If I’ve learned anything from years as a Warhammer Fantasy fan, it’s that sentient rats and powerful technology are a deadly mix. This fact continues to ring true in Wargroove 2, where one group of rats inadvertently set off a chain of events that start an epic, multi-faction turn-based strategy war, all in the name of science. Wargroove 2 combines a simplistic but addicting army vs. army gameplay loop, interesting writing, and characters that aren’t afraid to be silly when they can, and beautiful pixel graphics to create a title worthy of your attention. As if a new and creative army battler wasn’t enough, Wargroove 2 also challenges you to use your creativity, giving you tools to create your own stories within the game’s universe.
Wargroove 2 opens up with a faction that wasn’t present in the first title… allegedly. I’ll admit that I didn’t play the first Wargroove, but it is made abundantly clear that the rat folk of the Faahri are strangers in a land with a storied history. These ambitious scientists seek to harness ancient lost tools of a powerful and magical nature, knowing full well the dreadful stories that come with them. But who cares about that? Surely our ratagonists know what they’re doing and nothing bad will come from a little borderline-mad science.
As you can imagine, there are plenty of folks who want to stop them from digging up ancient, sealed weapons of Magicka destruction. Nevertheless, our spunky Faahri aren’t the only faction on Aurania with problems to deal with. The game features about four campaigns (unless I missed something hidden) with a host of characters and protagonists within them. Once you pass the Faahri-focussed prologue and tutorial, you’re allowed to play these campaigns in whatever order you like.
Regardless of who you’re playing, however, you’ve got problems, and that’s where the army vs. army turn-based gameplay comes in. A mission in Wargroove 2 is decidedly straightforward: You and an antagonistic force are placed on a grid-based map with a predetermined amount of starting units, a commander, and sometimes a fortress. Your goal is to kill the enemy commander or destroy their fortress before they do the same to you.
To obstruct you, a host of neutral objectives must be captured to earn gold, which is required to field new units and heal existing units. With some special types thrown in between, each faction features mainly swordsmen, archers, and spearmen. Each unit basically hits as hard as the others, with victory coming from careful placement. For example, Archers get a critical hit when attacking without moving in a turn, and hitting a foe standing in water will devastate them, even more so if you attack from a forest. Each army has its unique theme, with my favorites being the Faahri and the Heavensong, especially with their signature and arguably strongest unit, the Shiba Ino.
Commanders are where army variety really starts to shine. Commanders are powerful units, capable of squaring up with any single unit you put them against, and feature powerful abilities. It goes without saying that these Commanders are key characters from the story and have the personality that stands out on the battlefield, with really interesting characters. For instance, there’s the queen of a nation, a deadly necromancer, and a boy riding a wooden samurai mech. As powerful as they are, you lose if your commander dies, so using them is a game of careful decision-making, weighing the pros and cons of a powerful attack that might drain your commander’s precious health bar.
The combat in Wargroove 2 never gets much more complicated than what you might see in a typical 4X style game, which I suppose is a genre you could lump Wargroove 2 into. Lacking any building or city management, the gameplay can get a little repetitive and boring in longer playthroughs. However, campaign combat is broken up by interesting bits of dialogue (which sometimes breaks the fourth wall,) breaking up the monotony of throwing pixel soldiers at each other over and over again. The combat animations, though simple, feature a variety of lovely backdrops and unique character designs for each unit, which also goes a long way in keeping things from getting too repetitive.
One problem I did have with Wargroove 2 is the pacing. Sometimes, moving entire armies across the map can be a chore, with limited movement speed and a plethora of units to move individually through a maze of terrain. This is, of course, part of the strategy. Mindfully navigating the map to ensure your troops are in the correct positions. Having to move every unit each turn and prompts asking me if I’m sure I want to end my turn without moving some of them can grind the pace down to a halt however, especially when there are only one or two enemy units left, hiding in the corner of a map waiting for me to chase them down.
Say you’ve beaten all of Wargroove 2’s campaigns, gone through the additional challenges and you still want more. The game features a creation tool that allows you to create custom maps and campaigns, and then publish them for other players to enjoy. There’s even a cutscene editor, so you can actually make your own complete campaigns that are just as good, or better, than the official story in Wargroove 2. You could theoretically never run out of things to do in this game, so long as you and other players continue to publish custom levels and campaigns for others to enjoy.
Below is a picture of a map I made myself. Probably not the most well-put-together level, but I was certainly proud of it.
The Final Word
Wargroove 2 is a fantastic strategy game full of fun and interesting characters, both of the individual and disposable variety. Fans of 4X gameplay should find familiar and engaging strategic combat in this game. Though a little repetitive once you master the game’s nuances, a custom content editor and excellent writing make Wargroove 2 a game you could easily lose hours upon hours within.
9
Try Hard Guides was provided with a PC review copy of this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles in the Game Reviews section of our website! Wargroove 2 is available on Steam and Nintendo Switch.