Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery is a tactical RPG with turn-based combat. However, this one is going to be a little bit different. It was actually made by the creators of Girls’ Frontline, which is a mobile game. If you aren’t familiar with the mobile game, that’s quite alright. We are here to see how well this recreation translates over to a PC game. So, let’s jump in and see how well this game competes in the PC world of gaming.
In this review, I will be going over the following:
Story
Sixty-two years have passed since the Beilan Island Incident. War and disease took the lives of many. Those who survived faced shortages of energy and food. As a result, most fled to Antarctica, where they built a new nation and formed the Antarctic Union. It became the last stronghold for mankind. As a result, the elites from former superpowers formed the Union of Rossartrist Nations Coalition, or URNC, to protect themselves. The Antarctic Union had hoped to work with the URNC for the sake of mankind’s survival. Unfortunately, the rulers of the URNC refused, and a new war began.
The confrontation between the Antarctic Union and URNC is pushing the world to the brink once again. The URNC is developing Relic Technology, which they can use as weapons of mass destruction. The AU must stop this development before it is too late. They have found someone important to the Relic Technology research. They are sending in a team to extract this individual in the hopes of stopping the URNC before they can use this new technology and destroy the world once again.
Gameplay
There are two main phases to Reverse Collapse: the Preparation Phase and the Combat Phase. We will start by discussing the preparation phase and then discuss the different elements of combat.
Preparation Phase
Before every combat begins, the player is presented with the Preparation Phase. This phase is where you will be able to upgrade and modify your characters and equipment. There are 4 menus to select from in the Preparation Phase. Those menus are Character Training, Item Preparation, Battle Information, and Training Simulation.
Character Training
Inside the Character Training menu are tabs for Status, Genetic Enhancement, and Weapon Preparation. Status provides an overview of each character’s current stats and attributes as well as their currently equipped skills and weapons. The Genetic Enhancement tab is where you can get in-depth information on each character’s skills and abilities.
You can also upgrade skills if you have enough points. Then, you can select which ones to have equipped for the next battle. Lastly, the Weapon Preparation tab is where you can customize each weapon with different components that you found in previous battles. The weapons diagram will display what the weapon will look like and how its stats will change with the added component.
Item Preparation
Next we have the Item Preparation menu. This menu has four tabs: Backpack and Storage, Item Modification, Item Production, and Item Synthesis. Backpack and Storage is where you go to preview your inventory before battle. Everything in your backpack will be going with you into the next battle. Everything in storage will not be available. Your backpack and each item have a capacity limit. So, make sure that you have everything that you need before heading out. The other three tabs are where you will need to go if you are short on any of the items in your backpack and/or storage.
The Item Modification tab is where you can level up your items. Different items require a different amount of research points to level up. Item Production will allow you to assemble basic items from parts that you have collected from previous battles. Item Synthesis, on the other hand, allows you to build more complex items using the ones you produced on the previous tab. These more complex items consist of things like trip mines, stun grenades, and simple turrets (which are made from firearms found in combat).
Battle Information
Now, we will discuss the Battle Information menu. Here you will find a simplified version of a map of the battlefield. You can click on the map to preview the battlefield in real-time. This allows you to review the terrain as well as the enemy unit’s positioning. You can also preview the danger range and enemy visual range. The Strategic Summary will provide some narrative information about the next combat. Finally, the Enemy Summary will show you what enemy units to expect in the coming engagement.
Training Simulation
The final menu in the Preparation Phase is the Training Simulation. This is used to further prepare your characters for upcoming battles. All AU agents are equipped with simulation training modules. These modules can be used to level up the characters before going into the next conflict. This can be a valuable resource to make sure your characters are at a high enough level to take on the next batch of enemies. Once you feel like you are fully prepared for combat, it is time to complete preparations and engage.
Combat
Every combat begins with some dialog between the characters to set the tone before they run into position. Then, the Objectives and Failure Conditions are provided before the mission can begin. There are usually two types of objectives. There are the Victory Objectives that must be met in order to complete the mission. Then there are the Bonus Objectives, which can be completed to achieve a higher ranking when competing at the level. Sometimes, some bonus objectives are not provided until later in the mission. Instead, they are updated during combat so as not to give away any surprise that might happen during the mission.
Action Points
Each unit in combat takes its actions based on an action point system. Action points are used to move, fire your weapon, activate stealth, and use items. Different items use a different amount of action points. For example, firing a rifle might cost 4AP, but throwing a smoke grenade only costs 1AP. The same goes for terrain. Walking down a road will only cost 1AP, but moving into a forest or ruins will cost additional action points due to the terrain being more difficult to pass through.
Views
One of the things that Reverse Collapse really excels at is providing information to the player. Not only can you preview each piece of terrain before selecting a character; once you have selected a character, you can preview their movement and see how much AP they will have left once they have moved there and if they will be in the line of sight of any enemy units. At any point, you can also toggle on and off the danger range and the enemy visual range. Both can be very helpful in any given situation. Especially when attempting to sneak through a mission without being seen.
Terrain
Terrain doesn’t just negatively affect your character’s movement. It can also have positive effects that can change the outcome of battle. There are many different kinds of terrain. Things like sandpiles can increase a character’s evasion to make them harder to hit. Other things like ruins and forests can increase a character’s evasion, but it can also affect their accuracy. The Ruins boost the character’s accuracy when shooting at targets from that location. However, the forest actually decreases the character’s accuracy when they are in that location. So, make sure you are keeping track of where you are positioning your units and where the enemy is positioning theirs.
Pick Ups
Lastly, let’s talk a little bit about pick ups. During combat, there will be different points of interest. It is always beneficial to try to get to those points before the end of the mission. Some will be confidential files that provide more background to the world. Others will be items that you can add to your backpack and use during combat. This can be extremely helpful if you run out of something and happen to find it at a point of interest. There are also some enemy units that drop items. These ones you will especially want to look for as they are usually weapon upgrades for your own character’s weapons.
Battle Records
After resolving each combat, the game will give you a rating for how many objectives you were able to complete. If you were able to complete all of the optional objectives, then you will receive an S tier rating. For the encounters that you ranked lower than an S tier, you are able to replay those in the Replay Mode at the end of each chapter. Entering a new chapter will temporarily disable Replay Mode until the chapter is completed.
Audio and Visual
I did want to make sure to mention that Reverse Collapse is fully voiced in Japanese only. Between that and the fantastic art style during the cutscenes, it can feel as if you are watching an anime at some point in the game. If you are not interested in anime, don’t fret. The main focus of the game is on the preparation phase and the combat.
All the elements in the preparation phase look fantastic. The different items and abilities all give you a video preview of what it does. The attachments on your weapons are actually reflected on the weapon diagram. The visuals in combat look just as good with the different visual effects and terrain throughout. The game is enjoyable to look at both on a large screen and on the Steam Deck.
Conclusion
With all that being said, does Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery stand its ground in the world of PC gaming or does its mobile roots hold it back? I personally think that Reverse Collapse is a very enjoyable standalone PC game. There is a lot of depth both visually and tactically that will make it enjoyable for many players.
I found the story to be interesting and intriguing. There were constant twists in the characters’ paths that kept me wanting to see what was going to happen next. Like mentioned before, all of the cutscenes were very well done. I think the only downfall for some players would be if they did not like just having Japanese voiceovers. I don’t see that being a problem for most players though.
I would recommend Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery to any gamer that enjoys an interesting story with a focus on tactical turn-based combat. The developers put a lot of work into making this game shine and it really shows. Feel free to go check out their Steam page if you are interred in trying the game for yourself.
The Shanghai Sunborn Network Technology Co provided the review code for this game.
