If you’re a die-hard Xbox fan, or owned an Xbox 360 when the console was at its peak, you’ve surely heard or played the indie strategy game Toy Soldiers from Signal Studios. Released on Xbox Arcade in 2010, it offered fans a slightly different tower defense experience, the goal of which was to prevent waves of toy soldiers from entering the toy box on your side of the battlefield. Despite being a miniature battlefield with toy soldiers, the game boasted that it was set in World War I. It was and is one of the best experiences Xbox Arcade had.
A decade later we find the relaunch of the same game, this time with an updated version and on more platforms, with performance improvements and graphics. It comes in a complete package that includes the game, all of the DLC, and even several new levels. This edition is called Toy Soldiers HD and will be released today, October 21, for PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. These days I’ve been playing it before launch to see what it offers us with this new version.
First things first, this is a remastering, so it’s worth noting that the game is virtually identical to the 2010 original. Enemy AI can be simple and predictable, and your units will suffer from their target, but get rid of these minor problems by operating its strategic component is well balanced usually. And to make the game a little more fun, there are still ways to control your units, including tanks, planes and even the sniper turret, which you can use to influence the battlefield with interesting methods. As you can see, the Toy Soldiers experience has been protected and carried over to the present day, and it seems that the biggest changes have essentially been made to graphics and performance.
Speaking of graphics, I have to say that Toy Soldiers HD no impressions much. Its appearance systematically reminds me that this was an indie game from 2010, and if we compare it to one of the last remasters we’ve seen, like Alan Wake Remastered, it seems like none or only in this section very minor improvements were made visually. Units and enemy types look more polished and outlined, everything has more color and is more dynamic, but the graphics don’t look spectacular and are very reminiscent of the 360 days appreciated since Signal removed the dirty sepia filter
The good news is that the game is incredibly fluid. On the Xbox Series X, whether you’re looking for a more passive strategic approach or you prefer a more active one, using the sniper turret to reduce enemy forces, it works without any complications or horror. It is played as if it were a modern title as one would expect.
Toy Soldiers HD offers even more: In addition to the base game, it contains all the DLCs and some additional elements that are reflected in various single and multiplayer game modes. The main campaign can air in a few hours, but once you’ve completed a level you can repeat it with a new difficulty level that is unlocked to add an extra touch of replayability. Likewise, each level of the campaign has collectibles and mini-objectives to discover and complete, but these are pretty trivial tests at the end of the day. Once you have completed the main mission, you will have the option to do the Survival mode
If playing alone isn’t your forte, there are up to nine multiplayer missions that can be played locally or in split screen. So there is content for a good playtime, and all that without counting the DLC of The Kaiser’s Battle and Invasion, which offers a total of six mini-missions, maps for the multiplayer mode and new enemy units.
This is all very good, and anyone who hasn’t had the chance to play the original Toy Soldiers will be happy to learn that this HD version offers yet another way to re-explore this iconic indie game. However, when it comes to remastering, Toy Soldiers HD doesn’t stand out overly. At a time when 4K and 60 fps games are the norm, it’s not easy to forget that it still looks like an Xbox 360 game, even with more polished and dynamic graphics. It’s by no means a bad version of Toy Soldiers, but if you’re expecting significant improvements over the original game that would bring this great game closer to the level of other current titles, Toy Soldiers HD will disappoint you a little.
