Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall Critic Reviews

Tempestfall is better as an adventure into the grim world of Age of Sigmar than a dual-wielding weapon, spell-casting combat game as a Stormcast Eternal. Confused? Me too.

While the combat may have some holes in it, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall gives us a taste of the battle against the Nighthaunt. It could use a little more polish, but it should scratch the power fantasy itch. Sigmar preserves those who fight, and now you can jump directly into the battle.

Tempestfall is a good action game in virtual reality from the Warhammer universe. Only fans of Age of Sigmar may have some issues with Tempestfall compared to the tabletop original.

Overall, Warhammer: Age of Sigmar - Tempestfall feels a bit rough around the edges. Technical issues and a shallow and repetitive combat system keep it from being a standout VR title. Tempestfall's visuals and environments are often breathtaking and a joy to explore, especially if you are a fan of the franchise. It feels like Tempestfall could have used another year of development time to iron out some of its technical difficulties and to make combat more engaging and deeper to carry the experience.

Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall offered the prospect for the sort of adventure Games Workshop’s brutal universe is renowned for, and the history and narrative is certainly there. Yet there’s no connection to or development of the main character, the action is mostly forgettable and there are just too many little glitches and inconsistencies to create a world Warhammer fans can really immerse themselves in. Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall isn’t a bad VR game, there were enjoyable moments and with a bit of refinement it could be a decent game; at the moment being a Stormcast Eternal just isn’t a blockbuster experience.

Tempestfall is not a terrible game. It’s just not a deep game. Other VR games have raised the bar on VR melee combat over what Tempestfall offers. For better melee combat games, try After The Fall or Swordsman, which use physics based actions. However, if you are a Warhammer fan, the story lore and setting may be enough to keep you engaged.

It’s difficult to recommend Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall. While I’m confident comfort settings will be patched in upcoming releases, and the tracking issues with combat will be resolved, it’s more complicated to address some of my other concerns with the game. A dull and impenetrable plot, coupled with uninspiring combat and limited enemy design, make for a fairly meaningless experience. You’d be better off playing The Wizards or Blade and Sorcery for your fix of fantasy VR hack and slash.

My heart bleeds for Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall. It’s a game of genuinely admirable aspiration that, in many ways, is painfully close to achieving its goals. But every time I started to settle into its gorgeous world and brilliantly over-the-top-lore one of its many issues would make itself known. The combat is a mess in need of a significant overhaul, the UI is fussy and unhelpful, and a string of bugs and puzzle roadblocks kill any sense of momentum. With more time under the hood, a lot of these issues could have been refined and Tempestfall would have been a highlight in a meager year for PC VR releases. As it stands, this offering might be only worthy of Sigmar’s wrath.

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar – Tempestfall brings some good ideas to the table but only executes a few of them well. While the game’s ranged spellcasting is satisfying and fun, most of the focus is put into a shoddy melee system that’s functional at best and frustrating at worst, with enemy design and variety only exacerbating the issue. With inconsistent art direction and asset quality, weak sound design, amatuer-level animations, and poor writing, Tempestfall feels like a clear case of trying to do too much with too little.