Chroma Squad Review – Lights, Camera, Tactical RPG Action

Chroma Squad Review

Chroma Squad is what you get when you combine Power Rangers and tactical RPGs, but lack the actual Power Rangers IP. Frankly I went in not expecting much, but have come away not only impressed but wanting more episodes and seasons to dazzle my fans with.

You control a team of five actors who decide they can do a better job without their tyrannical director. Things start out comical enough but turn a bit more serious when the squad meets up with an ancient force and a new foe. There’s a surprising amount of dialogue and exposition but thankfully, if all you want to do is fight and upgrade your studio, all dialogue can be fast-forwarded. Be careful though, you might end up in some tricky situations and not have any idea how to save the day.

Each episode you film will have director directions for every scene. There are typically two of these, and if you follow them you’ll be granted bonus audience members at the end of the show. Most of them are relatively easy, like defeat ten enemies or perform a few team combos, but the difficulty does increase. Even playing on one of the easier modes, you might be hard-pressed to achieve each direction. When you’re surrounded, low health and half your team is dazed, it might not be worth it to try to hit the boss every turn or try to finish him with a finishing move.

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“Each map as almost the exact same empty rectangular space with a different coat of paint, meaning the primary difference in fights is the enemies you encounter.”

Combat is decent, with team combos and lots of abilities if you’re in costume. It’s your basic turn-based tactics gameplay, where you position and attack with each of your heroes before the enemies get to go. The only real problem I had with Chroma Squad was the lack of diversity and depth in terms of level design. Each map as almost the exact same empty rectangular space with a different coat of paint, meaning the primary difference in fights is the enemies you encounter. It’s a shame because there could have been plenty of room for verticality or even just some basic cover.

Enemy diversity is average, and you should expect to fight a lot of the same mobs. The saving grace here is easily the boss fights. Not only are these made challenging by adding directions to follow, but boss behavior is a nice change of pace and difficulty. The costume design is also fantastic, and a walking TV or tentacle monster feels right at home in this universe. Just be careful, a goofy costume can often hide some serious power.

In your studio, where the squad will be between missions, you can both craft and purchase new costume materials for your team. You can also upgrade the studio itself, with more options becoming available as you complete each season. It’s just the right amount of content to keep you interested in pursuing your acting career, while enjoying the downtime between episodes. You can also interact with fan email, hire a marketing team, and upgrade your mech.

It wouldn’t be Power Rangers without your team coming together to form a giant mech! This is yet another mechanic that I was dubious of at first, but quickly grew to love. The combo system with additional punches is just the right amount of risk vs reward, and the customization means you get to decide which extra abilities you’re going to use. It’s surprisingly fun to whittle down your opponent and try to finish him without getting hit once. I was pleased to see each of my abilities finding a place within these battles in the city. Most directions here tend to be tasks like execute a 6 hit combo or hit 5 perfect punches, but you’ll be kept on your toes when the more difficult tasks come around.

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“If you’re looking for some serious tactics fun and have been craving some of that late 80s or early 90s campiness, do yourself a favor and pick up Chroma Squad on just about any platform of your choice.”

Chroma Squad is a lot more fun and campy than I had anticipated. The developers really nailed their theme on the head and you simply can’t complain about much except for some slight execution in terms of level design. I did encounter a few slight audio bugs, but these were very negligible. If you’re looking for some serious tactics fun and have been craving some of that late 80s or early 90s campiness, do yourself a favor and pick up Chroma Squad on just about any platform of your choice.

***A PS4 code was provided by the publisher***