Super Senso review
:: STRATEGIC SENSO-BILITIESPrice: Free
Version: 1.7.2
App Reviewed on: iPad Air 2
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If you like Advance Wars, giant robots, and kaiju, it's unlikely that Super Senso has flown under your radar. It's a multiplayer-only turn-based strategy game where players fight each other using a deck of military units they've constructed in addition to a giant hero character, known as a Senso. Although the early weeks of the game's release have been rocky from a technical standpoint, the underlying gameplay is solid, strategic experience.
Advance clash
Super Senso feels like a strategy game that's cobbled together out of good ideas from other titles that came before it. The game's combat systems feel like they are ripped straight from Advance Wars, and the deck building mechanics look and act exactly like they do in Clash Royale. The only real thing that Super Senso adds to the mix is some giant hero characters and some awkward “baditude” in its writing.
For the most part, it's a winning combination. Games start with players simply having control of their Sensos, but every turn they can spend resources (like Clash Royale's Elixir) to spawn units on the map from a floating base on their side of the map. The goal of each match is to destroy the other player's base before they destroy yours.
Combo combat
The combat in Super Senso is mostly pretty standard as far as turn-based strategy goes. Your units can be anything from basic infantry to artillery cannons, and each unit has its own strengths, weaknesses, and associated spawning cost. Each battlefield is subdivided into a grid that all units can move and attack across once per turn.
In addition to this, players can unlock new Sensos to lead their armies. These Sensos might be strong melee fighters with high defense, ranged attackers, or something else entirely. The idea of having these hero units is a neat touch because each new one you unlock can prompt you to make new deck combinations around them.
It's also worth noting that Super Senso isn't just about who can spit out the most units to overwhelm the enemy base. The game has a combo system that allows players to deal damage to their opponents if they take out enough enemy units. This prevents the game from being about rushdown tactics and more about strategic use and preservation of the units that you spawn.
Rickety robot
The only real times that Super Senso isn't fun are when the game isn't working as intended. This includes the myriad bugs present in the inital release of the game, as well as the few times I experienced where I was placed in a match where I was completely outclassed by my opponent's army.
The bugs (for the most part) have gone away thanks to updates, but there are still times where it feels like I lose matches because the person I'm playing has unlocked or upgraded better units than mine. Since Super Senso's upgrade system follows Clash Royale's to a T, this is kind of hard to avoid. Just know that if you're a free player, you'll likely have a few matches where things feel a little unfair because someone shelled out to build a better army.
The bottom line
Super Senso is a smart combination of ideas plus some cool mecha-on-kaiju action. It isn't perfect, but it seems like its worst issues are mostly behind it. If you're looking for a quality, multiplayer strategy game in the vein of Advance Wars, I'd recommend Super Senso, but perhaps not ahead of something a little more balanced like Warbits.