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Narcos: Rise of the Cartels was received poorly overall: reviewers most often criticized its repetitive missions, limited tactical choices, slow one-unit-at-a-time turns, weak enemy AI, and rough presentation. Its recognizable setting and a few unusual combat ideas appealed to some critics, but the platform-specific Metacritic scores are mostly unfavorable and vary by edition.
What are the critics’ scores for Narcos: Rise of the Cartels?
Metacritic’s current page snapshot, accessed in 2026, lists the PC release at 45/100 from 14 critic reviews, in the “Generally Unfavorable” range. Those reviews break down into seven mixed, seven negative, and no positive reviews. Its platform table lists different results for the other editions:
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Narcos: Rise of The Cartels (PS4) | $17.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Narcos - Rise of The Cartels - Nintendo Switch | $62.89 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Curve Digital Narcos - Rise of The Cartels - PlayStation 4 | $18.75 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Narcos - Rise of The Cartels - Xbox One | $29.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Narcos: Rise of The Cartels (Xbox One) | $27.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| Platform | Metacritic score | Critic reviews |
|---|---|---|
| PC | 45/100 | 14 |
| PlayStation 4 | 59/100 | 10 |
| Xbox One | 63/100 | 8 |
| Nintendo Switch | 41/100 | 5 |
These are Metacritic’s displayed figures at the time of its 2026 page snapshot; review totals and aggregates can change. GameFAQs also displays platform-specific critic totals that differ from Metacritic’s general platform table, so these counts should not be combined across sources. Check the edition you plan to play rather than treating any one score as a universal rating. Metacritic’s platform overview
Why did critics criticize the game?
Limited tactical depth and repetitive missions
Reviewers repeatedly found that the tactical premise did not develop into enough meaningful choices. MGG recognized effective strategy and third-person action elements but faulted the game for repetition. Worth Playing considered the simplified approach potentially suitable for some players, while noting that limited objectives constrain strategy. PC Gamer’s Metacritic excerpt calls it a mediocre XCOM-like; PC Invasion criticizes repetitive campaigns and unengaging gameplay. Metacritic’s PC review excerpts GameFAQs review roundup
#1 Best Overall
- Based on the hit Netflix TV series: Control and play, such as El Mexicano, Murphy, Pena, Primo and more
- Every war has two sides: Choose to side with the DEA and fight alongside Steve Murphy to bring down the drug empire, or choose to side with the Narcos in order to help found, grow and expand the Empire under the watchful eye of El Patron
- Fast-paced strategy combat: A new level in turn-based strategy combat with units moving individually one after another or multiple times within one turn
- Counteract and Kill-shot: Take third-person control of your units in order to engage enemies directly, giving you the opportunity to deal critical damage at optimum moments
Slow, one-unit-at-a-time turns and weak AI
Meristation describes turns in which the player moves one unit at a time across a grid, with movement and action points. It criticizes the narrow tactical options and says enemy AI can behave irrationally. That structure may suit someone looking for a lighter tactics game, but critics who wanted more flexible squad-level planning found it restrictive. Meristation’s review
Rough presentation
Eurogamer’s unscored PS4 excerpt praises the game as “a thoughtful, unusual take on Escobar’s legacy,” but qualifies that praise by noting less polished in-game graphics and combat that can feel stale. Metacritic’s PS4 critic excerpts
Rank #2
- Authenticity is at the core of the Narcos experience and highly recognisable and iconic characters from the TV show are available to control and play, such as El Mexicano, Murphy, Peña, Primo and more.
- Narcos: Rise of the Cartels takes turn-based tactical combat to a whole new level with units possessing the ability to move individually one after another or multiple times within one turn, meaning the pace is always ramped up.
- Featuring two unique campaigns, Narcos: Rise of the Cartels enables you to see the war from both sides.
- Innovative gameplay mechanics keep the turn-based tactical combat fresh by allowing you to take third-person control of your units in order to engage enemies directly, giving you the opportunity to deal critical damage at optimum moments.
What did reviewers find appealing?
The setting is the clearest draw for fans of the show. MGG says returning to characters and locations from its first season may appeal to series fans, and GameFAQs’ review roundup includes outlets that characterize the game as a short strategy diversion or a title primarily for fans. Meristation also praises some maps inspired by locations from the series.
There are two campaign perspectives—the DEA and the Cartel—and a reactive shooting feature that some reviewers found initially surprising. In Meristation’s description, unused actions can feed into a response mechanic in which the player aims during a third-person shooting sequence. These ideas add variety, but reviewers did not consider them enough to offset the repetition and limited tactical options. Meristation’s review GameFAQs review roundup
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- Authenticity is at the core of the Narcos experience and highly recognisable and iconic characters from the TV show are available to control and play, such as El Mexicano, Murphy, Peña, Primo and more.
- Narcos: Rise of the Cartels takes turn-based tactical combat to a whole new level with units possessing the ability to move individually one after another or multiple times within one turn, meaning the pace is always ramped up.
- Featuring two unique campaigns, Narcos: Rise of the Cartels enables you to see the war from both sides.
- Innovative gameplay mechanics keep the turn-based tactical combat fresh by allowing you to take third-person control of your units in order to engage enemies directly, giving you the opportunity to deal critical damage at optimum moments.
Is Narcos: Rise of the Cartels worth playing?
It may be worth considering if you are a Narcos fan who wants a relatively light, licensed turn-based tactics game and is comfortable with repeated objectives and constrained choices. If you expect the breadth or depth of a full XCOM-style strategy game, the critical consensus suggests you may be disappointed.
The game is a strategy and turn-based tactics title developed by Kuju Entertainment and published by Curve Digital; GameFAQs lists the PC release date as November 19, 2019. GameSpot lists PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch versions. The aggregates above are not a technical comparison: the cited pages do not establish that one port is categorically better, and the available review excerpts do not support claims about current patches or platform-specific performance. GameFAQs game metadata GameSpot game listing
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Based on the hit Netflix TV series: Control and play, such as El Mexicano, Murphy, Pena, Primo and more
- Every war has two sides: Choose to side with the DEA and fight alongside Steve Murphy to bring down the drug empire, or choose to side with the Narcos in order to help found, grow and expand the Empire under the watchful eye of El Patron
- Fast-paced strategy combat: A new level in turn-based strategy combat with units moving individually one after another or multiple times within one turn
- Counteract and Kill-shot: Take third-person control of your units in order to engage enemies directly, giving you the opportunity to deal critical damage at optimum moments
Rank #4
- Authenticity is at the core of the Narcos experience and highly recognisable and iconic characters from the TV show are available to control and play, such as El Mexicano, Murphy, Peña, Primo and more.
- Narcos: Rise of the Cartels takes turn-based tactical combat to a whole new level with units possessing the ability to move individually one after another or multiple times within one turn, meaning the pace is always ramped up.
- Featuring two unique campaigns, Narcos: Rise of the Cartels enables you to see the war from both sides.
- Innovative gameplay mechanics keep the turn-based tactical combat fresh by allowing you to take third-person control of your units in order to engage enemies directly, giving you the opportunity to deal critical damage at optimum moments.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
