In this article, we’re going to be taking a look atWartales. We previously did a video for this game when it first entered early access in 2021, so about 3 years ago. The game has had its 1.0 version released in April of last year in 2023 and has been steadily adding content ever since, including its brand new update, the Skelmar Invasion, that just came out a few days ago, which I’ll get into in a little bit in this article. The game currently has a 90% lifetime on Steam with over 24,000 reviews.
What is Wartales?
So what isWartales? Wartales is an incredibly complex and interesting game, but it’s very hard to describe. There are not very many games out there like it. The best way that I can sort of describe it to you is that it’s an adventure fantasy tale that kind of plays out like a digital board game more than anything else. And it’s kind of like a mixture ofMount & Blade Bannerlordwith something likeXCOM. That’s a probably really rough description of it, but I’ll get into exactly what it is in a minute and try and break it down for you.
Get Wartales here!
The first thing that I want to say aboutWartalesis that it’s not a heavily narrative experience. This is a game that relies very much on its exploration of the overworld map. An overworld map, again, that reminds me a lot of a board game where you’re moving around on it and interacting with different locations, picking up quests, fighting enemies, and getting into enemy encounters.
It reminds me a little bit why I mentioned earlierMount & Bladein this regard, where you’re moving around on this world map and things are taking place on the world map that are shaping the game. And then you jump into your combat when you’re doing it. Now obviouslyMount & Bladehas real-time combat and this has turn-based tactical combat, so it’s a bit different. But it very much feels like a board game in this sense and it relies on your sense of imagination and what you want to do with your characters in your playthrough. And you can kind of do what you want in this sandbox game within the confines of it.
I definitely think there is a market out there for this. I don’t think everyone wants a heavily narrative experience. If anything that I’ve learned from theDark Soulsfranchise is that even though there is a story behind it, not everyone pays attention to it. A lot of people really enjoy those games for just their combat and mechanics. And I think there’s a lot of people out there that would really love to not have to worry about too much dialogue and stuff like that. But they do have that sense of wonder and exploration of a medieval world that’s ripe for exploration.
Wartales - Exploration and Progression
Another point of note about this game is that players don’t take on the role of any one character. Instead, you control a band of characters from a host of different classes, each with their own specializations and skills that kind of further define their playstyle. The game now has a total of eight classes beingBrute,Archer,Ranger,Swordsman,Warrior,Spearman,Pugilist, andCrossbowman.
You begin the game with four different characters, but you can recruit more as you progress the game. It allows for a wide variety of party combinations that can drastically shape your playthrough. If you’ve ever played a game where you make your party at the beginning of the game and then play through, there are not too many RPGs like this. But some of my favorite ones come to mind:Final Fantasy 1,Icewind Dale,Wasteland 2, and evenSolasta: Crown of the Magistermore recently.
If you love that, then that’s something you might enjoy aboutWartales. One of the things that I absolutely love aboutWartalesis the sense of progression that you feel as a player as you make your way through the game. Your team and your band of ragtag characters are constantly improving no matter what you do. You’re gaining attribute points, you’re learning professions, you’re gaining skills, you’re gaining new equipment.
Every time you go anywhere, you’re exploring the overworld, and you’re gaining knowledge points that you can spend to upgrade your general gameplay experience in the way that you see fit for your team. As your characters get stronger and stronger, go deeper into their specializations, and get better equipment, it gives you thisXCOM-like feeling where you become attached to these characters and you really don’t want them to die. It’s like an automatic reload for you if they happen to fall during combat, which can happen in this game very easily.
This can be quite difficult to part with one of these characters, and I think this is probably the thing thatXCOMis best known for other than its 95% hit chance, obviously. But it’s made people fall in love with their characters and their roster and become attached to them. Rarely do you see that in a fantasy game these days the way that you see it inWartales.
Obviously, I gave some examples earlier, but most of those games are very old. It’s not a modern concept in most fantasy RPGs. So if you like that feeling and you want that in a fantasy or a medieval RPG, thenWartalesdefinitely delivers there.
Wartales - Survival and Combat
Another thing that I really enjoy aboutWartalesis that it has a lot of different activities in the game. In terms of exploration, there’s just so much to do. You’re moving around on the overworld. You have your combat, obviously. You can go into town, buy and sell things, pick up quests, steal things, attack caravans and rob them, and become an outlaw in the game.
you may lockpick, fish, chop wood, and become a blacksmith, or an apothecary. There are just a lot of little mini-games within the game itself. A lot of times when you explore a location, you can mouse over things and interact with them. If you can find them, almost like a hidden mystery game. There’s just so many little things added to this game that make it very unique that you never really feel like you’re running out of things to do.
Touching upon the combat a bit, the combat is obviously turn-based tactical combat, as I said in the beginning. But the tactical combat is a bit deceiving in this game because it’s deceptively simple but extremely challenging at the same time.
One of the reasons for that is that the general combat mechanics are not hard to understand at all. But it’s very difficult to succeed in, not only because the game is hard—it’s not an easy game—but because a lot of your success in combat depends on decisions you made outside of combat and whether you prepared for battle appropriately.
It’s getting rarer in modern games these days, particularly RPGs, to see decisions or consequences of things you do outside of combat affect combat. Games are becoming more streamlined and simplified so players have less of a chance to fail, allowing them to feel better about their games.Wartalesis not that sort of game. It allows you to fail, learn from your failure, and accumulate knowledge through it to become better at the game.
Part of that preparation involves the game’s survival mechanics. Your characters need to eat regularly. They need to be healed from their wounds after combat. You need to repair their equipment so that they have more armor when they’re in combat because this doesn’t just automatically come back.
For some reason, this kind of reminded me ofOregon Traila bit. Essentially, when you go into town, you’re going to buy food, stock up on supplies, and purchase repair items and medicine. This ensures your troops are fed, healed, and equipped for the next battle. Otherwise, going from battle to battle without this preparation can result in devastating losses. You can also find food out on the landscape by attacking animals for meat or fishing.
And for some reason, this whole thing just kind of reminded me of Oregon Trail, except for the fact that you don’t usually die from scurvy.
Wartales - Final Thoughts
The last thing that really putsWartalesinto a higher echelon of turn-based games is its multiplayer feature. It has cooperative multiplayer, meaning you may team up with friends and experience the game together. You can explore the landscape, fight battles, strategize, and even argue over loot distribution or character roles.
Some of the best RPGs, likeBaldur’s GateandDivinity, have incorporated multiplayer, andWartalesbelongs in that same league. It’s a great way to enhance the game experience and adds immense replayability.
The game has also had several paid DLCs added since its release in April of last year. These includeThe Pits,The Tavern Opens,Pirates of Balerion, and the latest,The Skelmar Invasion, which adds sieges to the game. Additionally, there have been many free updates, such as the introduction of theCrossbowandPugilistclasses, an increased level cap to 15, new specializations, and more battle maps and interactive items. TheBrewerprofession and various quality-of-life improvements have also been added over the past year and a half.
What this means is that there is a staggering amount of content for this game in its current state. Even if you picked it up during early access, it’s worth revisiting to see how much has changed and improved. With its sandbox nature and multiple pathways for exploration and decision-making,Wartalesoffers countless opportunities for fresh playthroughs.
So that wraps up our latest article onWartales. I want to know what you guys think about it. Have you been playing this game? Have you played it since it was released in early access? If you do own the game, have you picked up some of these DLCs? What did you make of this game? Is it a bit of a hidden gem in your opinion? I think it is.
