Wartales Critic Reviews

A creative merge of survival simulation, turn-based combat and tactical RPG.

Wartales provides many great things and mechanics to differentiate it from other games within the genre. From its wonderful battles, the vibrant world, and the fantastic Camping system, Wartales manages to shine as a strong contender. Although there are some negatives, like resource problems and confusing battle mechanics, Wartales is a solid entry for those who seek to scratch their RPG itch.

All in all, Wartales offers enough variation and strategy layers to make the journey not just enjoyable, but also challenging and rewarding. If you liked Battle Brothers, you’re going to love Wartales.

The world of Wartales is more complex than it first appeared. Once I settled down and paid attention to the depth that Wartales offers, I finally started to enjoy my time playing. Wartales is full of rules and mechanics to master. There is plenty of land to explore and mischief to be had, and although the character and party progression seem thin at first, there is a wealth of advancement options layered into the gameplay.

Don't be fooled by its drab exterior, Wartales is a deep and richly rewarding exercise in party creation.

Even if it looks rather sober at first sight, Wartales is a rich and interesting game, with a neat content. Leading your mercenaries around the world, taking advantage of local opportunities in your own way, and fighting freely is addictive. There's also enough variety in exploration and encounters to keep you on your toes. The combat system is well thought out, with solid fundamentals and innovative elements. While a lot of effort has been put into making it accessible, it still rewards observation and experimentation, which may appeal to players who don't like to be held by the hand, but others may feel a little lost.

We played Wartales for about seventy hours with the desire to play it again to try to manage the party in a completely different way. This is probably the best compliment we can pay to the Shiro Games game, which after Evoland and Northgard has created another little gem, perhaps a little rough in certain aspects and with some annoying problems, but certainly worthy of being played and in its own original way in approaching the genre of role-playing games.

A wonderful simulator of a mercenary band, with so much content it’s going to last you for a long time. The story of your party is told through many small vignettes rather than a coherent story, but you can shape your marauders however you want. The turn-based combat is fun, so are the complex RPG systems. Dozens of hours of fun are guaranteed here.

Wartales offers a fantastic sandbox to explore. The nature of this system implies a rather insipid storyline and uneven pace, but in the end, the real treasure is the mercenaries you meet along the way. For those looking for a strategy sandbox with good depth in which to invest many hours, this is a choice that is hard to ignore.

Wartales is an excellent sandbox RPG that gives you total freedom on the path to experience.

A fascinating Tactical RPG that could have managed its resources to better some key aspects of its universe and its gameplay. We hope for a sequel, or a big DLC.

A great advantage is that if you find any part of the game too hard or easy, you can adjust the difficulty of any part of the game.

Wartales is an interesting tactical game mixed with survival elements. It has an engaging and fun combat, but the severe lacks of resources makes it a bit frustrating.

A mechanically solid, but also strangely artificial-looking DLC that mainly boosts your in-game bank account.

As a whole, Wartales might not be a masterpiece, as it suffers from repetitiveness and lack of polish, but it provides lots of fun. Built on a foundation established by classic RPGs, it offers a varied world that feels alive and is rewarding to explore. The combat is dynamic despite being turn-based and the multitude of available skills lets you develop thousands of builds for your band of mercenaries. Overall, Wartales has huge potential and is definitely worth coming back to.

Wartales walks far enough off the beaten path to be interesting, but it isn’t quite bold or elegant enough to be essential.

It feels consistent. It’s workmanlike without being uninspired, fascinating without being flashy. It’s like a loveable cockney chimney sweep with a sparkle in its eye. It might be too mundane to scratch the itch for high adventure, but if you’re feverish for a grounded low fantasy ramble with the occasional giant rat, Wartales will cure ya. Also, apropos of nothing: I still haven’t played Battle Brothers yet, so I don’t know. Go away.

Wartales is a mix of great ideas tempered by some questionable design decisions. I really want to love this game, and there is plenty of fun to be had, but I can’t help but feel like there was a missed opportunity to make a good game a true great. For fans of the genre I do recommend picking it up and giving it a go, but I really hope that the game gets expanded upon in the future to let it live up to its full potential.