VERSUS SQUAD

One of the best games I played in years of my life, Great Gameplay, Creative Defenses, Multiple Strategies to choose from, Updates once in awhile, Responsive Dev(s), unlike others that push the community aside, and a great community even though it is small, it's just perfect. Hopefully it gets more praise/notice than this. Totally worth my 1 dollar. 10/10

This review is written for people who have played Nation Red, the previous game from this developer. For those that have not played either game, I will recommend this game for people who like a twin stick coop game with light tower defense element.

The gameplay is decent enough in its own right and different from Nation Red, but I find it to be a downgrade compared to the previous games. Many of the same mechanics are still present but barely improved. You still have classes that get perks as you level up, kill hordes of zombies and bosses with a bunch of powerups along the way. All of that is already great in the original game, but it hasn't really been improved at all. By and large, you have the same weapon selections, same perks, same zombies, you get my drift. The differences are so minimal they could have came out as an update to the original game.

To big addition in versus squad is a light tower defense element, and I have to put a big emphasis on the word light. There are a total of 3 turret types and and handful of mines, rest are all barricades designed to slow or block enemy. For me, there is simply not enough addition here to make a more interesting game. Furthermore, the map design greatly suffers in part to accommodate for this this game mode. Maps are now smaller and more claustrophobic. If there were just more to the tower defense layer, I feel like there could be more variety and better map modes.

All in all, this is an ok game in its own right that can serve to kill some time. For the purpose of this review though, the ultimate litmus test is whether I would play this game over Nation Red. Unfortunately, it's a sidegrade at best and I just prefer Nation Red more.

Not really sure why my friend and I were having so much fun with this. Like, 5.5 hours in our first sitting. We forgot to eat and change our clocks because of the time change. But, it was just pure fun.

I treated this as more of a twin stick shooter where my friend was building turrents to help him on his side of the map. So, there's multiple different viable ways to play this game which is always welcome.

There was a few "issues" I had with the menu's and lack of explanation of things:

-perk system has 3 options and only one seems good but it needs polish. The other two seem clunky or dumb (random). You can either choose a perk every time you level up, which seems good but there's a very large amount and navigating that menu in a fight is a recipe for diasaster. You cannot navigate the menu in between waves... The one we ended up using was the "preset" ones where you got to choose which ones you would get upon levling up....but it was random too. So you basically just choose the 20 (max) you want and hope you get them in the right order or something.
-nothing was really explained. A few how to's popped up but they were either standard how to move or how to shoot with maybe one how to build, which you could easily figure out
-you don't get refund points back for the items that start on the map. sure you could leave them but I need shit to be symmetrical man
-turrets overheat easily. Also you had to refill their ammo, which we dumbly found out was by standing next to them in fights, not in between the waves. Janky
-healing the barriers you could build took a lot of money. Like, a lot
-some of the bosses were dumb. Well, one boss. This is more of a personal taste.
-Game could not really handle waves past 32 or so. Granted, we had 4 people playing but my computer is pretty good. My friend's is also good so hitting that 33 frame mark was painful. But it's pretty challenging to get that far so maybe it's not a big deal
-The suicide enemy's radius is to big
-LMG's seem to be the best weapon by far. Like, so much better than everything else, even the shotgun's that penetrate, while being fully auto with 32 shots.
-The pistol...unless its a joke, then you got me
-Melee weapons seem jank
-The suicide enemy...again

The art style is super though. I really enjoy whatever it is this is considered to be. Sounds were fine too

I got this on sale I believe and I think the $8 mark is actually really reasonable. There's alot of maps, a pretty decent amount of guns, multiple ways to play and multiple ways to build your character. The game could use a little polish and balancing overall but currently I think this is a swell twin stick shooter, with an acceptable defense/tower building element to it, but that part won't stand out or be as enjoyable.

Oh, and as for the no player count thing, don't get a co op game if you don't have friends to get it with you. My friend and I lucked up and found 2 others online but we weren't expecting anyone to join us on an older obscure game like this.

I absolutely LOVED Nation Red and was so excited for this game, so for those of you that loved Nation Red and expected a great sequel...this is NOT it. The building for defense feels very tacked on, the controls and UI to build feel very clunky and awkward, and take up most of your time that you need or want to build with, I really wanted to like this game but I just can't and will go back to playing Nation Red because that game feels amazing to play and doesn't feel like they tacked on gimmicky stuff, in short I definitely do not recommend this game for those that loved Nation Red.

Addictive Game. Solo it makes fun. But in Coop? Oh boy there starts the REAL fun. Go get it and tell your friends to buy it too. You wont regret it.

I really wanted to like this game, but it unfortunately felt rather thrown together. The UI is counter-intuitive and buggy. The aiming mechanics feel too frantic and precise making for an extremely twitchy experience. Grenades aren't thrown, but explode out from the players current position like an AOE. It may seem trivial, but it really pulls you out of the experience. I do applaud the addition of online co-op as not many smaller developers really offer that feature, but overall I wish more time put into the UI and combat mechanics.

I spent hundreds of hours on Nation Red, DiezelPower's previous game, and what I expected from this was more of the same frantic-but-fun action. What I got feels like a fan patch to make Nation Red "HARDCORE FOR SERIOUS PROS ONLY". Enemy health pools get tediously large much too early, powerups seems to drop less frequently even with the luck perk, and everything is reskinned to be much more "serious": the turbines have been turned into flares, the ghosts into little robot drones, etc. Turret drops don't appear to exist and the only turrets you can get require constant babysitting at the expense of a very paltry cash flow. Sure, you can just play Survival and not worry about turrets at all, but the turret-related perks will still uselessly clog up your perk selection on Random.

Maybe the game is more fun for those who want to spend a lot of time building barricades and constantly monitoring them, but if I wanted to play a tower defense game this isn't the one I'd choose.

I'm sure there's an audience out there for "Nation Red, but joyless and masochistic" but it ain't me.

PRO: Lot's of zombie killing

CON: Lots of lag, specially bigger map. (TIP: use bridge map)
Limited weapon benefits (lots of choices but they all suck)
No way to check all the weapons description (AFAIK)/ also no "testing mode" to try out the guns to see their Damage.


Tips:
F to lock a gun so you dont pick up garbage guns
T to chat
Set your main menu to automatic perk and choose which ones
Grab that damn flamethrower and lock it ASAP!
Grab that AK47, it will eat every boss like pancakes.
AUTOGUNS ARE TRASH. buy the manual sentry instead, it will reload ammo and it kills bosses like AK47
Build metal blockade that slows down enemies not trash wires and fences.

Fun shooting game and build base game , top down, twin stick, zombie horde game
Graphics : 6/10 - Not the best but potato game can run and can play
Control : 9/10 - Almost perfect
Gameplay : Fun - Intense Survival - Good to Play with Friends
Recommended Lvl : 7.5/10
Price : Cheap - But should buy the games on sale - not really worth to buy with full price .

This game is a top down, twin stick, zombie horde game. Has different game modes like base defense and survival (stay alive for as long as possible type of survival - just to be clear), XP from kills to buy perks with during the game, bosses, item drops, character classes, a character loadout screen with accessory options so you can get a more unique look when playing with someone using the same class, online, local co-op, splitscreen/sharedscreen, and the number of maps justify the base price. If you like top down twin sticks and zombies then this game will make you feel right at home. I only have 1.5 hours as of writing this review but those hours will rise to around 30 for me. I have played enough of these types of games to know. I don't think everyone will get 30 hours out of this game but I really like these types of games so I will.

This game only has one person behind it, SnowBrigade (DiezelPower), but don't let that scare you. The amount of work he puts in is outstanding. I don't think he even gets a chance to play his own game much because he is too busy responding to feedback and improving the game for the current customers. In 13 months he has released 25 updates (26th on the way now). That is a rate of 2 per month, by himself. He is the reason you should pick up this game, even if you don't like top down twin sticks, because his level of support is what we want from all developers. Especially the ones with 100 person teams and billions of dollars.

I could sit here and link numerous threads where this developer has added new content and features simply because someone asked. That's it. He don't take long to add these things either as you can see by how frequently he updates. I just bought this game during the Halloween sale for $2. I had a issue with the controller scheme and it was making it hard for me to play. Other people didn't care or it didn't effect them because it seems I am the only person who brought this up. The developer didn't care that I bought it during the Halloween sale for $2 and he didn't care the game has been released, without anyone having my issue, for over a year. He already started working on a second control scheme to add in an update because it makes the game more enjoyable for me (and possibly future customers like me who also may have had a hard time). This is just my own example. Someone else also suggested a repair tool be added into the game recently to give more repair options. He says: "I'm open to add such a feature if we can come up with a good working idea. Does anyone have any thoughts?" And zoom, off he goes to start the update after a working idea is found. He does this type of stuff all the time for many players and he asks for nothing in return. He don't take all this feedback and put it in the vault to later release as a DLC to sell you and he didn't for his previous title, Nation Red, either. It makes me want him to give him more money. I will buy a second copy, at full price, and gift it to a friend to show my appreciation for both the developer and my friend :D.

EDIT: Update released, literally, minutes after I posted this review. See what I mean by fast updates?

Update Nov 22, 2017: Nominated Versus Squad for the “Labor of Love” Award.

Almost identical to Nation Red, but with a building aspect to it. Fun to just run and gun with friends. Looks much cleaner than the previous game. I think they should tweek this and make a split screen action rpg style game out of it. I'd purchase it.

A follow-up to the excellent Nation Red is a tricky thing. Sometimes a bowl of deliciously simple ice cream isn't improved upon by adding a pile of whipped cream, sprinkles and other toppings. And Versus Squad doesn't quite find the right balance but you still wind up with a pretty good dessert.

The premise is simple: A twin-stick shooter where you mow down waves of zombies in a never-ending endurance fight. Weapons and power-ups abound and you gain selectable perks as you progress. Versus Squad adds a defense element by allowing the player to purchase and place walls, fences, sentry turrets, explosives and other items to protect themselves and funnel the zombie hordes. Unfortunately, the defense part didn't always seem to make the game better. In my first game, it bugged out and locked up the game (that hasn't happened since). In other games, no one had enough coins to do much between waves. The UI is clunky which just adds to disrupting the flow of the game. There's also a survival mode where you place items once and then fight continuously without wave breaks.

Although I didn't think the defense aspects were entirely ready for prime time, the game itself remains solid and the other improvements are nice: you can earn points to buy permanent perks, the graphics are much improved and the game still feels solid. It's not a bad game by any stretch; it's a pretty good one. But the new elements need some more tweaking to match the simple beauty of Nation Red. Fortunately the developers remain involved in updating the game and I expect good things for it.

One of the best games I played in years of my life, Great Gameplay, Creative Defenses, Multiple Strategies to choose from, Updates once in awhile, Responsive Dev(s), unlike others that push the community aside, and a great community even though it is small, it's just perfect. Hopefully it gets more praise/notice than this. Totally worth my 1 dollar. 10/10

Wow. Okay, I totally didn't expect this after transitioning from Nation Red! This game is rather a sequel, however ;) It's a whole lot of fun to me. I think it's worth the money while on sale. Very much worth the upgrade.

Amazing gameplay and concept. Very fun to play with friends. I am not thrill by human enemies though like madmax :) it will be even more amazing if it was zombie or alien enemies but for now it is very fun to play and I love it. Can't wait to see future development.

If you like Nation Red, you'll probably like this. Imagine combining Nation Red's wander around shooting and Gears of War Horde mode's fortification building. Fun stuff.

I'm digging this game. The game play is very simple. You're tasked with defending your camp from waves of zombies. You can play either alone or with up to 4 people. I've only played single player. You last as long as you can before you either die or a zombie breaches the gate to your camp.

At the start of the game you have a set amount of coins that you can spend on your initial defense. You get walls, sentries, damaging barriers like razor wire, a few exploding items like a landmine or a exploding gas canister. Once you get it set up the way you think will work best you start the round and the zombies start coming.

When you kill zombies you get XP that can be spent on perks that give you boosts. The zombies also drop power ups and weapons and coins. Once you clear a wave you get another build phase and you can spend whatever coins you had left or gathered during the wave to add to your defense.

The replayability comes from global high score leaderboards and persistent player progression in the form of ranks. Each rank up gives you a permanent perk point that you can spend on a perk that will always be active when you start a game. There are 8 ranks. At 5 hours of gameplay I'm currently rank 4.

Beyond ranks there are also multiple classes to choose from and RPG style character attributes. For example you can take a few points from speed and put them health or damage.

And the reason I recommend the game is that when I first started getting to wave 5 was a big deal, then it was wave 10 and now I can get to wave 15 fairly regularly. But the guys on top of the leaderboard are doing like wave 50 or something so I know I've got lots of room to improve and new defensive ideas to try out.

And when you're on a roll and starting to approach your current high score and you're nearly being overrun by zombies, things get intense. When that perfectly timed med kit hits you can help but think "Oh thank god!". Or when a fire bomb powerup drops and you can use it to blast away the zombies that are beating your last remaining sentry.

if you like top down wave shooters you'll get your money's worth.

This is a great game to play when you just want to let off some steam by loading up a playlist of your favorite music and letting rip on some bad guys. Getting all the achievements adds a lot of variety and challenge to your game, and has a dev that works hard to keep the game updated and bug free.

Dang dude! Just 30 mins in and I already know the first game these guys made Nation Red was out done by a large amount! The first game I admit was a lot easier and that's why this game is better on one level because it’s difficult!!

They have updated the original with a new terrain customization to allow the player their own personal spin on how a scenario can be better; want more sentries, med kits, hand grenades, walls, explosive canisters, etc? DONE!! You can now customize even the soldier themselves!!!!

I know these guys are going to go places, they take something great and make it amazing. Keep up the excellent work!

As a longtime fan of Nation Red, there wasn't any hesitation whether I should buy this game or not.
The developer has a wonderful connection to the community and Nation Red received frequent updates, adding more content and improving things, directly based on player feedback from the steam forums.
I have no doubt things will be the same with Versus.

That being said, this game is a bit different from Nation Red.
Some things I like, other things, not as much.

The glorious mayhem and destruction from Nation Red is the same.
There are perks, powerups, weapons, boss zombies, etc.

The graphics now have this smudged painted look, along with outlines.
I like how rough and grimy it is, but the levels suffer a bit from things blending together. I like night time the most because zombies stand out very clearly towards the background.

The visual effects can get a bit overwhelming though, as it gets harder to figure out what is going on.
The powerup effects and such can easily get drowned in the flood of various effects, this applies to the sound effects as well. The level up effect which is quite important is also easy to miss in the ensuing chaos.

A really cool and unexpected feature was how you can customize your character visually.
Right now there's only toggling on and off various clothing and accessories, but I'm hoping to see additional gear in the future.

I really like the building mechanics, but I wish the maps had more inherent and larger obstacles to take advantage of.
The controls in the build mode confused me at first as I tried to swap between using a mouse and the controller.
Once I got the hang of it, using only the controller, the only issue was the sensitivity of the analogue stick when placing things.

The thing I like the least has to be ammunition.
I like the idea, but in practice it's frustrating. When you run out it usually means you lose.
And there's various kinds of ammunition making it even more confusing.
When you play, you just want to mow down hordes of zombies, the quick paced action doesn't go well with the idea of conserving and keeping track of your ammo.

I've always thought the best thing about Nation Red was the perks and especially Random Perk mode.
Each time you level up you'd get to select from a handful of random perks, because it's random you'd usually go with a different build each time, which added great replayability and you'd change your style of play depending on the perks.
This hasn't changed in Versus.
But Auto-perk mode is the default one and I'm sure new players won't bother to change it, which I think is bad as a new player won't even know how it works or what perks are.

I guess I have to write something at the end here, huh..
If you like building barricades and mowing down hordes of zombies. Get this game!