_Stalin vs. Martians_ is an over-the-top real-time strategy game that
parodies the genre by extremely accessible gameplay devoid of complex elements
from similar, contemporary titles, such as technology trees, base building or
resource management. As such, it is recommended by official blurbs as a
perfect choice for anyone who hates the strategy genre.

The player serves as a commander under Stalin and has to stop the invasion of
extraterrestrial creatures who invade Russia through Siberia. In each mission,
the player commands a number of troops and vehicles, and most objectives
consist of holding defences, liberating towns and obliterating all enemies.
The units include regular infantry, Spetsnaz, BT-7, T-70, T-34 (advertised as
the tank included in every Russian game, including Tetris), T-35, ZSU-37 and
Katyusha. Instead of a careful approach with strategic attacks, the player is
encouraged to rush through enemy bases, as crushed enemy units leave behind
valuable power-ups such as money, armor upgrades, attack power improvement,
additional speed, and meds to restore health. These are not optional as
collecting them quickly is usually required to finish a mission, while a slow
and strategic approach is generally punished.

Gold is the most important item to collect, as it is used to buy
reinforcements. No other sources of resource management are available. It can
also be exchanged for special abilities such as the USSR Anthem (double
damage), Rage (30 seconds of invincibility), Anthrax to drain enemy health,
air-strikes called Stalin’s Falcons, KGB (paralyzes all enemies for 60
seconds) and Historical Inevitability to kill every single enemy unit on the
map at once.

From the main gameplay screen, players select units and move them around with
the mouse, while keyboard shortcuts can be used as well. The camera can zoom
in and is rotated around the battlefield. In the top right corner special
abilities and reinforcements are purchased, while the bottom of the screen
holds a mini-map (with Fog of War), basic buttons for actions such as holding
a position or attacking, and a screen with information about the different
units, structures and enemies.

Even though it largely resembles a regular strategy game, there are many
comical references (one of the options asks for your stance on cats), cut-
scenes resembling music videos with a dancing Stalin, and generally up-tempo
beat and rock music mostly unfitting for the genre. Most enemies use very
straightforward strategies, but they have certain structures that spawn
enemies, turrets, and a slime-like substance on the map that powers their
abilities. The game is single-player only and there are twelve missions in
total.