What Frontline Crisis is
Frontline Crisis is a top-down shooter with real-time strategy bones, built around one mech that you pilot yourself. Your mech can walk, shoot, gather resources, build, and summon, so the whole RTS toolkit sits under a single unit instead of a big selection screen. The developer set out to make an RTS that is easy to control but still rich in strategy and action, and the simplified modules are meant to be understood without long descriptions. The setting is a distant future where humanity's energy crisis was solved by a new energy source called Force, found in outer space. Fighting over Force turned into a long war against alien swarms, and by the final stages both sides had learned each other's genetic sequences, producing half-human, half-alien warriors that show up on the battlefield as mutated former comrades. The look is hand-drawn and stylized with a 1980s flavor, and the enemies come as swarms of insects that fill the screen.
How a group plays it together
The game has local co-op, and you can also bring a friend in through Remote Play Together. In co-op the two players split the work: one handles ground forces while the other takes to the skies, so the two roles complement each other rather than competing for the same job. That split matters most during the combat phase, when the insect swarm is pressing in and both sides of the fight need attention at once. Coordinating who covers the ground and who covers the air is the core of playing it with a friend.
How a run flows
Each level is split into a pre-battle phase and a combat phase. During pre-battle you set up your defenses at your own pace, deciding where resources go and what to build. When combat starts you execute that plan and unleash your firepower. Resource gathering, base building, and attacking all keep you working at the same time, so decisions about spending and positioning carry into the fight. This is not a roguelike: it progresses through levels, and each level ends with a unique boss fight. Beating the boss unlocks new items and expands your build options, which is how your toolkit grows over the campaign.
Before you start
Expect a game that asks for both planning and reflexes — the strategy side runs during setup, and the bullet-hell shooting side takes over once the swarm arrives. Boss fights are the punctuation at the end of each level and are described as unique, so they are where your build choices get tested. The module descriptions are kept short by design, so you will be reading the battlefield more than the menus. The story thread about who the real enemy is runs under all of it, with the mutated half-human, half-alien warriors standing as the reminder.