{"id":1468312,"date":"2026-01-20T04:30:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T04:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/M3HoUgg2MegGtaJC8Etsbm"},"modified":"2026-01-20T04:30:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T04:30:53","slug":"battle-suit-aces-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Battle Suit Aces review"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This has to be the most cheerful game about aliens destroying the universe that I\u2019ve ever played. Often making Lego Star Wars look like Andor, Battle Suit Aces is a hugely heartfelt sci-fi visual novel. The fact it\u2019s a great deckbuilder too is just showing off.<\/p>\n

\n
Need to Know<\/div>\n
\n

What is it?<\/strong> A deckbuilder from the makers of Battle Chef Brigade.
Release date<\/strong> October 7, 2025
Expect to pay<\/strong> $25\/\u00a321
Developer<\/strong> Trinket Studios
Publisher<\/strong> Trinket Studios
Reviewed on<\/strong> Asus ROG Ally
Steam Deck<\/strong> Verified
Link<\/strong> Official site<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

You\u2019re Captain Heathcliff, travelling the galaxy in his fight against the Frenzied, a pretty dull alien enemy. Fortunately, that faceless threat is one of the few dud narrative notes. The rest of the cast are great fun, often joyously queer, and\u2026 well, admittedly, maybe slightly <\/em>too chipper at times. Oh, but ignore me. I\u2019m just too British to understand this emotion you humans call \u2018joy\u2019.<\/p>\n

A fairly rote save-the-universe-from-aliens plot is livened up considerably by constant silly digressions. Like the side mission where one of my crew accidentally ingested hallucinogenic strawberries and convinced himself he was a bear. Or when another crew member went undercover as an obnoxious celebrity to expose an arms dealer.<\/p>\n

\n
Catch-up review<\/div>\n
\n

There were a few games last year that we didn’t have time to review, so we’re kicking off 2026 by rectifying some of those omissions. Sorry we’re late!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

That obviously makes about as much sense as a concrete parachute, as does the mission where you take part in a major sports tournament solely so you can spread the word about the Frenzied in the commentary box. Realism has been kicked out of the cockpit in a game that\u2019s packed with sincerity but unafraid to indulge its sillier side. Hear hear!<\/p>\n

Early missions send you across the galaxy, recruiting new crew members and their lethal battle suits. Turn-based combat plays out on two 5v5 rows, each guarding a ship. Initially you want to deploy attack drones and units as quickly as possible to guard your ship. Each turn you can deploy a unit, move a unit, and ideally fire some attacks if you\u2019ve banked enough power. Whoever destroys the opposing ship first, wins.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

\"\"We're<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

(Image credit: Trinket Studios)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Easy enough to get your head around, but Battle Suit Aces starts complicating matters almost immediately. You\u2019ll almost never face a monster that simply attacks and waits patiently for you to kill it. They\u2019ll have spikes that hurt you, counter-attacks, or some awful buff that makes their neighbours stronger when you hit them. And that barely scratches the surface.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a little intimidating to figure out all these new rules – Battle Suit Aces can be a bit of a hands-off teacher – but it\u2019s also thrilling to play something that\u2019s keen to get you to the good stuff swiftly. The difficulty ramps up pretty slowly, too, so there\u2019s plenty of room for trial and error as you figure out its complications and quirks.<\/p>\n

Mission success is rewarded with crafting materials (stop sighing at the back) for building suit\/drone mods and defences for your ship. Early on you\u2019ll often get the chance to recruit a new crew member too, and you\u2019ll soon have a fine fleet of cannon fodder<\/del> beloved pilots to send into battle. Suit mods start dull – three more health, is it? – but there\u2019s interesting stuff too, like auto-attacking whenever your ship takes damage, or getting nice bonuses when teammates take out an enemy. There\u2019s plenty of depth here to build a unique deck of battle suits that sync nicely.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

\"Cards<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

(Image credit: Trinket Studios)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Between battles you can gossip with crew members around the ship. These are short asides which add some welcome character. Proper story interludes between battles can go on a bit, but it\u2019s a fun tale well told, so who cares? There\u2019s no Persona-style system wherein you can get crew members to die for you if you become good enough pals with them (sometimes I think we forget how bizarre Persona is). Instead you can go on optional crew missions, which\u2019ll give you a chunk of story and reward you with bonuses like an extra suit mod slot for them permanently.<\/p>\n

All nicely executed, but I preferred the in-combat way of unlocking suit mod slots. Every crew member has a specific criteria that can be met in battle to unlock that crucial extra slot. E.g. activate their passive ability three times on the same turn. A clever way of \u2018levelling up\u2019 characters in the thick of the fights and encouraging you to try out the whole team.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a nice touch in a game bursting with them. Like the way that different members of the cast shout the game\u2019s name before story missions (brilliantly, not always with enthusiasm). Or the excellent little puzzle mode that\u2019s tucked away on the ship, where you have to win specific scenarios in one turn. It\u2019s a really pleasant universe to spend time in. More games should make time for a mission where everyone dresses to the nines for a fancy space gala (don\u2019t worry, it gets attacked by pirates).<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

\"Characters<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

(Image credit: Trinket Studios)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you\u2019ve still got PTSD from playing Mouthwashing last year, then you could do a lot worse than spending time with this delightful crew. Yes, yes, the universe is at stake, but we\u2019re gonna make time for a gay wedding anyway. It\u2019s refreshing playing something so proudly, unashamedly queer in a time when awful Gamergatey crap is constantly trying to seep back into the games industry.<\/p>\n

Flaws? Well, the opening is a bit cliched, making the classic narrative mistake of beginning with a major tragedy before we\u2019ve really had a chance to meet anyone yet, so it\u2019s hard to care. The Frenzied being a total non-entity feels like a missed opportunity given the strong character writing and delightfully hammy villains you do eventually meet. Standard difficulty could probably do with being a bit tougher too, though there\u2019s plenty you\u2019ll miss on your first playthrough to justify replaying on hard.<\/p>\n

This kind of minor nitpicking is why Captain Heathcliff won\u2019t be recruiting me onto his sunny spaceship anytime soon. Give this mix of mech deckbuilder and visual novel a chance and the combat might go easy on you, but good luck resisting its charms.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This has to be the most cheerful game about aliens destroying the universe that I\u2019ve ever played. Often making Lego Star Wars look like Andor, Battle Suit Aces is a hugely heartfelt sci-fi visual novel. The fact it\u2019s a great deckbuilder too is just showing off. Need to Know What is it? A deckbuilder from the makers of Battle Chef Brigade.Release date October 7, 2025Expect to pay $25\/\u00a321Developer Trinket StudiosPublisher Trinket StudiosReviewed on Asus ROG AllySteam Deck VerifiedLink Official site You\u2019re Captain Heathcliff, travelling the galaxy in his fight against the Frenzied, a pretty dull alien enemy. Fortunately, that faceless threat is one of the few dud narrative notes. The rest of the cast are great fun, often joyously queer, and\u2026 well, admittedly, maybe slightly…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1468313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[336],"tags":[748,1518],"class_list":["post-1468312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pc-gamer","tag-games","tag-roguelike"],"yoast_head":"\nBattle Suit Aces review | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This has to be the most cheerful game about aliens destroying the universe that I\u2019ve ever played. Often making Lego Star Wars look like Andor, Battle Suit\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Battle Suit Aces review | Arcader News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This has to be the most cheerful game about aliens destroying the universe that I\u2019ve ever played. Often making Lego Star Wars look like Andor, Battle Suit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-20T04:30:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/battle-suit-aces-review.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"270\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"headline\":\"Battle Suit Aces review\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-20T04:30:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":374,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/battle-suit-aces-review.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"games\",\"Roguelike\"],\"articleSection\":[\"PC Gamer\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/\",\"name\":\"Battle Suit Aces review | Arcader News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/battle-suit-aces-review.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-20T04:30:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"description\":\"This has to be the most cheerful game about aliens destroying the universe that I\u2019ve ever played. Often making Lego Star Wars look like Andor, Battle Suit\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/battle-suit-aces-review.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/battle-suit-aces-review.jpg\",\"width\":480,\"height\":270,\"caption\":\"Battle Suit Aces review\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/battle-suit-aces-review\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Battle Suit Aces review\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"description\":\"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arcade News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cricketgames.tv\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/author\\\/arcade-news\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Battle Suit Aces review | Arcader News","description":"This has to be the most cheerful game about aliens destroying the universe that I\u2019ve ever played. Often making Lego Star Wars look like Andor, Battle Suit","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Battle Suit Aces review | Arcader News","og_description":"This has to be the most cheerful game about aliens destroying the universe that I\u2019ve ever played. Often making Lego Star Wars look like Andor, Battle Suit","og_url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/","og_site_name":"Arcade News","article_published_time":"2026-01-20T04:30:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":270,"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/battle-suit-aces-review.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Arcade News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arcade News","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/"},"author":{"name":"Arcade News","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"headline":"Battle Suit Aces review","datePublished":"2026-01-20T04:30:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/"},"wordCount":374,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/battle-suit-aces-review.jpg","keywords":["games","Roguelike"],"articleSection":["PC Gamer"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/","name":"Battle Suit Aces review | Arcader News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/battle-suit-aces-review.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-20T04:30:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"description":"This has to be the most cheerful game about aliens destroying the universe that I\u2019ve ever played. Often making Lego Star Wars look like Andor, Battle Suit","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/battle-suit-aces-review.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/battle-suit-aces-review.jpg","width":480,"height":270,"caption":"Battle Suit Aces review"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/battle-suit-aces-review\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Battle Suit Aces review"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/","name":"Arcade News","description":"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839","name":"Arcade News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arcade News"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/cricketgames.tv"],"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/author\/arcade-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1468312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1468312"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1468312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1468333,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1468312\/revisions\/1468333"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1468313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1468312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1468312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1468312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}