# Vactics — user reviews > 55 indexed App Store user reviews of Vactics by Gerard Delaney, rated 4.06/5 from 54 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vactics/id1561887778/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vactics/id1561887778.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 31 · 4★ 9 · 3★ 5 · 2★ 4 · 1★ 5 ## What do users think of Vactics? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 💡 Innovative gameplay mechanics - 👍 Deep tactical gameplay - 🎨 Gorgeous art style - 🎶 Excellent synthwave score - ✨ Well-balanced gameplay - 💯 Feels like a full game - 🚀 Fast-paced combat - 🤩 Addictive gameplay - 👍 Attention to detail - 👍 High replayability - 🕹️ Good controls - 👍 Great value for money (for some) - 💡 Unique health recovery system - 👍 Engaging tutorial (for some) - 👍 Post-apocalyptic cyber theme - 👍 Portrait screen design - 👍 Generous free experience **Cons** - 💰 High price for pro version - 💸 Expensive subscription options - 😩 Frustrating paywall - ❓ Lacking tutorial explanations - 🐌 Slow restart function - 😠 Over-reliance on paid version - 🚫 Content locked behind paywall - 😵 Confusing UI elements - 👎 Inconsistent combat feel - 😵 Pixelated text hard to read - 😥 Accidental taps cause frustration - 🤔 Lack of explanation for progression - 💸 Monetization system needs rework - 😩 Pay to win perception - 💸 Expensive for a mobile game - 👎 Weaker than Hoplite (for some) - 😵 Painful color palette (for some) - 😔 Not enough free content - 😠 Constant push for paid version **Commonly reported bugs** - Combo attack bonus cancelled by heavy landing - "Restore purchases" not working after update - Cannot equip more than one ability - Inconsistent combat: adjacent Vactic not hitting - Cannot mount one tech in Chassis and one in Engine - Line-of-sight for ranged enemies unclear **Most requested features** - Add more upgrades - Add more game modes - Add online co-op - Add infinite wave competition - Add diverging paths on map like FTL - Add small story elements at decisions - Add new enemies and technologies - Add a big boss - Add Russian language support - Improve tutorial clarity - Faster restart function - Option to confirm selection before moving - More customization options for mechs - Unlock more mechs for free - Add wallpapers in the art style - Support for lowercase game text - Option to change palettes easily - Save progress on runs - Adjustable difficulty settings - Add more content ## Newest reviews (15 of 55) ### 4/5 — Fun, but expensive *2024-06-22, version 1.200.5483* The game is great, and I would happily pay a few dollars to support the developers and get the rest of the features, but the options are $3.99 to subscribe for 3 months, or $9.99 to purchase it outright. The game is not that complex or valuable. Bummer because I would otherwise buy Pro to keep playing and support! ### 3/5 — Disappointed *2024-04-04, version 1.200.5483* Vactics is a very cool game very engaging but Vactics pro is in my opinion a joke, I really think this game would be more popular if everything wasn’t pay to get. Still really like the game tho ### 5/5 — Еее *2024-02-21, version 1.200.5483* Хорошая, и на такая простая, как кажется на первый взгляд. ### 3/5 — Inconsistent *2024-02-08, version 1.200.5483* Though I enjoy this game very much such as the music selection and the art style used for the game, the combat feels incredibly inconsistent. For example, I move myself towards two enemies, hoping for a combo but it is not delivered. Ontop of this, basic combat such as attacking normally also feels irregular. I move myself towards the enemy, but no attack is made and the enemy retaliates ending my game. ### 5/5 — Must play *2024-02-04, version 1.200.5483* Very well made game, the difficulty is very hard how ever need to be balanced, took me 4 days to beat the game. Should decrease the damage of vactic overall a bit. Should nerf the shooter, the round is usually 5-7 tiles yet the basic shooter is already have the range of 4 tiles, the advanced shooter can basically shoot across the map because of they range and they just keep teleport all over the place since the cooldown is just 1 turn, should increase this one up ### 5/5 — Wait *2024-01-19, version 1.200.5483* Just started playing. Didn’t the intro say that you’re protected immediately after you land? That doesn’t seem to be true. Love the aesthetic of the game! Keep up the good work! Edit: oh okay, you’re protected from the “first attack” not first wave of attacks if multiple Vactics hit you when you land. That wasn’t immediately obvious to me. Also, I don’t get how loading tech works. I have both Dash and Freeze. I can mount either in either the Chassis or Engine. But I can’t mount one in the Chassis and one in the Engine? Why not? ### 4/5 — Great game, but price too high *2024-01-17, version 1.200.5483* Excellent game, but unfortunately the price is too high for this hexagon-based mechanic. There are many other games available, including on the App Store, with the exact same gameplay and much lower price, so it’s honestly hard to claim that this price is anywhere worth it. Nice art style though. ### 5/5 — "hoplite" & "into the breach" ...with...... lots more content *2024-01-16* ive updated this review 3 times. few mintues into tutorial i knew this game was gpijg to be hard to put down. after playing a few stages it feels distinctly like a combination of "hoplite" (one of my favorites) and "into the breach' (from makers of ftl) 20m i bought the full version for $10. it is good. not as fun as hoplite or into the breach (9/10 instead of 10/10)...but has more content improvement needed: 1. its more immersive if we have a map w diverging paths kind of like FTL, w a few small story elements at each decision that can have a similar affect update 5: this developer gets it. this is the game i was waiting for for so long after FTL, or "executive", or gunman taco truck, or hoplite, lol. unfortunately beat it. (maybe 14hours) it's very fun. artwork could be slightly jazzier (like ftl), but gameplay is 10/10 update 6: apparently i only beat the 1st stage phase (i'm not sure how many phases there are) when i thought i beat the game... a pleasant surprise to discover there's more phases with new enemies!!! couldnt get into the lost pilots. "breach" seemed to implement this better. 1. the game can addictive to the point that when there is delay between load screens between stages or restarts it can be frustrating. i noticed another review had the same sentiment and i get that lol 2. this game is awesome though, so please keep upgrading and add new enemies and technologies. 3. adding a big boss would make it very cool too! **Developer response:** Thanks for your reviews and kind words. I’m glad you are enjoying the game! One thing that might help with your frustration over the timing are a couple of Gameplay settings you can enable, Fast Level Change and Fast Salvage. If you turn those on it will speed up some parts of the game for you. Cheers, Gerard ### 5/5 — Wait *2024-01-13* Just started playing. Didn’t the intro say that you’re protected immediately after you land? That doesn’t seem to be true. Love the aesthetic of the game! Keep up the good work! ### 4/5 — Fun. but could use a little more customization *2024-01-11, version 1.200.5483* This game is fun and at times even relaxing. I find myself playing it to past the time a lot. Its really cool how you can change the games color scheme and even app color. But thats it. Other than making a mech with already made pieces, thats it. The amount if customizing on this game is limited to the fact that its in an apocalyptic setting, though it would be cooler if you could find nee or different pieces with different and varying powers in some levels and even the ability to color the mech seperate from the game to keep it fresh. Altogether, this game is really nice ### 3/5 — Needs a faster restart function *2024-01-10, version 1.200.5483* The game itself is really good and I find myself playing it on and off throughout the day. But there are a few features that could be enhanced for better experience by the user. A big suggestion is to make it faster to restart and play again after you die. Not sure if it’s just me but, I die quite often and the amount of time it takes to get to the restart option is a bit long and irritating. Especially since I keep dying a bit fast and don’t really last that long in general since I’m still learning. If this were fixed and improved the game would feel so much better. Also, the tutorial is very lacking, there are still parts of the game I’m confused about and wasn’t explained to me i.e. the page in between levels—I’m not sure how those bottom buttons correspond with which building you choose. It’s just confusing to me. These may sound like small things but they actually are really important for the player. The game is great and it’s original and it’s addicting but I just wish these two points were improved upon. ### 5/5 — Vactics Pro *2024-01-08, version 1.200.5483* The purchase for Vactics pro doesn’t like. LET ME SPEND MONEY ON YOUR GAME ### 5/5 — Great game, I do not regret buying the full game. *2023-12-26, version 1.200.5483* I’ve been playing this game for a little less than a week so far, I have all of the mech tech unlocked, and all of the pilots except for Kim. Fun game to play on long road trips because you don’t need a wifi connection. I would love to see more content to this game in the future if possible. ### 3/5 — Pay to win *2023-12-15, version 1.200.5483* Everything is locked behind Vactics pro but other than that it’s an okay game ### 5/5 — Cute game, focused and well-done *2023-12-14, version 1.200.5483* Would love an option for some palettes without pro version, but I get it! Just to taste the difference ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Excellent game but not the correct price *2026-03-17, version 1.200.5483* I know the game price is decide by the Dev but subscription and lifetime ? One price should be only and $9 is not it, excellent game bad execution on price ### 1/5 — Fun stuff locked *2023-12-28, version 1.200.5483* I just wish all the fun stuff weren’t locked behind a crazy price of 17$ ### 1/5 — weaker hoplite *2023-12-11, version 1.200.5483* uninstalled ### 1/5 — painful color palette *2023-12-05* recycled hoplite mechanics, would recommend hoplite over this **Developer response:** Hoplite is a great game. I can understand why you might prefer it. If you do play Vactics more hopefully you’ll find a color palette unlock that is a bit better for you too. Thanks for taking time to review my game. ### 1/5 — colors make eyes hurt *2023-12-01* rather play hoplite which is what this game is based off ### 2/5 — Amazing but blocked *2024-01-23, version 1.200.5483* Its a super fun roguelite with what i think are stunning aesthetics. The problem is the game has this huge paywall thats overpriced. You literally cannot progress or unlock anything after 1 hour of play. Then its $10. $10 DOLLARS. for a mobile game with procedural levels. For comparison Lethal company is $14.99. Thing is i would buy it for $3-$5 but $10 is crazy ### 2/5 — Overrelying on players to buy *2023-12-16, version 1.200.5483* The game is descent but it keeps pushing people to pay for a premium version so early on. Worse of all, all achievements or most of them are just nothing more than in game ads to entice the player to pay. The game is already difficult enough in the first series of levels and these repeated ads aren’t helping I will stop playing this game for now but it needs more than this ### 2/5 — Fun game *2023-12-06, version 1.200.5483* It’s a fun game, but it won’t let me equip more than one ability. ### 2/5 — To much pushing of the paid version *2023-11-30, version 1.100.5469* I would have probably eventually paid for the pro version. Just got tired of trying to learn the game (which they don’t really help you) while being hounded every 5 minutes to buy buy buy the pro. So …. ### 3/5 — Bug report *2024-04-20, version 1.200.5483* Seems to have a bug if you get combo attack followed by heavy landing. Combo attack bonus gets cancelled after that. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Nice game! I like it! Can you add more upgrades? *2026-03-03, version 1.200.5483* If you like to have more. ### 5/5 — Innovative *2025-08-20, version 1.200.5483* This game should be a no-brainer for fans of Hoplite or Guncho. What sets Vactics apart from other games is the simple but innovative health recovery system: combo or die. A simple mechanic that flips gameplay in unexpected ways. Just be prepared to repeatedly fail. Learning from mistakes seems to be an intentional ingredient of gameplay. ### 5/5 — Best game ever!!! *2025-02-08, version 1.200.5483* It’s so fun ### 5/5 — "hoplite" & "into the breach" ...with...... lots more content *2025-01-29, version 1.200.5483* ive updated this review 3 times. few mintues into tutorial i knew this game was going to be hard to put down. after playing a few stages it feels distinctly like a combination of "hoplite" (one of my favorites) and "into the breach' (from makers of ftl) 20m i bought the full version for $10. it is good. not as fun as hoplite or into the breach (9/10 instead of 10/10)...but has more content improvement needed: 1. its more immersive if we have a map w diverging paths kind of like FTL, w a few small story elements at each decision that can have a similar affect update 5: this developer gets it. this is the game i was waiting for for so long after FTL, or "executive", or gunman taco truck, or hoplite, lol. unfortunately beat it. (maybe 14hours) it's very fun. artwork could be slightly jazzier (like ftl), but gameplay is 10/10 update 6: apparently i only beat the 1st stage phase (i'm not sure how many phases there are) when i thought i beat the game... a pleasant surprise to discover there's more phases with new enemies!!! couldnt get into the lost pilots. "breach" seemed to implement this better. 1. the game can addictive to the point that when there is delay between load screens between stages or restarts it can be frustrating. i noticed another review had the same sentiment and i get that lol 2. this game is awesome though, so please keep upgrading and add new enemies and technologies. 3. adding a big boss would make it very cool too! 4. they dont collect your data ### 5/5 — What will happened to Humanity in future? *2024-09-27, version 1.200.5483* I want a new Vactics 2 game. It was sooo good! ### 5/5 — Different *2024-08-23, version 1.200.5483* A good break from modern games, a really cool concept with a post-apocalyptic cyber theme. If there was an online co-op or infinite wave competition, that would be a cherry on top. But still it’s preem ### 5/5 — Much loved with one single caveat… *2024-08-22, version 1.200.5483* I love almost everything about this game! It’s a game that gives me the excitement that I got from Into The Breach. So far it’s very well balanced, looks gorgeous and has an excellent synthwave score! The only gripe I have with this game (and I’m looking for some way to change this but can’t find it in options) is that I never know when I’m in line-of-sight of the ranged enemies. I move and sometimes they still attack me. I wish there was a way to see their cone of attack so I could see whether to make the decision to move or to teleport. This has caused me to lose many times. But other than that I love it. It doesn’t feel predatory, it feels like a proper, full game, made with passion for games, not for money. UPDATE! Changed to 5 stars. Click on the enemy to see where they may fire on their next turn! ### 5/5 — Game hay *2024-07-09, version 1.200.5483* Game rất hay đề cao chiến thuật và khả nâng sử lý của người chơi hy vọng có nhiều chế độ chơi hơn ### 5/5 — Great game *2024-05-21, version 1.200.5483* Tactical gameplay, story was decent, fantastic animations, cool theme, great attention to detail, a 10/10 game, paid 10 bucks for the full story, got my money's worth, keep it up Developer Gerard! ### 5/5 — Deep, fun tactics game *2024-03-27, version 1.200.5483* This is just what I always hope to find in the App Store. The art and sound are very good, the game’s upgrade system is clever, the gameplay is balanced. Love the design aesthetic and the portrait screen. If you like Into The Breach you’ll love this - it’s like a distilled single-mech take on it. Well worth the money (and the unpaid experience is generous anyway). --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-12.*