Tiny Troopers has a tendency to blur the line between cheeky cartoon violence and horrifying child soldiers. There's plenty of playful allusions to pro-war propaganda and action hero stereotypes, but there's also goofy, childish voices choking out their dying breaths. It's hard to say if the game is playing towards a peculiar sense of humor or if it's trying to build some kind of satirical statement. Either way, that part of the experience is as effective as it is forgettable, just enough to stumble the mood but not quite enough to halt the fun. Troop formation and movement is based entirely around following the leader in single file, so the game quickly becomes a bizarre version of Snake involving bullets and explosives. The campaign is very short, but it ends just quickly enough to avoid overstaying its welcome. After thirty levels it does feel like Tiny Troopers is out of new things do with its formula, which is why it was such a pleasant surprise when Zombie mode turned out to be more than a depressing reskin. The survivor-styled mode reduces the game down to its essential parts and actually grants more control over troop composition than the main game. This extra mode was the perfect cherry to cap this short, silly, (if somewhat disturbing) arcade-like experience.

Tiny Troopers has a tendency to blur the line between cheeky cartoon violence and horrifying child soldiers. There's plenty of playful allusions to pro-war propaganda and action hero stereotypes, but there's also goofy, childish voices choking out their dying breaths. It's hard to say if the game is playing towards a peculiar sense of humor or if it's trying to build some kind of satirical statement. Either way, that part of the experience is as effective as it is forgettable, just enough to stumble the mood but not quite enough to halt the fun. Troop formation and movement is based entirely around following the leader in single file, so the game quickly becomes a bizarre version of Snake involving bullets and explosives. The campaign is very short, but it ends just quickly enough to avoid overstaying its welcome. After thirty levels it does feel like Tiny Troopers is out of new things do with its formula, which is why it was such a pleasant surprise when Zombie mode turned out to be more than a depressing reskin. The survivor-styled mode reduces the game down to its essential parts and actually grants more control over troop composition than the main game. This extra mode was the perfect cherry to cap this short, silly, (if somewhat disturbing) arcade-like experience.