

Special Tactics
Beast Mode Games · April 26, 2016 · Real Time Tactics, PvP, Turn-Based Tactics, Simulation, Tactical
Special Tactics is free to play — no purchase needed. We track it so you know if that ever changes.
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Special Tactics price
Special Tactics is free to play — there is no purchase price, on Steam or anywhere else we track. We keep watching it, so if it ever stops being free the price history on this page will show when that happened and what it changed to.
About Special Tactics
Special Tactics is a simultaneous turn-based tactical shooter where you customize your squad loadout, plan strategies, and outmaneuver opponents in 1v1, 2v1, and 2v2 matches across carefully designed maps. Its innovative focus-point control system and finely tuned combat depth deliver intense strategic gameplay that's accessible to newcomers yet endlessly complex for competitive players.
ST is very accessible but with immense, tactical depth:
- Finely tuned and innovative combat system
- Combat system is designed from the ground up to allow many types of engagements and tactics
- Offensive and defensive balance such that pros and cons for both
- Promotes peeking and intelligence gathering
- Carefully designed and tuned "time to kill" and damage model
- Complex underlying code and tracking to expose the most simple and intuitive combat interface to player
- Simultaneous Turn-Based Tactical-Action
- Epic 1 vs 1 PvP
- Create Squads of 2 with your friends for 2 vs 1 or 2 vs 2
- Create Custom Match Rules with your friends (ie Snipers-only, hardcore mode, etc.)
- Addictive Survival Mode
- 7 Maps: Construct, HQ, Rail, Rush, Gallery, Iceworld, Fall
- 5 main classes: Sniper, Shotgun, Assault, SMG, Shield
- Custom Weapons and Attachments
- 6 Equipment: Smoke, Frag, Flash, Fire/Incendiary, Sonar Detector, Throwing Axe
- 4 Boosters: Armor, Range, Damage, Speed
- Carefully Designed Maps
- Collect trophies to rank up from Recruit->Masters
- Replay Analysis System
- Innovative Controls
- Custom Engine Built from the Ground Up
Epic 1 vs 1, 2 vs 1 and 2 vs 2 PvP
- Select your specific weapons for each class (i.e. Silenced AK47 for Assault, AWP for Sniper)
- Pick 4 soldier classes (i.e. 2 Snipers + 2 SMGs)
- Either plant the bomb or defuse
- Each match is done over a real-time connection with 50 secs per turn (simultaneous)
Addictive Survival Mode
- The bomb is planted in a random location each round
- Based on the location of the bomb, pick 4 soldier classes
- Defuse the bomb before it blows up while encountering enemies
- Complete the round challenge (i.e. use all Shields or kill 2 enemies with one sniper shot) for 2X points
- Each round enemies are smarter and higher in number
- Your run ends when you fail to defuse the bomb
5 main classes: Sniper, Shotgun, Assault, SMG, Shield
- Assault: Medium range, slow movement, large field of view, weak damage
- SMG: short range, fast movement, large field of view, high damage
- Shotgun: very short range, fast movement, large field of view, very high damage, splash damage
- Sniper: very long range, slow movement, narrow field of view, very high damage, splash damage
- Shield: fast movement, 50 degrees of coverage, can melee
Custom Weapons and Attachments
- Each weapon has its own strengths and weakness
- Silencers hide your position when firing but have decreased damage and/or range
- Foregrips allow for higher fire rate but slower time to first shot
- Sights allow for longer range but smaller field of view
- Weapons are unlocked through Gold earned through Multiplayer and Survival
4 Boosters: Armor, Range, Damage, Speed
- Select one booster per turn to give to a soldier... Choose wisely
6 Equipment: Smoke, Frag, Flash, Fire/Incendiary, Sonar Detector, Throwing Axe
- You get 2 each per game in which any soldier can throw them
- Smoke can change the battlefield in significant ways by blocking line of sight
- Flash can blind and stun multiple soldiers
- Frags are used for focused splash damage
- Fire can slow and block movement paths
- Sonar can detect enemies within a radius through walls
- Throwing Axe requires precision aim but is very lethal
Carefully Designed Maps (more coming!)
- STO_CONSTRUCT, STO_HQ, STO_RAIL, STO_RUSH, STO_GALLERY, FY_ICEWORLD, STO_FALL, STO_HOME
Collect trophies to rank up from Recruit->Masters
Innovative Controls
- Controls and soldier combat AI built around Focus Points
- Setting a Focus Point when moving a soldier will have him aim down sight and move slowly while rotating around the point vs sprinting
- Using Focus Points you can peek around corners without committing:
- Focus Points open up complex tactics with simple controls such as strafing, throwing grenades around corners, moving one way while looking another way, back pedaling etc.
Special Tactics — game info
- Platforms
- Windows
- Steam Deck
- Unsupported
- Player modes
- Single-player, Online PvP, Online co-op, Cross-platform multiplayer
- PC Game Pass
- Not included
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
Special Tactics is a tactical turn-based shooter where both sides plan and execute actions simultaneously, creating an engaging focus on prediction and positioning that players find satisfying and mechanically deep. Players praise the core combat system and class variety as easy to learn but hard to master, though they commonly request more classes, game modes, objectives, and quality-of-life improvements like a weapon progression system instead of random crate drops.
Special Tactics takes an interesting approach to tactical combat by combining deliberate turn-based planning with actions that resolve simultaneously. Instead of waiting for an opponent to finish moving before responding, both sides prepare their orders and then watch those decisions play out together. This creates a strong emphasis on prediction, positioning, intelligence gathering, and understanding how an opponent is likely to react. Developed and published by Beast Mode Games, the game favors mechanical depth over elaborate presentation, producing a tactical experience that is relatively easy to understand at a basic level but considerably harder to master. The combat system is the centerpiece. Players assemble a four-soldier team from five main classes: Assault, SMG, Shotgun, Sniper, and Shield. Each has meaningful advantages and disadvantages involving movement, weapon range, damage potential, field of view, and defensive capability. Snipers can control long sight lines but sacrifice mobility and peripheral awareness, while SMG soldiers move quickly and excel at shorter distances. Shotguns become extremely dangerous when they can close the gap, Assault units provide a more b…1 found this helpful
Great game. Good gameplay. Simple but fun. Easy to learn, hard to master.1 found this helpful
Special Tactics is a small tactical shooter that mixes shooting with turn based planning in a way I did not really expect at first. I control several soldiers from a top down view, choose their weapons and then try to work out how to deal with the enemy before the next turn starts. What makes it different from a normal strategy game is that the turns happen at the same time, so I have to think about what I am doing while also trying to predict what the other side is about to do. It gives the game a much faster feeling than a traditional turn based strategy game. The combat is definitely the strongest part for me. There are five main classes, including Sniper, Shotgun, Assault, SMG and Shield, and each one has a clear purpose. I can also change the weapons and attachments for my soldiers, so I am not stuck with exactly the same setup every match. The focus point system is especially useful because I can tell a soldier where to move and have them aim around that position, which lets me peek around corners, move carefully and control which direction I am watching. I like this because the controls stay fairly simple while still giving me a lot to think about. The equipment gives me e…
This Game Is lit. Not normal good but the stuff of legend. Peak find. However I do wish this had more classes to chose from and more objectives since having only one like save the hostage or plant the bomb makes it simple for the opposing player to set up a death trap (that guy being me) also in servival the AI sort of spawns anywhere it likes one game I was placed in the center (randomly) and the AI preformed a one turn kill. But I want to recognize that this is in the beta stage and free no less whould play with frenends if there was a way to select your match.
fun game, couple bugs, definitely needs polish and more updates regarding smoother weapon progression(easier to get weapons like a buy system instead of a gamble crate system), bug fix needed, add more units and add modes like 3v3 and such. Game is going smwhere but needs the push and drive from developers to continue.
good game everything is expensive yyeah
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