To be honest, as a veteran player who has been playing since the Symbian era, I feel quite emotional when I see the emergence of roguelike lawn mowing mobile games in the past two years. In the past, I could play "Explosive Birds" on Nokia for a whole night. Now the graphics of mobile games are better, but there are not many that really make people want to play it for a long time.
I have been playing "Shell Squad" on and off for more than half a month. Let me briefly describe my feelings.
Let's talk about the advantages first: the battle rhythm is very comfortable, unlike some similar games that force you to move wildly at the beginning. The monster refresh frequency and skill combination of this game are just stuck at the point of "a little nervous but not too busy". The weapon system is also well done. In the early stage, you rely on a baseball bat to clear the field, and in the later stage, you switch to a laser gun or a thunder staff. The combo chain is designed to be very layered. Not to brag, the option combinations when upgrading skills are indeed much more reasonable than those purely based on appearance in "Legend of Bow and Arrow".
But there are also disadvantages: the levels are highly repetitive, and around Chapter 5, it feels like the scenes and monster types are a bit reskinned. In addition, it takes time for 0-yuan players to enjoy the game. Although it is officially marked as free, if you don't spend money to buy physical strength in the later stage, the progress will be very slow. Compared with the exhilarating feeling of "Vampire Survivor", which is a game to the end, this game on the mobile phone is hindered by time-limited levels and stamina system.
Another industry observation: Most of the current "Survivor-like" games copy the underlying logic of "Vampire Survivor", but not many can create a differentiated feel. The mobile version of "Shell Squad" has really put in the effort. The touch screen operation does not have that floating feeling, and the skill special effects are also restrained, unlike some domestic games that fill the screen with light pollution. But here's the problem, it's too “normal” and lacks some innovative points that would make veteran players shine.
If you are a player who likes to develop slowly and does not object to light grinding, this game is worth a try. But if you are looking for the ultimate in fun and can get high in one game, the PC version of "Vampire Survivor" may be more suitable. Having said that, at the age of 30, how many weekends can we have to sit in front of the computer and have fun all night? It's also good to have a game on your phone that you can take out and play twice at any time. 😅
Personal rating: 7.5/10, a work above the passing line, but still far from a "masterpiece".