Ah, Advance Wars. Now there was a perfect strategy game. While we have had an Advance Wars game in recent memory, it wasn’t really a new one, not least because developer Intelligent Systems seem far too busy Fire Embleming to fit one in. So, it falls to other teams to advance the armed forces side of the tactical strategy genre. Tiny Metal was certainly a decent first attempt, but with its full sequel, the team at Area 35, Inc. are looking to bring the genre hurtling like a cannon shell into the modern day.
That fundamentally means a complete reworking of the visuals. This is what an Advance Wars game should look like in 2025, and the stylised anime-style visuals retain a hand-drawn roughness that makes it feel more like it’s a manga come to life. Tiny Metal 2 switches up the viewpoints when your units engage in combat too, and this simple dose of variety makes them all the more alluring. We’ll all still eventually skip through them on our way to global domination, but they look great.
Our hands-on demo at TGS framed its combat around the Tokyo Game Show itself, tasking the player with protecting it from the incoming threat posed by the evil enemy general Tsukomo. In reality, I’m not sure how accurate the battle map was to downtown Chiba, but it was still a nice touch.
As with the original game, you’re invited to choose your general to take their army into battle, or should that be generals? In a new wrinkle, you pick a second leader to back you up as an ally and add their units as support to your own, but this also opens the door to playing Tiny Metal 2 in two-player co-op, handing this second commander over to another player. This will give players even more tactical options, looking to combine two generals that have synergetic skills and abilities, and bringing friends together as they forge their way across the battlefield. I wonder whether that extends to local head-to-head play too, but there’s certainly support for massive 8-player online skirmishes.
Our playthrough showcased two of the returning allied generals, with Nathan your standard, balanced everyman option, while his ally, Wolfram, turns things up a notch with her versatile infantry.
It’s hard to get a full grasp of the nuances of tactical warfare in the midst of the cacophony of the Tokyo Game Show floor, but Tiny Metal 2 really does go for an ‘if it ain’t broke’ outlook, delivering grid-based strategy that will be instantly recognisable to fans of Advance Wars and the first Tiny Metal game. This sequel’s major new contribution to the tight tactical action is the addition of sea-based combat to the mix. The ocean-based craft we see here – a cruiser, a lander, and a submarine – are all directly related to their inspiration’s own units, and Tiny Metal 2 isn’t exactly shy about it.
When Intelligent Systems doesn’t seem to be about to bring us a Fire Emblem-esque reimagining of its more down-to-earth army franchise, though, it’s hard to knock Tiny Metal 2 for taking the genre forward.
The turn-based action does exactly what it needs to, giving you the clear visual markers to help you develop your strategy, showing you how far each unit will go, and how far it can fire. There’s also a clear indicator for each unit about its strengths and weaknesses, which should help players get up to speed quicker than ever before; particularly useful for multiplayer, where you might end up playing with people who haven’t played an Advance Wars title or something similar before.
While the visuals and the art design have taken a huge leap forward, one of the key things that felt like it needed tweaking was the strength of the audio. Weak gunshots alongside huge explosions create an audio disparity that I found really distracting, and I hope they can tweak the sound levels just a little before launch.
Tiny Metal 2 takes a bold step across the grid-based genre with reinvigorated visuals nestling up to instantly recognisable tactical combat. I’m really interested to see how much importance is placed on the game’s narrative – particularly with the game engine and visuals adding a heap of character – and, for me, it’s immediately jumped into my list of 2026’s must plays.
Great to see a preview of Tiny Metal 2! It’s always exciting to hear about new developments in grid-based strategy games, especially for fans of classics like Advance Wars. Looking forward to seeing how this one evolves the genre!
Absolutely! Tiny Metal 2 seems like it could bring some fresh mechanics to the classic grid-based strategy formula. I’m particularly curious about how it will balance nostalgia with new gameplay elements. It’s always a challenge to innovate while honoring the classics!
I completely agree! It’s exciting to see how Tiny Metal 2 is incorporating new mechanics that could really modernize the grid-based strategy genre. I’m particularly curious about how they’ll handle unit customization, as that could add a whole new layer of strategy to the gameplay.
enhance the tactical experience. I’m particularly interested in how the different unit types are being balanced, as that can really change the dynamics of gameplay. It’ll be fascinating to see how these innovations play out in practice!
It’s great to see your enthusiasm for the unit types! The diversity in units can really change the dynamics of gameplay, offering unique strategies for different scenarios. It will be interesting to see how they balance the strengths and weaknesses to keep the gameplay engaging.