After 30 hours of playtime, I can say that this is easily a certified hood classic. First off, filter the reviews to >1 hour playtime and you'll see the impact of review bombing. That aside, Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery is a polished turn-based tactical RPG that deserves high praise. From the gameplay, to the lore, to the art, MICA Team cooked.

I'll start with the gameplay, since it tends to be the most controversial and criticised. As I mentioned, it's turn-based tactics. Each character you have plays differently, and - depending on what skills you take on their respective trees - synergize with each other in various ways. Forward thinking and calculated risks are rewarded, as your enemies are not incompetent; they act in sensible, yet somewhat predictable ways (as a local garrison force generally does). If you play well, you will feel like a special forces operative making a fool of the URNC; if you play poorly, you will feel like a handful of survivors from a botched operation barely able to put up a fight. The game is unforgiving, which can put some people off.

The main complaint comes from the stealth missions. Prior to a recent update, almost every stealth mission would be failed if you were spotted. Combine this with the most linearly-designed missions in the game, and you turn the tactics game into a puzzle game, which is honestly not fun. Luckily, this was fixed, and now almost every mission is more open in one way or another; this also shows that the devs are listening, and want to continue supporting the game.

Moving on to story and lore. A good portion of this game's fan-base comes from GFL. If that applies to you, then what you should know is that this is chronologically ~30 years in the future from that time, and has some reference (some subtle, others in the form of cursed cat). The plot is compelling, though it certainly has its quirks. I feel like the strongest part of the storytelling comes from the visual novel cut-scenes.

On the topic of cut-scenes, the art is fantastic. Even Mendo, a character who has a very standard character design, feels vibrant thanks to the combination of Live2D sprites animated eye candy art. If I were to name the strongest part of the game, I would definitely point to the art. An honorable mention to the music, which blends really well with the vibe of the game in general.

If you like GFL, you'll probably like this game. If you're like me and enjoy the military-fantasy genre, you will likely love this game. I'd say give it a shot if you enjoy games like Valkyria Chronicles, the newer XCOM games, and plot-heavy games. I would even recommend it at its base price, which - in my opinion - is really good for what you're getting.

10/10 would kick Werewolf ass again.