Across history many a bloody war have been waged in many a grassy field, though none were more gory than the War of the Super Auto Pets. Steam describes this game as a “chill auto battler”, but chill it is not. No my friends, after a couple hours playtime you will be a sweating, blubbering mess as you fret over every last decision and your friends mock you over the phone for having put your Flamingo at the back of your roster, when it would obviously be far more effective exactly fourth from front and equipped with Melon Armour.
I know. Right now I sound like a lunatic, but spend just 10 minutes in this simple-to-learn-hard-to-master tactical fighter and you, too, will be a champion of Super Auto Pets lingo.
Let me start from the top: in Super Auto Pets you build up a roster of animals with which to battle another player’s roster. Each animal has its own ability which activates when a certain criteria is met, for example, whenever a peacock gets injured but doesn’t die its attack value increases by two. This can result in some devasting combos and unique synergies, all of which are fun to discover.
Between battles you are given 10 coins and can shop for new animals and buffs from a randomised selection, but you can only ever buy about three things at a time so every choice matters. This is where the tactical element of gameplay rears its ugly head, as you can tap into your inner gambler and ‘hold’ items between battles to ensure they’re still there later when you actually need them, but this could bar you from getting a stronger animal later which unlock every few battles.
There are two modes: Arena (billy-no-mates mode) where you play against randoms online and thus battle a selection of ever-changing rosters, or Versus (“oo fwiends” mode) where you play against a single opponent and a single roster which gets more powerful every round. I found Versus mode more enjoyable as you can actively counter your friends’ team to really piss them off. You can even set up games with more than two players, allowing for true chaos when you have to counter on three different fronts, introducing a hidden Stress Mode where you can never fully control the battlefield and your initial victories slowly slip away into the endless void of humiliation where the cutesy lil’ animal game bested you.
This game is brilliantly simple, and it’s free! There’s no reason you shouldn’t give it a go, especially if you’re a broke student waiting around for Santa to deliver the goods this year.
