"We Were Really Afraid": Metal Slug Tactics Creative Director Aurélien Loos On Reimagining The Run-And-Gun Classic As A Tactical RPG

screenrant.com:

has a great deal of pressure riding upon its shoulders. The series hasn't seen a new mainline release in many years so fans of the stunningly animated run-and-gun games have been holding out hope that will be the kind of spinoff that captures the thrill of the franchise in a new format. Developer Leikir Studio is aware of these expectations but rather than flinching at the pressure, it's using that collective passion to create something unique.

is a reimagining of the beloved series in a genre that, initially, may seem at odds with the general premise of run-and-gun action. Gone are the high-octane sprints to the finish line with enemies and vehicles exploding every second. Instead, players are encouraged to carefully think about their next move while snaking across an isometric map to team up with their squad. It's a far cry from what fans have come to expect from, but in practice, the transition between genres works. Better yet, it works really well.

Metal Slug Tactics successfully refocuses the series' classic run-and-gun gameplay into a deep, compelling, and consistently fun roguelike.

sat down with Leikir Studio Creative Director Aurélien Loos and spoke about the challenges of bringing to life, translating run-and-gun tactics into a tactical RPG, and the lessons the team learned from their previous game

The following interview has been edited and slightly reorganized for clarity and length.

Screen Rant: What was it like working with such a beloved franchise? has been around for decades and is known as one of the best run-and-gun shoot-‘em-ups of all time. Was that at all intimidating?

Aurélien Loos: I wouldn’t say it was intimidating. We were all very passionate about it, because we grew up with the Metal Slug series, and we were really confident we could do something great with it in the tactical RPG genre. When we started talking with SNK and Dotemu, we knew we wanted to make a Metal Slug game because the series is very, very fun.

If you like run-and-gun