Artillerists

About

Artillerists is a single player strategy game with a warfare theme. It was developed by SolarLance and was released on January 2, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Artillerists is a turn-based strategy game with modernized mechanics from the classic Battleship. Command an army, capture territories, and manage resources for upgrades while using special ordnance like air strikes. The game offers a variety of weapons and unlimited troops, with the added challenge of an arms race and economic planning."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 54 reviews

gameplay5 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

Simple yet engaging gameplay that combines elements of Battleship and Minesweeper, making it a fun casual experience.
Satisfying progression system with upgrades and special attacks that add variety to the gameplay.
Great for short gaming sessions, making it a perfect time-waster for casual players.

The AI can feel unfairly difficult, often pinpointing player units with little strategy involved.
Repetitive gameplay and lack of depth can lead to boredom after a short period.
Poorly written dialogue and a confusing campaign narrative detract from the overall experience.

story
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
62%
19%
The story aspect of the game is largely considered minimal and underdeveloped, with players noting that the campaign feels more like a series of missions focused on gameplay mechanics rather than a cohesive narrative. While there are some engaging challenge missions that introduce new strategies, the overall plot is seen as lacking depth, making the experience feel simplistic and repetitive. Players emphasize the importance of completing side missions for upgrades, which can enhance gameplay but do little to enrich the story itself.
- “Missions are pretty simplistic, destroy the enemy or die trying, but different missions introduce new tech/abilities, keeping gameplay fresh and enjoyable.”
- “(My favorites are 'narrative missions' with preselected forces and conditions.) Also, the game symbolically represents the Russian military philosophy, because 'artillery is the god of war'.”
- “Don't miss the extra missions, you'll learn valuable strategies that allow you to win the campaign.”
- “Why there's any story involved is a mystery to me.”
- “It's a single player game but the story/campaign isn't really a thing.”
- “Last missions is ridiculous.”
gameplay
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
28%
27%
The gameplay is likened to a battleship-style experience with active skills that enhance engagement, though it can feel overly simplistic and repetitive at times. While missions primarily focus on destroying enemies, the introduction of new technologies and abilities helps maintain interest. However, some players find the NPC dialogues during battles to be generic and detracting from the overall experience.
- “Game like paper battleship but with active skills that make gameplay more interesting.”
- “Missions are pretty simplistic, destroy the enemy or die trying, but different missions introduce new tech/abilities, keeping gameplay fresh and enjoyable.”
- “Extremely satisfying despite repetitious gameplay.”
- “Mechanics are overly simple.”
- “Extremely repetitive gameplay.”
- “Just the dialogues between NPCs during the battles should be cut out: they are generic, repetitive, inconsequential for the gameplay and not as funny as the developer probably thinks they are.”
graphics
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The graphics received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the simplicity and satisfaction of the visuals, particularly in terms of explosions, while others criticized them as outdated and lacking in detail compared to modern standards. There is a desire for further development and improvement in graphical quality and variety. Overall, the graphics are seen as functional but in need of enhancement to meet contemporary expectations.
- “I'd love to see a further development of this idea, with updated graphics and more choices along the way.”
- “I am satisfied with the graphics and the explosions.”
- “Poor graphics that look slightly better than the original Tropico (which came out in 2001).”
- “A battleship-like game with small graphics.”
- “It's battleship with graphics.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely criticized for being generic and repetitive, with poorly written dialogues that often miss the mark, particularly due to translation issues. While some players find the game to have a simple and casual charm, others describe the attempts at humor as cringe-worthy, particularly in the case of a female reporter character. However, a few users appreciate the humor in the game's "hilariously bad" ending.
- “Simple, funny, nice casual game, actually a battleship with aesthetics of modern land warfare.”
- “Hilariously bad ending.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
The monetization model of the game has evolved from its original free mobile version with in-app purchases to a current state without microtransactions. However, players express frustration with the AI's seemingly unfair advantage, suggesting that the game's balance may detract from the overall experience.
- “The game was originally a free mobile title with in-app purchases, which makes it accessible to a wide audience.”
- “I appreciate that there are no microtransactions, allowing for a more immersive experience without interruptions.”
- “Note: Artillerists was originally a free mobile game with in-app purchases.”
- “The monetization strategy feels exploitative, pushing players to spend money to progress.”
- “Even without microtransactions, the game feels designed to encourage spending through frustrating mechanics.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, likening it to a clone of Battleship, which may detract from the overall enjoyment for many.
- “Yes, it's a bit tedious for most people and yes... it's essentially a clone of Battleship.”
- “Grindy.”