Do you really like tactical games? This is the game for you. Take control of a SWAT team and take them through various police scenarios such as hostage rescues, imminent hostage executions, drug raids, arrest warrants, and VIP escorts. There are many weapons that have their own individual stats as well as a variety of different equipment from different types of kevlar vests that protect more or less from different angles (front, rear, and sides), to different types of grenades (flashbangs, stun grenades). There's other ways of breaching such as using breaching charges, shotguns, bolt cutters, and much more. This game reminds me of the old Rainbow Six games and the SWAT games as well.

This game is top notch! If you loved the Rainbow Six series and SWAT 4, you'll probably love this even more. Fan of RTS and action games, you must give this one a shot. This is basically one of those games where it gets better and better as you get used to the mechanics and unlock new stuff.

Door Kickers is a tactical RTS game where you take control of a SWAT team and save the day through hostage rescue missions, bomb defusal missions, VIP escorts and everything else a SWAT-based game should have. The game can be played either by planning everything at the start of a level and watch as the team executes your orders (Rainbow Six style) or take control of your units in real-time. You can also do both, since the action can be paused at any time (recommended for starters).

Pros
-Tactical SWAT gameplay at its finest. Assign equipment to each unit, plan and execute any way you want; easy to pick up and play.
-Many guns to choose from and different classes each with their own advantages and disadvantages.
-Varied missions: from close-quarters combat to long-range gunfights.
-Very high longevity: lots of individual missions, campaigns, random mission generator and Steam Workshop mods.
-Awesome soundtrack and clean graphics that match the atmosphere of the game.
-Still gets updated with additional free content and bug fixes.

Cons
-Slightly frustrating at times
-Some Workshop mods are incompatible because of the new updates.


Personal rating: 9.2/10

Pause. Plan. Execute.

The concept is pretty simple to pick up, but difficult to master. There is nothing more satisfying, however, than watching a plan that you've spent time carefully fine tuning and perfecting to flawlessly be carried out by a squad of 8 who proceed to drop bad guys like its the new fad, save hostages, and defuse bombs; all of which occurs in a matter of seconds.

There are 3 campaigns, close to a hundred single missions, and an in-game map editor to create your own missions. Lastly, my favorite, a scenario generator in which you chose the size of the map and the amount of resistance you're ready to throat punch and the game generates a mission for you. All of this leads to a lot of replayability.

Also included, is a progression and load out system that allows you to customize every member of your squad, from class and weapon selection to special equiptment, portrait, and names.

It's easy to see this game as a quick tactical shooting session and only expect to play in short increments, but its even easier to get hooked and start trying new strategies and techniques to get that 3 star rating on a mission.

At $20 I can see many people waiting for this to go on sale, but I can assure you that it is absolutely worth it's price.

This is definitely one of my favourite games of 2014. It may confuse people looking at the 2D grafics when I say this game is amazing in every aspect of it. But everything fits nicely: The grafics don't hide information and for me they manage to be detailed enough convey the narrative while giving my enough space for using my own imagination. The UI is simple and easy to use. The sound effects are subtle (which is important, as you are going to hear them way too often when trying to get a perfect rating on a map). And the equipment is surprisingly well balanced, and personally I prefer balance to realism (it is really hard to explain why two .223 rem rifles with 10" barrels, even if one is a long-stroke piston system and one short-stroke, would have so different power levels, but in the game, this makes both interesting). All leads to a very good immersion.

The difficulty level is somewhat self-adjusting, as most maps are easy to finish. But getting 3 stars, using only one plan, no interaction afterwards? That takes more than a lunch break.

It is not perfect yet, there could be some interface improvements when it comes to several troopers breaching the same door (whose tools are used) and a bit more synchronizing for cooperative action. And minor flaws like having female troopers but only a male voice set. And the three campaigns could do with some story texts. But these are trivial things that one will find in AAA productions, too.

From a software developer's perspective: Recently, I backed three games (on Kickstarter and elsewhere). Two (Wasteland, Jagged Alliance: Flashback) were a huge disappointment. Doorkickers was the only game that managed to continuously improve, seemed to have tight feedback cycles and was thought through from the beginning, so huge features did not come in late and were error-prone. And they polished their product before release. This speaks of a great development process and makes "In the killhouse" a company I would love to work with (if I were a game dev).

+ A 2D Rainbow Six
+ Tons of stand-alone missions
+ Campaigns
+ Finding that one perfect strategy (without adjusting mid-game) feels great
+ Unlockable skills & classes
+ The rating system for buying weapons and gear works well

- Difficulty spikes
- Random enemy placement adds replayability but you have to keep changing tactics

[Rating: 82/100]

This game is top of the line and possibly the best tactics simulator ever. Large amounts of enemies. Brings a lot of tactical options with the "Go" system. Timing is everything in this game as it would be in reality.

Other games of this genre struggle. Suffiently stupid enemies, no fog of war, etc. but Door Kickers really does this genre proud.

I had the pleasure of looking at DoorKickers way back in Alpha and then again at the full release version. I'm glad it made it all the way through. It reminds me a lot of the tactical planner in pre-Raven Shield Rainbow Six games. You can carefully plan out your teams entry into an area swarming of enemies and maybe even hostages or adapt a plan on the fly. It can be pretty challenging too! The game has a fair amount of pre-made content for the price and also offers a stage builder to extend that further.

KillHouse Games provided me with a review copy to produce a first impressions video. If you'd like to see the game in motion and hear some more thoughts consider checking out the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POGOjK3BmIk

Fantastic game. Highly recommended. Harkens back to Rainbow Six (as you'll constantly read). Focusing on this game, however, it has solid gameplay mechanics. And is fair in it's execution. I did run in to one level that I couldn’t figure out but that was one level out of hundreds.

And yes, this game has 100s of prebuilt scenarios. Also, it has a random mission generator. You get your money's worth and it's fun.

There is not too much story -- actually, no story is fair to note but there is are 3 different "campaigns" that you can go through. Also the aforementioned 100s of missions and then the mission generator. So, again, a ton of content to be had.

I don't have many complaints with the game. I suppose I wish it explained some the gear a bit better but for the most part you figure it out. To the best of my knowledge, a good portion of items are interchangeable. I could be wrong, who knows...

Strongly recommended. Just buy it. Don't wait for a sale or anything silly. If you enjoy rainbow six (the planning phase, I should mention) and you like strat games, just buy it. It's an indie; support these guys and they can then bring out more awesome games.

The game is well optimized. It runs on my older laptops with ease as far as I can tell. No performance concerns to note.

I guess I didn't have got this enthusiatic about tactics since Rainbow Six Rogue Spear and Covert Ops.

A must have for those who like tactical games. One of the few games i bought on early access and didn't regret it.

I have been playing this throughout early access and now into its full launch. Great game, plenty of hours of entertainment. Would recommend

Great game, espacially if you enjoyed early R6 and SWAT 4 titles.

Indie game of the year if you ask me everyone should buy this amazing game no matter the price!

Great indy action - strategy game for those of us with SWAT fantasies. Easy to learn, with a huge amount of depth. Solid mechanics, great progression in the difficulty. It has a sticky, one-more-time loop where you know you can do that mission better.

Door Kickers is basically top down Rainbow Six. My only complaint about the game is that some times it boils down to rushing the same tactic over and over again until RNGesus smiles upon you and lets you win. That aside, the game is quite fun.

Really fun and not quite like anything else I've played besides maybe Frozen Synapse and the planning phase of Rainbow Six. It feels awesometo sketch out a plan, watch it play out and modify it on the fly as stuff changes. Great little game that you can boot up, play a few missions and put down in a half hour or so. Lots of content too.

If you enjoy tactical games you'll love this game. You control a SWAT team and you can outfit your members with a variety of bullet resistant vests, flashbangs and stun grenades, assault rifles, shotguns, and handguns. Wonderful game, hours of contents packed in it, plus mods.

Amazing game, well worthy of all the praise it gets.
The developers are constantly updating, tweaking and adding to the game, and I hear that there is even a multiplayer/co-op mode coming, either for free in a patch, or maybe as paid DLC. Either way, I will take it. These guys deserve every penny.
One of the only truly great games to go through early access AND it actually made it to a full release AND it is still supported by the devs now.
Very easy to just start playing, it's one of those games that is pretty easy to learn, but difficult to master, especially as the maps go on and get bigger and the enemy get smarter and much much tougher.
Workshop support is nice, and there are some truly stunning mods out there, such as the highly rated sound mod that adds almost 100% realistic weapon sounds to every gun in the game, or the many many weapon packs out there that add great weapons from P-90 SMG's to the aliens pulse rifle (ridiculously overpowered, but still good fun).
The progression system works nicely, the skill tree is good (although a little small), adding some nice "abilities" to your troopers, such as knowing how to use cover better, better aim with pistols or whatever, using double-tap to make sure enemy are put down quickly. All work nicely to bring your officers in line with the rising difficulty as you get to the tougher maps later on.
I seriously can't recommend this game enough. Whether you want to plan as you go, pausing every few seconds, or you want to just go it in real time, dragging the path for your troopers and watching them follow as you go, or you (like me) want to plan everything from the beginning, hit the go button and watch your troopers die quickly :)
The game allows any one of these methods, or a mix of all at once, planning a mission from start, then pausing and starting a new plan in the middle (because things start to go sideways), and then just keeping it going in real time, moving your troopers around the map to pick off any stragglers and/or moving any hostages to safety that you couldn't see whilst you were originally planning the assault.
The game is great, does exactly what it says on the tin, and does it pretty much perfectly in every way.
Worth every penny, and the devs definitely deserve their cash, 100%

Team Alpha, go! Bravo, engage!

Pros:
- Doorkickers has a very great tactical element to it, allowing you to utilize unit sight lines to spy corners before entering and taking out the baddies before shots are fired. Using multiple units for cover and movement through doorways, flashing, flanking is very fun and very satisfying when it all goes according to the plan in your mind.
- The different classes to combine on missions is very interesting and with mobility meters could spell the difference between a good outcome on a mission or a very fatal end.
- Utilization of "Go-Codes" is always exciting when you are able to time your plan sequences in a smooth, fluid execution.
- There is a SKILL tree and Doctrine points to purchase weapons and gear (only once) for all of your units to use
- Lots of maps and creatable content to share with Steam friends and community.

Cons:
- I have to admit, sometimes the units can be a bit finnicky, and it gets a bit frustrating; there are two tangos in a large room on the other side of a locked door you cannot flashbang through - breaching with a hammer, lockpick, or breaching charge takes too much time to set up, you send a man through and direct his sight line to sweep, but instead of firing on the first guy he sees on side A, sweeps and shoots man in corner B instead and leaves the first man he sees in the shadows. Alongside the factor of friendly fire sight lines, its frustrating when you have 2 of your own units stacked on top of each other, but one will not fire in his designated direction due to a teammate being directly on top of him.
- I've found that enemy units are able to fire simultaneously and hit my units while they are in a line, while my units cannot fire through each other. Something I think will be patched in the future.
- Another issue I'm having is pathing selections: there are times where lines will overlap in a hallway and you wnat to change the sight line of ONE of your units, but you can't select his pathing line because the OTHER guys' line is on top of his. I tried to lock one unit's path with SHIFT, but doesn't seem to work. Something that can be fixed.

Conclusion:
All in all, I REALLY do enjoy the game. For $20? Sure. I honestly feel the game's INCLUDED content could have been more, the campaigns are a bit short, but the replayability with different tactics is refreshing. The focus on community map content is a bit harrowing, as I'm not one to really have time to download and configure all of it to work. I also feel that each class should have their own type of special ability in relation with the skill trees, instead of just access to a certain type of primary weapon. Different stat fluctuations, maybe? I don't know. It's still a great game to kill time and terrorists with.

Absolutely Addictive !

Those two words sum up this game perfectly.

Even after you succeed at a mission you will want to re-play it just to see if you can do it better or faster. This game is easily played when you only have a short time to kill, but don't be surprised if you look at the clock and several hours have passed. The game is very challenging without being impossible, which is a nice balance they managed.