Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Research and Destroy’s strongest idea is that it refuses to let you relax once you have made a tactical decision. You plan around a turn-based structure, then take direct control and run-and-gun when it is time to act. That creates a satisfying tension: a clever plan matters, but so does your ability to make the seconds count once you commit.

The research angle gives the combat a nice sense of momentum. Battlefield vivisections produce insight into the supernatural threat, and that insight feeds the development of new upgrades for your weapons and gadgets. It is a strong loop because it makes experimentation feel like part of the fight rather than a separate chore between missions. You are not only trying to survive an encounter, you are trying to learn enough from it to hit back harder next time.

There is room for frustration if you want a purely deliberate tactics game. Planning ahead is only half the job here, and the real-time shooting portion puts pressure on execution. For many players, that is exactly why the hybrid works. Every turn has a little more urgency than a standard tactical move-and-wait routine, and success should feel earned by both your decision-making and your follow-through.

Co-op is a meaningful bonus rather than a stray extra mode. You can bring friends in locally or online and tailor each scientist’s appearance, which suits a game built around a three-person team. The campaign map and its changing playthroughs also make adaptation part of the larger strategy, not just the moment-to-moment combat.

Graphics

The behind-view perspective keeps the active scientist close to the action during the run-and-gun portions, instead of placing every decision on a faraway tactical board. It is a sensible fit for a game that wants you to shift from planning to direct execution in the same battle.

Story

The setup is agreeably pulpy: humanity has been nearly crushed by supernatural hordes, and three scientists are the ones fighting back. Research and Destroy gets mileage from treating science as an aggressive weapon, with bizarre gear and battlefield examination aimed at turning a desperate war into a solvable problem.

Your larger goal is to track down the source of the supernatural threat while managing a guerrilla campaign. That gives the campaign a clear direction beyond collecting upgrades, and it makes the scientists feel like active problem-solvers rather than generic soldiers dropped into another apocalypse.

The premise works best when you embrace its mix of horror, science fiction, and tactical absurdity. Digging into defeated supernatural enemies for research is intentionally strange, and that strangeness helps the game stand apart from more solemn end-of-the-world strategy games.

Overall Experience

Research and Destroy is worth your time if the phrase “turn-based action game” sounds exciting rather than contradictory. Its best moments should come from connecting the two halves of its design: identifying a smart tactical opening, taking control, and making that opening pay off under pressure. The upgrade-driven research loop gives those successes a useful long-term reward.

Skip it if you only want slow, fully detached tactics or a pure shooter with no planning layer. Everyone else gets a distinctive co-op-friendly strategy game that asks you to think like a scientist and act before the opportunity disappears. That is a more interesting proposition than either half would be on its own.

For a closer look at the game’s core concept and its three-scientist campaign, the Research and Destroy publisher page is a useful companion. The game earns a recommendation for players who want their tactical decisions to feel immediate, messy, and a little weird.

Retro Replay Score

7.4/10