Enlisted: Reinforced

Squad shooters are a rough fit for a treadmill, and Enlisted: Reinforced has you aiming while your squad and a whole lot of other soldiers are moving around, so I’d save it for an easy ride or a slow walk. It can be a good time, but I wouldn’t expect to keep a steady pace once the shooting starts.

Gameplay

The squad idea gives the battles a little more going on than “run out, get shot, repeat,” which I like. When the soldier you’re controlling goes down, you can carry on with another member of the squad, and that makes getting caught out feel less like your whole match is over. You still have to get back into the action, though, and sometimes that means another stretch of moving toward the fight while the map keeps doing its thing without you. I’d be looking at the objective and trying not to get distracted by every distant explosion. There are a lot of those.

When the action clicks, the crowded battlefield is the point. You’re trying to keep track of your own squad, the objective, and whatever is shooting at you, while tanks and aircraft can also be part of the battle. I think that scale is genuinely cool, but it can turn into a lot of visual noise, and I’m not sure how much of it I’d be able to enjoy if I were also bouncing along on a treadmill. In a chair, I’d be more willing to take a second and work out where I’m useful. That’s not always the fun answer.

There isn’t a long story getting between you and the next fight, which makes it easier to pick up for a session. The tradeoff is that the shooting and the squad management ask for attention, and I’d expect the unlocks in a free to play game to take some patience. I don’t mind having something to work toward, but I don’t want the game to make a short workout feel like an appointment. I’d try it before deciding how much time I wanted to put into it.

For me, that leaves the gameplay in the good but not automatic category. The squad gives you more chances to stay in a battle, and the scale is fun to look at, but a lot of your attention is still going to be spent aiming and deciding where to go next. I’d play it when I wanted a shooter, not when I wanted something I could half watch while exercising.

Category Score: 2 out of 3

Treadmill and Bike Compatibility

The biggest adjustment would be accepting that my aim is going to get worse as soon as my body starts moving. Enlisted has full controller support, which is a good start, but aiming at opponents while moving is still aiming at opponents, and I wouldn’t expect the controller to make that part forgiving. I’d lower the aim sensitivity a little if the options let me, then try it at an easy pace before I made the workout harder. There’s no point trying to win an argument with my own thumb.

A stationary bike seems more workable to me because I can keep my upper body steadier, but I’d still stick to a comfortable pace and expect to lose some fights. On a treadmill, I’d only try it while walking slowly, because the movement makes precise aiming feel like a chore you didn’t agree to. I’d skip trying to run through a match, and I’d save tank and aircraft play for when I wasn’t exercising, since those still ask you to pay attention and steer.

And the multiplayer part matters. You can’t just pause the battle when you want to change your pace or catch your breath, so if you get pulled into a fight, the game gets the attention first and your workout gets whatever is left. I don’t know that I’d enjoy that trade very much. It might be fine for a casual ride, but I wouldn’t set this up as my go to treadmill game.

Category Score: 1 out of 3

Computer Requirements

This needs an older dedicated graphics card, so it isn’t asking for a new high end gaming computer, but I wouldn’t count on integrated graphics to do the job. I’d check your graphics card first, then make sure you have room for a fairly large install. Forty nine gigabytes takes up space whether you’re excited about the game or not.

Category Score: 2 out of 3

Conclusion and Score

Save Enlisted: Reinforced for a relaxed ride or a time when you can focus on the match, rather than a hard treadmill workout. If you like large squad based shooters and don’t mind a little grind, the free to play price makes it easy to try; if you want a game that stays fun with loose, distracted inputs, I’d look elsewhere.

Overall Score: 1.67 out of 3