We were aware of the great passion of frontier for management games, but before the announcement of Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruins we did not know his penchant for strategy. According to its references, the genre seems to be well anchored in the life of the studio. Rather paradoxical since, for this first contact, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruins has all of the juvenile work, both full of freshness, but which does not necessarily master the entirety of its proposal.
The Stormcast Eternals and the Orruk Kruleboyz that we saw in action had a very special flavor.
And the license Warhammer in all of that ? Well there she is, true to the post for the big fans of Games Workshop. It is true that this will not fail to attract an audience already conquered by the lore ofAge of Sigmar, a version of the board game still very little used in video games by the way. That said, the real star is not the franchise, but the references whose Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruins uses. frontier visibly feels close to the productions of Relic Entertainment since he borrows the characteristic style of his series Company of Heroes And dawn of war. If you’ve never played one of these titles, this one focuses on managing a small group of units (about ten more or less) and capturing resource points and points of fixed wins.
Here, the development of your base is reduced to its simplest expression unlike RTS more classic. It must be admitted that it is not necessarily the game design best suited for a single-player campaign. It didn’t prevent frontiervisibly in a retro mood, to create one to stage the four factions of its title. We only got to try the very first mission of this one. Of course, it must above all be considered as a tutorial before the big jump into the world of multiplayer. Still, apart from the plot she exposes, we are not really betting on a game mode in tune with the times and we would not be surprised if she plays against him.
What is certain, however, is that the rest of the game is not like this first mission. Actually, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruins is even quite creative when it comes to standing out from his mentors. If the structure of the game is strictly identical, the rules governing the interactions between units give us a completely different feeling. At the same time, we expected no less from a title that highlights melee combat. So, so much for the cover system we usually see. Instead, say hello to that good old triangular system where units with shields beat marksmen who themselves beat swordsmen, specialized against soldiers with shields.
Interesting deathmatches.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruins opt for a safe bet. The title could have stopped on classic, but effective, except that instead it adds a much more questionable major mechanic. Once engaged in combat, the belligerents are blocked in a confrontation which can only lead to the death of one of the battalions or its retirement. Not very RTS-friendly as a decision. Just not being able to micro-manage is against the religion of most fans of the genre. On paper it may even seem boring to simply watch fighters tear themselves apart without having anything else to do. We would be lying, however, if we said that the few games we played were not eventful. This problem of micro-management also becomes relatively secondary since it is very rare to let your troops fight without reacting quickly when the fight seems lost in advance. In fact, these deathmatches can even be interesting, by engaging melee shooters to prevent them from raining down their projectiles for example. What’s more, all units have at least one active ability to use. Enough to reverse the course of the battle if they are correctly used.
The fact is that this blocking of skirmishes still raises other potentially annoying issues. The first of these is a concern for confusion when many units meet. This gregarious mass is then left to fend for itself without us really knowing if our troops are hitting the right targets. In these great moments, the notion of strategy seems to evaporate and it often remains only to retreat to its base to reorganize. Here is the second shock: Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruins picked up this well-known mechanic, but doesn’t seem to understand its scope. Here it is now paying in the game of frontier. It doesn’t cost much, it could almost seem trivial. But given that it’s a key feature of the title, there’s still a hell of a lot at stake. By doing this, we also feel like the title is punishing the loser. Not content with losing ground, the player also becomes poorer while retirement should simply limit the damage.
And that’s not even the only time Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruins deliberately (and clumsily) widens the gap between two players. Virtually all melee units have a charge skill to deal more damage at the start of combat in exchange for some resources. On paper, it is therefore the rich player who always takes the lead in the conflict. This may not be inevitable at the start of the game, however the snowball effect appeared quite clearly to us in the long term, even more so if one of the two players has one or two more resource points. than his opponent. Examples in this style, there are still a few that are problematic. We are thinking of battalion care which is not individualized. It is then necessary to release a big care in your camp and, considering its price, it is necessary to reinforce several battalions at the same time to be profitable. Technological development also deserves a revisit, because with each new level your population limit increases, in addition to having access to better quality troops. In other words, the first to reach the higher technological rank takes a clear advantage over the pace of the conflict since it is possible to overwhelm it with more combatants.
Our first impressions: Could do better!
We really appreciated that Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruins tries to impose his style. But with ideas of game design different come from the structural problems that frontier will have to erase to be up to the competition. The site is quite large, but after all, frontier seems to have time. It’s worth remembering that we barely saw two of the four factions present at launch. Suffice to say that it is still too early to talk about balancing, which is rather unfortunate, because the Stormcast Eternals and the Orruk Kruleboyz we got to see in action had a pretty promising flavor.
