HomeReviewsThe Lamplighters League
The Lamplighters League review: I like you, but after a while you do my head inBit of a turn off
Bit of a turn off
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Paradox Interactive
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Paradox Interactive
Comparisons toXCOMare inevitable, and for once accurate. There’s a shot ofMutant Year Zerotoo, since its turn-basedstrategybackbone is dotted with real-time, uh, ribs? Ribs. You’ll explore each level that way, using limited takedown moves to stealthily trim the opposition. It’s much less of a puzzle than MYZ though, as you often still stand a chance anyway. This is fortunate, because enemies mingle too often to be reliably isolated, and spot bodies very often. Most monsters can’t be stealthed at all, and enemy numbers soon ramp up to dozens. Real-time takedowns become too dependent on luck, and the transition is as awkward as it usually is.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Paradox Interactive
Perks aid in this, but there’s limited meaningful levelling choice; you’ll want to unlock every character’s full, unique skillset or they’ll run out of combat options. Every unlock also increases damage, and with only three characters your action economy demands maximum damage output, so even weaker options are necessary to keep apace. Everyone gets equipment slots too, but they can only tweak a character’s stats; the mystic will always use her staff, the medic her SMG, so you really need to figure out what they are rather than define it.
Most notable is the undrawn hand, a set of magical cards. They sort of work as another type of equipment, adding some passive perk or active power that attach to any character. You’ll get a random few after each mission and either stick them to someone or melt them into resources. They can’t be exchanged, only replaced or upgraded. In practice this means you’ll find ones that suit you and bin the rest. While harmless, their randomness is annoying, and the stress system sometimes makes them feel like more trouble than they’re worth.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Paradox Interactive
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Paradox Interactive
Some fundamentals are here: the movement, animations, sound, and basic satisfaction of taking enemies out are terrific, and Lamplighters’s globetrotting premise really marks it out from the sea of XCOM derivatives. The maps soon repeat, but offer an excellent variety of environments from icy forests and dark rooftops to mesoamerican temples and opulent museums. And its characters' unique skills and dialogue lend them far more character than the usual po-faced generic military guys. Their chatter is infrequent and between-mission conversations brevitous so they don’t overdo it, either. Even if you don’t love them, they’re distinctive and fun without constantly trying to tell you, like the incessantly crowing twats ofJagged Alliance 3.
But the structure is repetitive and frustratingly random. Strategy devolves into grinding through the same side missions to perk everyone up so they can endure main missions, which quickly repeat a grind of scouring the map for resources, hoping enemy placement and movement won’t screw you over, and then slogging through too many enemies with very irritating attacks in a system where just one or two lost actions can doom a whole mission. It’s far from a write-off, and some players will love the exact elements I hated, but I’ve mostly been left with mounting disappointment and frustration at a design that lets down a very likeable game.
