote fan-favorite classic, Freedom Force – Capes is an XCOM-inspired turn-based superhero tactics game, brimming with cinematic action, team management features, a blockbuster story and nail-biting missions. Unfolding inside the fictional King City, you'll go up against nefarious figures Crashdamage, Wildstar, Primax and Alpha in your bid to reclaim your hometown; across a gritty campaign to uncover the truth about the gruesome Enhancement Program of The Company in charge of things behind the scenes.
In practice, this will see you filling the shoes of heroic protectors of the innocent, each with unique powers and skills – including a suite of devastating ultimate abilities. Combat is precise, meaning nothing is down to chance or random numbers, and everything is hinged on to selecting the right team, with challenging missions and side quests designed to help you grow your team's stats. Across over 50 missions and more than 150 challenges, a full Capes campaign and side quests run can span up to 40 hours.
So what about those day-saving heroes? Capes boasts a library of superheroes each with bespoke superpowers to be leveraged in battle. Facet, for example, is a Defender who can grow crystal shards to defend himself and others. Rebound, on the other hand, is a Striker who can teleport through obstacles and across gaps to get the drop on her foes. Mindfire is an Attacker who uses the power of his mind to neutralize enemies with his ranged telekinesis offence; while his unique Focus and Mindfire abilities let him trade movement on the battlefield in order to gain an additional action in combat, and unleash extra damage on more powerful enemies respectively. Wheathervane is a Special Hero whose Chain Lightning attack deals devastating damage to enemy groups; while also controlling the wind to push and pull foes around at will, for example off a building or towards a highly explosive gas-tank.
These are just some of Capes' superhero saviours, and while each playable character has their own library of individual skills and abilities to pull from, heroes can team-up during battle to launch an array of devastating combination attacks on their enemies – Weathervane, for example, can team-up with Facet who adds razor sharp crystals to Wheathervanes wind attacks which results in significantly increased damage. Experimentation out on the field, then, as you mix and match your skills and abilities in your bid for salvation, quickly becomes an essential part of your battle plan.
If you think you've got what it takes to save King City, and have a penchant for XCOM-inspired turn-based strategy games, then you should wishlist Capes' on Steam or pre-purchase on consoles right now. Capes is coming to PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox on May 29th. The battle for the liberation of King City starts soon!
