- Simple yet deep strategic gameplay
- Excellent sound design
- Each adventure must be played in one sitting.
- Some may be turned off by the simple graphics.
Turn-based strategy games are most often complex and involved tests of thinking skill and patience, with game sessions taking hours upon hours of time to play through to the end of a single session. Suffice it to say, transforming such a model into something a little more casual would seem a daunting task. With Flotilla, however, Blendo games offers a turn-based strategy game that can be played through in one sitting, while still offering a fair amount of depth and complexity to the experience.
With that said, though, you can still conceivably sink many many hours into this game, as each session essentially provides you the opportunity to achieve a higher score than your previous one. There is also a fair amount of unique encounters and situations that you’ll come across over successive playthroughs, so there is always a sense of discovery to be had, though many a times you’ll run into a few of the same scenarios as your previous playthroughs. However, multiple playthroughs are essential in order to better understand the way the gameplay works and improve your skills, which will ultimately merit you a higher score and higher ranking on the online leaderboards.
The graphics of the game are simplistic, but nevertheless effective. All of the ships and set pieces in the game are presented as fairly basic geometric designs, which are identifiable for what they are without distracting the player from the gameplay. A large grid dominates the center of each battlefield, with lines reaching out from it to each of the ships and debris, designating their position along the vertical axis of the battle map. While some may be deterred by the look of the game, it is ultimately a prime example of a developer embracing their limitations while still creating a compelling gameplay experience.
Special note must be given to the overall sound design of the game. The music is comprised of primarily classical piano concertos and the like, which overall helps to contribute to the mood of the game, giving it a relaxing, almost cathartic feel. The sound effects are also very well done, an enjoyable and fun mix of firing torpedos, amusing garbled acknowledgments, and heart-felt applause whenever you achieve a victory.
Your basic gameplay for Adventure mode is fairly straight-forward. You start out on a map screen, deciding what your next destination will be, then head to that location. There you will either encounter some type of scenario that either has an automatic result, usually either providing you with a benefit of sorts or forcing you to take part in a battle, or you will be presented with a scenario that will require to make a choice between two possible options, and discover the result of that choice. The choices you make can have either positive or negative results, and sometimes the full effects of those choices aren’t realized till a little later in the session.
Battles consist of ordering your units to a designated location on the battle map, inputting both the horizontal and vertical movement for your ship, as well as the type of movement and battle tactic that each particular ship will take. For instance, a regular attack move is an equal balance of distance and firepower, while a flank move sacrifices firepower in exchange for speed and distance, and a focus fire move offers little movement but increased firepower for that particular turn. Once you’ve input the commands for all the ships in your fleet, the action is carried out in a sort of ballet of movement and gunfire. The key to victory for any battle lies primarily in getting below or behind the enemy ships, as these are the areas where the ships are not shielded from attack, and therefore susceptible to damage.
Along with the standard Adventure mode is a skirmish mode. This mode allows you to engage in singular battles, useful for improving your combat strategy skills or for simply having fun. Up to four parties can take part in these skirmishes, including even a second human player, whom you can have either work alongside you against AI-controlled enemies, or square off against them in a more traditional versus match, with also the option of assigning a AI-controlled partner to help you best your friend.
Despite the overall enjoyable nature of the game, some will likely complain about the short, multiple-session gameplay structure of the primary adventure mode. Certainly a lengthier, more involved campaign might have been preferable at least as an alternative game type option. In the long run, though, even if it may be essentially a more casual gameplay experience, Flotilla still has a lot of depth to it and is worth checking out for any fan of turn-based strategy games.
Written by Daniel C. Aaron
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