Warhammer Age of Sigmar may have been around for almost a decade at this point, but it feels like we haven’t had a proper video game to represent Games Workshop’s foray into its new fantasy setting. Sure, there are games related to Age of Sigma, but nothing stands out more than the game you think of when you mention the setting. Into the land of destruction.
If you understand when I say Dawn of War is just fantasy (these early impressions are a little better), then you know everything you need to get excited about Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin. But, for the uninitiated, this new RTS from the Frontier takes place in the Warhammer Age of Sigmar. It gave us access to four playable factions, each with their own unique playstyle and single-player stories, multiplayer battles, and a Rogue-like conquest mode. During our most recent gameplay session, we took a look at the story mode, in which you control Sigrun, an eternal stormcaster.
If you know anything about Warhammer, think of Stormcasting Eternals as fantasy space marines. If you don’t know anything, they’re essentially super soldiers who can’t die but can be defeated for a while before being reforged. As these golden goodies, our goal is to bring peace to Gur. The place, aptly named Beast Kingdom, is home to all sorts of things that want to kill us, from cunning Orruks to terrifying night ghosts. What immediately stood out when I started playing was the unique visual style of each faction. They look like living versions of their tabletop models, and when they get down to business, they’ll have a lot of fun. You’ll never see a blue or red team face off as each faction brings something completely different, even if you play arguably the most stable and beginner-friendly Stormforge Eternals, it’s easy figure it out.
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Combat is also fun. When you start playing, you’re not bogged down with 50 rules. It’s a simple point and tap to hit the bad guys. But, as we discovered while playing the trickier second level in store for us, the story is definitely no walk in the park. You have to pay attention to what’s going on around you and know the best use for your units if you want to come out alive. Still, since you can change the difficulty, it won’t feel like you’ll be stuck on one mission for too long if you’re really struggling. I would like to see more interesting environments. I love a good swamp as much as the next guy, but wish there was more to see in Kingdom of the Beasts.
In terms of gameplay, it’s not just the story mode, at full launch we’ll have battles in multiplayer and can run through different roguelikes in conquest mode to defeat one of four factions. There’s a lot to like so far, and while playing as Team Sigmarine is fun, what really grabs me at the moment is how the other, weirder, more villainous factions will play out.
This might be a good option if you want an introduction to Warhammer Age of Sigmar without reading a ton of lore. It definitely has a story to tell, but I think we’ll need to see more multiplayer and conquest modes to fully decide if it can rank among the RTS masters.
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