Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin Critic Reviews

If you’re a fan of Age of Sigmar and can accept the game’s scaled back, slower approach to real time strategy, Realms of Ruin hits the mark. It’s a faithful and vibrant recreation of the Orruks, Nighthaunt, Tzeentch and grandly insufferable Stormcast Eternals. Some RTS fans will note the lack of tactical depth, but there’s a place for Realms’ streamlined approach that is welcoming to newcomers and veterans alike.

Great production values, lively and thoughtful RTS battles, and a clear love for the setting make Realms Of Ruin the first truly exciting Age Of Sigmar game. However, fans looking for a pure single-player experience might find its excellent campaign a little too light to justify the price of entry, while Conquest mode is a lacklustre consolation prize.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realm of Ruin is a great-looking, well-tuned RTS that will keep Games Workshop fans happy for many hours.

Despite some gameplay issues that hold the game back from greatness, it is the evident love and care that has been poured into Realms of Ruin that carries the game high up the list of the best Warhammer games. While it probably won't win over hardcore strategy fans, the Warhammer community will feel right at home in the wastes of Ghur.

Splendid strategy surprise with gripping campaign and minor flaws.

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar - Realms of Ruin is a genuinely likeable RTS game that would benefit from a slightly faster pace.

As I write this review a couple of weeks after Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realm of Ruin’s launch I can’t help but feel sad. It’s a very good game despite its issues and an incredibly strong first RTS from a studio known for their management sims. A sequel that addresses its handful of shortcomings could absolutely be top-tier. Depressingly the writing already appears to be on the wall however, with the studio already announcing that they’re returning to the genre that made them famous after the game’s launch sales were so poor it tanked their stock price. Oh well.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin may not go down in history, but it serves as a good entry into strategy or the Games Workshop license, featuring a campaign with diverse situations, a commendable Conquest mode, and robust editing and customization tools, despite its somewhat tedious pace on PC, evident AI issues, and occasional high loading times on computers.

With four playable factions, excellent writing, and a compelling setting, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin delivers a solid RTS, albeit one that takes little risk. A handful of bugs and design choices may hamper the fun, but it hits stride when it lets you be powerful and unrestrained.

While Realms of Ruin looks great and plays it safe, zoom out from its Warhammer character models and fundamentals to spot unreliable troop controls that turn traps into tombs.

Realms of Ruin is certainly not a bad game. With its engaging story campaign and map editor, it nods to the giants of the RTS genre. Gameplay-wise, it leans towards a simplified version of Company of Heroes, with decent graphics and everything generally working as intended. Its main shortcoming is the lack of originality and any unique, fresh ideas, which may lead to a sense of monotony during extended play.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Realms of Ruin stands out for its visual quality and immersion in the Warhammer universe, with a nice narrative single-player campaign and notable accessibility for new players. The lack of content could impact the game's longevity.

Realms of Ruin is a basic RTS with a great dose of refreshing visuals. This game has deserved more attention from the developers and it desperately needs more tactical options in its core mechanics. Setting is great, music too but somehow it feels lacking in every other aspect.

Gameplay-wise, Realms of Ruin should have offered a lot more to this adaptation of Age of Sigmar.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Realms of Ruin has a lot going for it, including high-quality production, numerous game modes and a variety of factions, but it suffers from one of the worst flaws of any video game: it's not very interesting or fun. Managing your army is unsatisfying, lacking control and options on the one hand, and on the other, the game is slow, cumbersome and punishing. It takes a lot of effort to get used to its particular gameplay, and is likely to put off many players.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin has great graphics, character modelling, voice acting and environment design, but it fails in one very important area: Gameplay. Its lack of the most basic features of RTSs and its imitation of the MOBA genre turn it into a game that cannot be easily recommended to fans of the genre.

If I was to review Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin on its story and production value then it would be an easy nine out of ten at least. The writing and voice acting is superb and the in game models are near perfect recreations of the table top models. Sadly the gameplay itself is sorely lacking, with an awkward juxtaposition between traditional RTS missions and more MOBA styled fast paced gameplay.

Frontier Developments’ foray into the Age of Sigmar universe is competent and slick, boasting a fun single-player campaign and plenty of robust multiplayer features. However, the game’s cookie-cutter approach to unit design and combat interactions makes for a simplistic experience that will disappoint seasoned RTS players.

As it stands right now, the game is one that does act as a solid introduction to Warhammer Age of Sigmar, the RTS genre, or both. A great look, decent battles, and plenty of customisation make the Realm of Beasts inviting despite it not being the perfect holiday destination.

A solid core could provide some great competitive match-ups, but the dreary, generic campaign will fail to impress solo gamers.