Door Kickers is a real-time strategy game developed and published by Romanian indie studio KillHouse Games. The game was released for Microsoft Windows on October 20, 2014, and later for the iPad and Android on June 24, 201 and September 4, 201 respectively. A sequel - Door Kickers 2 – Task Force North - is planned.
The player controls an elite squad of SWAT operatives who are pitted against several varieties of thugs and terrorists.
Gameplay
Squad
Door Kickers allows the player to create a squad of up to ten playable characters, each of which is able customized with classes, weapons, armor, utilities, and gear. Every class has a unique variety of weapons, each of which caters to particular situations and playstyles. As the team completes missions they will level up, both as a squad and individually.
The five choosable classes are Pointman, Assaulter, Breacher, Stealth, and Shield. Pointmen are equipped with just pistols and no primary weapon, but have the highest mobility out of all five. Assaulters can choose between submachine guns and rifles, and Breachers are allowed to have shotguns. The Stealth class allows players to silently dispatch enemies with suppressed weaponry, and the Shield is equipped with a riot shield and a sidearm, with no other gear.
As the team levels up, the player will earn Doctrine points which can be allocated to improve the squad with abilities and perks. Leveling up a character individually will also improve their experience in the field: marksmanship, assault shooting, and field skills will all be upgraded upon leveling up.
Campaigns and single missions
The game has six main campaigns, each with a different amount of missions. As a player completes a level they will be rewarded with up to three 'stars' depending on their performance during that mission—stars are used to purchase weapons and equipment for the operatives. Single missions are missions not tied to a campaign and are able completed at one's own leisure without having to worry about permanent squad casualties. Door Kickers also features mapping and modding support.
Missions can be of eight varieties: Clear Hostiles, Hostage Rescue, Bomb Defusal, Stop Execution, Protect the VIP, Arrest Warrant, Dope Raid, and Robbery in Progress.
Game mechanics
The player views the game from a top-down view. Areas not in view of the squad are marked with a blue or black fog-of-war. In some missions there are multiple points at which one is allowed to deploy operatives, allowing for strategical collaboration between the group.
Hence the name, Door Kickers relies heavily on breaching rooms. The game gives players several options in doing so, however. Breaching charges can be used to kill enemies on the other side of the door with relative ease while simultaneously stunning others in the room, or if a more stealthy approach is desired, one can use a spycam to peer underneath the door and see into the room, allowing the player to make a plan. Flashbangs and less-than-lethal Stinger grenades are able to be thrown along with a door kick, stunning or killing any enemies inside. Lockpick Machines to open locked doors and Tazers to subdue terrorists are at the disposal of the squad as well. 'Go codes' can be used to coordinate attacks between operatives.
The team also has the ability to handcuff enemies with arrest warrants, rescue hostages, defuse bombs, and escort and control a VIP.
In some missions, off-map sniper support is offered.
Reception
Reviews
Door Kickers was positively received by critics. Rock, Paper, Shotgun stated "Door Kickers is a smashing top-down tactical masterclass, with enough missions to shake a nightstick at, randomised enemy placements to add further variety, and a bundled level editor allows devious designers to create their own maps and missions…Door Kickers is a complete package of planning, panicking and policing." Indie Statik proclaimed that "...It’s a thing of beauty and manages to capture the planning and satisfying execution of more complex strategy games, as well as the gung-ho and the popping-off of growly man in military shooters. (...) It’s probably the best man-shootery game I’ve played in years." In a Giant Bomb Quick Look, Matt Rorie praised it and said he liked the game quite a bit.
