Door Kickers 2: Task Force North Review

Door Kickers 2 tremendously improves on an already proven design and offers a bevy of options and vastly updated graphics and design as well as a large amount of missions and tools that gives endless gameplay. I’ve enjoyed the original, so comparing the two was like night and day in various ways. The experience drew me in more and the variety was welcomed and appreciated.

The game is a squad based tactical shooter where a squad (and even solo if you dare) is breaching and clearing a location. These locations differ between both interior and exterior areas. There is a heavier emphasis including exteriors in DK2 that I found more interesting and challenging at times. The missions and layouts are vastly improved and the layout thumbnails offer a lot more visually than the original which really only showed the wall blueprint and I think the general look of the menus and UI have made this game feel more polished.

The game graphically is much more filled out and saturated from the first iteration. The game feels more vibrant and realistic. DK2 feels more alive and filled with objects and in comparison gives a fuller view and experience and going back to the original feels very flat and basic. Not to mention the game has really allowed for a lot of room to play different styles and techniques. The tools and weapons make for a handful of ways to approach a mission. I think giving more choice and variety is the best way to feel like you are getting more bang for your buck.

The game is in Early Access, but it already offers more than the first game as it sits right now. The mission generator and level designer are 2 things that I think also compound the value for the price because you are getting a literal endless replayability. EA might scare some people away, but it’s already proving to be a true sequel, taking the original and only building a better game and I think that point has already been achieved, it can only get better. The game isn’t flawless but it’s close. Sometimes while playing if I have some points over lapping it can be a struggle to grab one and some other minor issues but in general I have no glaring complaints. It would be interesting to see them add PVP at some point, could really make things interesting.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a top down squad based breach and clear game or anyone who has played the original. There is a lot of content already and with the generator and level designer, you can lose a lot of time playing this game.