Every Day We Fight Early Access review: XCOM with the thrill of being the last man standing on your CS team

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In turn-based strategy games, you’ll often encounter two opposing forces: your own team and the enemies. Although rash, unwise choices can be tough to avoid completely, the enemies can be learned and adjusted to, similar to how battlefields adapt according to your character’s skills. Despite my extensive experience with turn-based tactics games, Every Day We Fight presented a significant learning curve – often due to my Thorns suffering repeated, gruesome demises at the hands of the enigmatic Rifters, extraterrestrial invaders.

I’m working on developing teleporters, which requires obtaining alien technology from three specific spots within this decaying metropolis. These locations are all guarded by Rifters, making them tough nuts to crack. Conquering the hotel and bus depot wasn’t too difficult, but unfortunately, I missed an additional goal during my second attempt, preventing me from getting my hands on one of their weapon caches. The final location is giving me some trouble, though.

The goal of this bonus level is for you to demolish a harvester. To do this, you’ll need to detonate its three power sources by timing your shots perfectly, when the shields are momentarily down due to rotation. As you try to accomplish this, enemies from every direction attack and reinforcements keep appearing. I thought I had it in the bag, but just then, my adversary appeared – none other than myself.

As a follower of this dynamic group, I, Dylan, am known for my formidable strength. When foes approach dangerously close, I unleash a powerful blow that sends them tumbling backward for not just one, but two turns. It’s almost borderline brutal, but with Every Day We Fight dishing out waves of adversaries, playing tough is necessary.

However, in the heat of battle, my mind sometimes acts like a mischievous monkey. Instead of using my instinctive reaction, I once activated Dylan’s overwatch ability, which left him defenseless against those approaching. Consequently, he was unable to deliver his signature punch and found himself vulnerable to being swarmed.

Without Dylan present, Vivian and Leo managed to complete the harvesting machine from a different location, yet they struggled against the overwhelming wave of adversaries pouring in. Another casualty, another setback.

In Every Day We Fight, death is an integral part of the game. The characters and the extraterrestrials are trapped in a time loop, allowing multiple attempts to complete missions and defeat each act’s boss, moving the timeline forward slightly with each success. This time loop is reflected through some roguelike elements: slaying potent foes and uncovering superior equipment grants the ability to locate these items during future tries. This adds an element of surprise; occasionally, you may start with three shotguns instead of a well-rounded inventory from the get-go.

Every Day We Fight offers an exciting blend: It’s like a traditional turn-based strategy game where you analyze opponents and terrain, develop skills, yet it also includes a significant aspect of adaptability and using resources at hand, much like real-life situations.

In the course of the game, your characters maintain their XP and abilities without change. As previously stated, Dylan serves as the group’s physical strength, excelling in close combat and camouflaging himself within smoke clouds to disorient opponents. Vivian, on the other hand, is a scientist who can employ alien barriers and project a hologram of herself to deflect enemy fire, while also taking swift action to eliminate enemies outside of their turn. Lastly, Leo functions as a support character, capable of donating action points, healing allies, and offering covering fire. Each character is fully voiced and has an intriguing backstory that unfolds as the campaign progresses. Their dialogue during exploration provides valuable insights into the game’s world-building.

Given the character limit, it’s crucial to leverage their strengths effectively, understanding when and where their skills work best. However, expect to innovate and adjust on-the-fly during each playthrough, as the game unpredictably provides varying equipment.

In this game, the unique feature is that all shooting, be it during your turn, overwatch, or any other moment, happens in real-time and from a first-person viewpoint. This resembles Phoenix Point in that fashion. There’s no funny business with shots missing even when there’s a 99% chance of hitting. If a shot misses, it’s because you made an error. The characters and opponents in Every Day We Fight have reactions out-of-turn, enabling them to dodge incoming fire by moving to different cover spots. This results in the combat feeling incredibly fluid. It’s particularly gratifying to blow off an enemy’s helmet with a shotgun blast, then exploit the newly exposed weakness with a sniper rifle shot.

Additionally, it infuses an unfamiliar genre’s exhilaration into the experience. When you’ve got just one Thorn left with low health, surrounded by adversaries, it seems like you’re the sole survivor from your Counter-Strike squad. Regardless of whether you tense up when focusing on a rifle or plead to the RNG gods for a successful shot, the sensation remains the same.

The firefights may not be extraordinary, but they serve their purpose well: It’s evident that there are distinct gun types, and they’re learnable (yet unpredictable enough to replicate the frequent misses). Characteristics such as precision and recoil can be fine-tuned using interchangeable parts.

Amidst all the battles (and casualties), you’ll have opportunities to navigate the map, employing an array of tools unveiled throughout the narrative to unlock treasure. A swift transportation system is available for easy movement and minimizing wear from continuous combat encounters. Engaging in fights with aliens produces heat, which escalates subsequent battles with tougher adversaries. However, this also enhances the quality of loot you’ll discover, so there’s a balancing act between risk and reward to consider.

Although I’ve enjoyed the challenge of seeking out prime locations for combat, the process of exploration hasn’t been as thrilling. Most of the items you come across are basic resources that can be utilized for crafting or storing in hideouts scattered around town. Rare loot drops from enemies or is hidden within chests that require keys, which are usually earned by completing main missions and additional objectives. I wish there were more valuable finds as I traverse the town during my search. In general, I believe that the game could benefit significantly from increasing item diversity. More weapon types, additional equipment, and unique modifications for firearms – there’s a wealth of possibilities to explore.

Every Day We Fight’s AI is fairly skillful, yet prone to occasional blunders, much like us humans. Keeping in mind our own imperfections, this is reasonable. The AI tends to leverage its numerical advantage by setting up crossfire positions and surrounding you with overwatches, essentially trapping you in a net of observation points. This straightforward tactic puts you under consistent pressure.

The game can be challenging at times, and there have been moments when it seems bleak, but I haven’t yet reached a point of complete despair – there’s always an opportunity to learn and get better. However, the difficulty can sometimes feel overwhelming. The melee troops from the enemy are incredibly strong, and they seem to have an endless supply of reinforcements for each battle. When you’re faced with a final wave of enemies in the third mission of a chapter, knowing that you’ll need to restart from the beginning if you fail, it can be particularly tough.

Each Day Brings a New Battle offers a captivating, invigorating perspective on strategy games with a turn-based focus. This game’s potential will truly shine when it overcomes its balance issues during Early Access and enriches the experience with additional content for enhanced variety. The core mechanics and concepts are already well-established and strong.

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2025-07-08 17:16