Plaid. Tooth and Tail. Baby`s first civil war

Tooth and Tail has simple mechanic to it. In fact, it is probably the first strategy game that works really well with a gamepad. It offers only one type of resource, only six units/structures per game that you get to pick before the match, only four players max per map. Yet it is surprisingly brutal and fast-paced with ranked (1v1) matches rarely going for more than 15 minutes and a simple and minor miscalculation being your fatal mistake that would cost you the match.

I wonder if this game is Pocketwatch`s wicked way of celebrating the centenary of 1917, a year when Russian empire saw two revolutions, one in February and one in October (or November depending on the calendar you used at this time). What does this have to do with the game, you say? Well, the carnivorous beasts use some sort of a made-up Slavic-sounding language to communicate, refer to their state leader as Tsarina, and have an overall early 20^th century aesthetic to them whether it comes to music or characters. And, of course, it has an indie 8-bit touch to it. Can be a turn-off for some, understandable.

However, this gem hides a vibrant world full of different characters past its blocky visuals. The game tells us a story of a civil war between four factions of rodents and other animals. In their meat (and nothing but meat) eating society one faction rises after the leader`s son has been eaten by a different faction. This all creates a long and chaotic conflict that follows on for the rest of the game. While not being rich for cutscenes the game explains most of its lore through peaceful locations between the missions where your leader can interact with different objects and characters.

Speaking of which, the leader of the faction is the only unit you directly control. There are four different factions in the game and there is no difference other than colour of the banner and the soundtrack. The leader builds, issues orders to others, and scouts. The unit does not attack and has to be in the location to issue out an order to go somewhere or attack something. Furthermore, and I wonder if it’s a feature, you can only issue commands either to all units or one unit type which can be a bit frustrating seeming how it makes tactical positioning more difficult. However, it works well with the overall “think fast” approach that the game is implementing.

 The source of food comes from gristmills (and fertile ground around it) and campfires. Gristmills have tendency to run out of workable ground in about 5 minutes real-time.

The player is presented with a variety of units loosely divided into 3 tiers based on strength and the last tier being defensive structures, like mines or machine gun nests. You can pick out 6 different units for each game as you want. There wouldn`t be a golden layout, as different units perform differently, but you tend to stick to certain backbone only alternating between few based on the play style that you want to employ. Unless your opponent is sitting in the room with you (yes, the game supports local co-op) or you know your opponent really well you can`t really predict what strategy would suit you best, especially because the game relies on the randomisation of maps a lot.

Lack of food income triggers the starvation effect. Also being beaten by the enemy isn`t pretty.

Yes, the game randomises almost any map it can. Campaign maps are random, and ranked maps are random which makes them really difficult to predict and master. The developer has introduced seeds and pre-built maps with one of the updates, but only for non-ranked matches.

Lastly, the soundtrack deserves a sentence or two about it. It tries to follow the Russian civil war aesthetic mentioned earlier and differs based on your faction. It follows the player as the intensity of it is tied to the player`s actions.

Matches provide replays that can be viewed later for entertainment and/or learning purposes.

The verdict

This game stands out due to its unusual mechanics, amazing soundtrack, and a fast paced approach. It may not be something that turn-based or grand strategy lovers would appreciate, especially due to its 8-bit coating. Yet for me it`s a GOTY material right there, so I`d rate it 9 out 10, would get stomped by drunk squirrels again!