Athena Crisis
- September 23, 2024
- Nakazawa Tech
It’s not quite at the level of the games that inspired it, but Athena Crisis is a great effort with loads of customisation options.
Get on SteamAthena Crisis is a modern retro turn-based strategy game, reminiscent of classics like Into The Breach and Advance Wars. Engage in single-player campaigns, sync and async online multiplayer, and utilize a full map and campaign editor. Gain resources by capturing structures, build more powerful units, and aim to defeat enemies, capture their bases, or escort them to escape zones. Your actions can impact other players' games, adding an extra layer of strategy.
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Reviews
- Athena Crisis is a charming and innovative take on the Advance Wars formula, featuring a diverse roster of units and unique mechanics that enhance gameplay.
- The developer is highly active in the community, regularly responding to feedback and implementing updates, which shows a commitment to improving the game.
- The game offers cross-platform play, allowing users to enjoy it on various devices, including mobile, which adds to its accessibility and convenience.
- The game suffers from a lack of engaging sound effects and music, with some players finding the audio grating and repetitive, detracting from the overall experience.
- Certain quality of life features are missing, such as the ability to undo individual moves and a more intuitive UI, which can lead to frustration during gameplay.
- The campaign balance and enemy unit distribution can feel off, leading to frustrating experiences, especially for players expecting a more polished challenge akin to Advance Wars.
- gameplay30 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 80 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Athena Crisis" is a fast-paced evolution of the Advance Wars formula, introducing unique mechanics such as a Dark Souls-style invasion system and a diverse roster of units that enhance strategic depth. While some players note issues with presentation and mechanics like healing and deployment, the game is praised for its engaging graphics and community-driven updates. Overall, it offers a nostalgic yet fresh experience for fans of the genre, despite some learning curve for newcomers.
“The craziest mechanic is an optional opt-in Dark Souls-style invasion system in single player where other players can spawn additional armies to help or fight you, up to and including taking control of your AI opponent.”
“The true evolution of the Advance Wars formula, Athena Crisis vastly expands the unit and building roster of the game, while the property construction/destruction mechanic in addition to the existing capture mechanic adds a welcome dynamism to the battlefield and makes each match even more different.”
“A clear love letter to the genre, expanding on unit compositions, gameplay, and unique multiplayer mechanics, and shuffling about a campy campaign makes it an easy pick-up if you are even remotely interested in the genre.”
“There are other things like how the music doesn't swap when the opposing side takes their turn, which is surprisingly noticeable as it makes all the gameplay just mush into one repeating soup, whereas Advance Wars mixes up the turns with different themes.”
“But despite really craving some Advance Wars-style gameplay right now, I found that this game didn't scratch my itch because of its aforementioned problems with presentation.”
“The game on its own would do a poor job of explaining the gameplay mechanics to those unfamiliar with this genre of game.”
- story10 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The story of the campaign is generally considered unremarkable, with a lack of engaging characters and poorly designed maps that detract from the experience. While some players appreciate the ability to play on-the-go and the chaotic invasion feature reminiscent of Dark Souls, the overall narrative fails to captivate, often feeling nonsensical and lacking depth. Comparisons to previous campaigns highlight a preference for more coherent storytelling, suggesting that the current campaign does not live up to its potential.
“The invasion function allows for Dark Souls-style chaos, allowing people to join in on campaign missions when activated.”
“Characters lack any charm, and its campaign story is nonsensical, with poorly designed maps.”
“The overall storyline of the campaign is not particularly gripping, but it certainly is engaging enough to follow along with the characters and see how it unfolds.”
“The prequel campaign doesn't have any characters with inconsistent motivations or actions, and while I do understand it's a much more lighthearted story style so far, I vastly prefer Athena's Crisis' story over Wargroove's butchered potential.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are described as charming and engaging, featuring a unique art style that pays homage to classic titles like Advance Wars while introducing its own aesthetic elements. However, some users find the sound design, particularly the attack sounds, to be grating and low quality, detracting from the overall experience. Despite this, the visuals are generally well-received, especially for fans of pixel art and turn-based gameplay.
“The game is hard, don't be misled by the pastel colors and cute graphics.”
“If you are interested in turn-based games and you like pixel graphics, do consider giving this gem a shot.”
“Really enjoyed the game so far, fun gameplay and engaging graphics.”
“Not just in an aesthetically boring or underwhelming way, but in an actually grating manner; the attack sounds are so horribly bit-crushed that I didn't want to attack things with my basic infantry because the sound of their rifles was physically grating to hear.”
“I understand that the point is to present a lo-fi aesthetic, but the developer's ear must be very different from mine, because I think the sounds they chose are way too low quality.”
“The game is hard; don't be misled by the pastel colors and cute graphics.”
- music8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally considered unremarkable, with limited variety and a tendency to become repetitive during gameplay. While some players find it hits the right notes, others have opted to create their own playlists to enhance their experience. Overall, the soundtrack is described as decent but lacking in excitement, with a few standout tracks.
“Music isn't anything exciting, but it hits the right spots.”
“The soundtrack is decent as well.”
“- the music slaps harder than my father”
“There are other things like how the music doesn't swap when the opposing side takes their turn, which is surprisingly noticeable as it makes all the gameplay just mush into one repeating soup whereas other games mix up the turns with different themes.”
“The song choices are extremely limited.”
“One song that plays throughout the whole battle.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability due to its depth and complexity, offering players numerous ways to engage with the content. The inclusion of a scenario editor and community maps further enhances this aspect, providing virtually infinite replay value, despite the requirement for an online connection.
“High replay value.”
“There's enough depth and complexity to the game systems here that this will have plenty of replayability.”
“Although it always requires an online connection, there is a benefit in the way of infinite replay value thanks to the scenario editor and community maps.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game is well-optimized, exhibiting smooth performance even on large maps and on devices like the Steam Deck. The early access version is noted for its polish, with no significant performance issues and a robust map editor that enhances gameplay experience.
“The game is also quite polished for an early access game, with smooth performance even on large maps, and a map editor much more powerful than Advance Wars' with everything you need to create anything from simple PvP maps to entire campaigns with scripted events, custom win conditions, and secret triggers.”
“Happy with the performance on the Steam Deck.”
“No performance issues for me.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by absurd and unexpected scenarios, such as a T-rex chomping on a tank, which consistently elicits laughter from players.
“A T-Rex chomping a tank is still so funny.”
“The witty dialogue and absurd situations had me laughing out loud.”
“The game's humor is perfectly timed, making even the most mundane tasks entertaining.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy primarily relies on advertisements, which some users find intrusive or excessive. Overall, the presence of ads has led to mixed feelings among players regarding their gaming experience.
“The constant ads are overwhelming and disrupt the gameplay experience.”
“I feel pressured to spend money to enjoy the game fully.”
“The monetization model is frustrating and makes it hard to progress without paying.”
