Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin

More info »

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin review
Jordan Helsley

Review

A pre-golden age RTS

A pre-golden age RTS


Warhammer games have it tough. They not only have to stand up to the scrutiny of their contemporaries, but also to those of decades of tabletop fandom. Then, of course, there's the combination of the two, pitting series entries against each other despite their differences in genre. Warhammer: Age of Sigmar - Realms of Ruin (the actual title, henceforth referred to as Realms of Ruin) attempts to distance itself from plenty of those comparisons, but in doing so loses a bit of its identity in the process.

Telling a Different Story


You'd be forgiven for losing track of the litany of Warhammer games, and for simply wondering what the Age of Sigmar even represents, but that remains one of the largest selling points for Realms of Ruin: few games have touched on the post-Warhammer-fantasy-end-times period of the fiction. In doing so it is able to tell a story that involves new factions that casual or introductory fans can take interest in. I, for one, was intrigued to find the story interweaving four factions throughout the campaign, and to see the Nighthaunt up close and personal (relatively speaking). It won't usher in a new era of storytelling, but it kept me invested enough to see through its 8-10 hour runtime. It was more than enough time to appreciate the art design and animations, which looked just fine even with the camera zoomed up close, and also allowed more than enough interactions with the systems to see the totality of them.

Real Time Sorrow


Real-time strategy games are rarely judged on their campaigns, though, and sadly that playtime is inflated by the gameplay itself. It could generously be described as methodical, if there was an emphasis on tactical interplay, but this boils down to a simple triangle of effectiveness: each unit type good against one, and bad against the other. It makes for an easy-to-comprehend combat loop, but leaves little room for critical planning. The only combat situation I was forced to consider was whether an area of deep water would slow my units too much for my attack. Without any elements of terrain advantage or nuanced unit weaknesses and strengths, I simply felt like I was throwing bodies at each other, with the larger number prevailing.



This is exacerbated by the rules of engagement. For one, any sort of auto-attack is off by default. This means your melee warriors are toast back at the base if a group of archers wanders up unseen. And since the game isn't keen to alert you to these things, it is more likely than you may have guessed. Worse is the melee combat. When your units are engaged in such a battle, control is all but taken away from you. There is no repositioning, focusing on a different group of enemies, or anything of that nature. If one of your skills is on cooldown you can either watch the groups pound away at each other, or initiate a retreat, which pulls the unit all the way back to home base. I found this incredibly frustrating in situations where like-type units would duke it out while ignoring the explicit type advantage they'd gain from attacking an enemy within arms reach.

Opposing Forces


It's not quite all doom and gloom. While I find the lack of base building to be another regression in the tactical aspect, having a single command centre responsible for unit ability upgrades and unit acquisition allowed a little more focus on the back end of the battles. The resource gathering nodes, which are captured by entering a surrounding zone that contracts and expands as it changes sides which forces units closer together if they and to stave off the capture, can be customized to prioritize the resource or control you need more at that time.

Realms of Ruin is more aptly described as plodding. It's slow to a fault, and having relatively large maps in which all your units spawn at the far end exemplifies the issue. It's more than that, though. Total unit limitations prevent you from feeling like you're waging an actual war for the fate of the realm, and even the game's hero units can't manage to make a dent in that feeling. They come with some powerful abilities, but can also be recruited again upon death which removes any stakes of putting them on the frontlines.

Misguided Miniatures


I ended my time with Realms of Ruin feeling like it was a game stuck between two genres. It has the combat rules, unit counts, and sluggish movement of a pure tactics game, set on a map scaled for an RTS, but it also forgot to bring either tactics or strategy in a meaningful way. In some respect it feels like a strategy game from before they were "figured out" in the 90s. It's a game of rock paper scissors, where each player knows what the other is throwing, and has but a single counter to it. There just isn't enough there, and for a game that is asking a premium price, I think the bar is much more visible, if not higher. And this is without taking into account the other, better, Warhammer strategy games already on the market. Just like its full title, Warhammer: Age of Sigmar - Realms of Ruin is a tad exhausting, a bit confusing, and could benefit from losing about 60% off the top.


As always, follow Hooked Gamers on Instagram for news updates, reviews, competitions and more.

4.0

fun score

Pros

A serviceable story with good visuals and a few interesting gameplay ideas.

Cons

Combat is boring, the size of the maps combined with unit limitations really slow down the pace, and it's ultimately a forgettable entry in an extensive series.