Crusade
- March 10, 2023
- abba_Split
- 133h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Crusade" is a single-player Warfare Real Time Strategy game set in the dark world of the 41st millennium. Choose from unique factions like Krieg Guard, Orcs, Imperial Fists, Daemons or Tyranids, each with their own strengths and traits. Use masterful game mechanics, consider unit characteristics, and engage in combat for command points to win in this splendidly visual, infinitely replayable experience, compatible with 1.15 game version.
Reviews
- Highly enjoyable and addictive gameplay reminiscent of classic RTS games like Total Annihilation and Command & Conquer.
- Extensive modding community with a wide variety of mods available, enhancing replayability and customization.
- Runs smoothly on low-end hardware, allowing for large-scale battles with thousands of units without lag.
- AI can be unchallenging and often resorts to spamming units, making single-player less engaging.
- Limited base game content with only one faction and a simplistic economy, which may lead to repetitive gameplay.
- Pathfinding issues can cause units to get stuck or behave erratically, impacting overall strategy and gameplay experience.
- gameplay168 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Rusted Warfare is praised for its simplicity and accessibility, making it enjoyable for both casual players and strategy enthusiasts. The game features solid mechanics, decent troop balancing, and a variety of mods that significantly enhance replayability and introduce new elements. While some players note issues with pathfinding and balance, the overall experience is characterized by fast-paced, engaging gameplay reminiscent of classic RTS titles like Total Annihilation and Command & Conquer.
“The gameplay is fantastic, you can sit down for a 10 minute 1v1 game against an AI that will give you a challenge, or you could find 9 other players and have a 10 person free-for-all; the sky is the limit.”
“It boasts deep strategic gameplay, intuitive controls, and seamless mechanics that cater to both casual players and strategy enthusiasts.”
“Rusted Warfare is a cheap, fun, and worth the money (a little too worth the money), with lots of mods, good non-modded gameplay, and is a 2D top-down RTS game.”
“The problem with the game is that the gameplay isn't tactical despite all the units presented, and most of the matches end up with hordes of planes erasing the bases of the opposite team.”
“Not terribly in-depth gameplay, not terribly pretty, actually not much going on at all.”
“Here we see bad graphics, barely recognizable units, and super boring gameplay with nothing going on.”
- graphics153 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a simplistic, retro aesthetic reminiscent of 90s titles, which some players find charming and fitting for the gameplay style. While many reviews note that the visuals are basic and could benefit from refinement, they emphasize that the graphics do not detract from the overall experience, allowing for smooth performance even with large numbers of units on screen. Overall, the consensus is that the game's engaging mechanics and extensive mod support more than compensate for its low-fidelity graphics.
“Don't be fooled by the simplistic graphics; this game is a blast.”
“In all honesty, I have paid £30+ for RTS games that I haven't enjoyed a fraction as much as this. Rusted Warfare has quirky, intentionally simplistic graphics that still do a great job of showing what they need to, and it's not afraid to be bold with its art style, which is incredibly refreshing.”
“The graphics are quite simple (but charming), which I think will make things a bit easier on modders, and there are already a ton of great mods available, really boosting the scope and content of the game.”
“The graphics are ugly and hard to distinguish units.”
“Graphics look like they're from the 1990s though, they really need a sequel with updated graphics.”
“The graphics are poor, but the gameplay is amazing.”
- story67 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The game features a series of missions and challenges but lacks a cohesive story or narrative, with many players noting that the campaign consists of simple, progressively challenging maps rather than a traditional storyline. While the gameplay is enjoyable and offers various modes, including skirmishes and survival, the absence of a compelling narrative or character development is a common critique among users. Overall, players appreciate the fun and engaging mechanics but express a desire for a more structured campaign with a storyline.
“A surprisingly fun minimal C&C style game with a great community of modders. I really enjoyed the original missions, which have some great fun reveal moments of enemy strongholds and vehicles.”
“This game offers solid and modern RTS foundations that are nicely put to practice with missions, challenges, and survival modes. Even at this point, with some effort from the modding community and developers, it can easily have a long and bright future ahead.”
“Having just completed the campaign, or rather, a smattering of simple missions that gradually ramp up the difficulty and allow the player to figure everything out, I feel I've got a good grasp on this game.”
“The campaign (if you can call it that) is severely lackluster and doesn't keep track of which missions you've completed.”
“It's a bit lightweight story-wise, but let's be honest, we all play RTS games for the skirmish, and the price is amazing.”
“The single-player missions don't have any story, but there is a lot of fun in tackling the different scenarios.”
- music42 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive, lacking originality, and sometimes annoying, leading some to turn it off entirely. While a few appreciate the soundtrack as decent or even enjoyable, others criticize it for being outdated and limited, with a desire for more variety. Overall, the sound design is often described as underwhelming, contributing to a less engaging gameplay experience.
“The retro art-style, the speed of the gameplay, the enemy AI, the music & sound design... it's just perfect... and the price!!!”
“The music is amazing, and so much maps and endless gameplay.”
“Lots of unit variation, fun and catchy soundtrack.”
“Most of the game is dead silence; if it weren't for the royalty-free music playing in the background.”
“But that's a shame as the music is terrible and limited.”
“The music is repetitive and lacks originality, and while the pixel art style can look good - the gameplay needs to make it work; otherwise, the whole product feels cheap.”
- optimization36 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game is highly praised for its exceptional optimization, allowing it to run smoothly on a wide range of devices, including older hardware and mobile platforms. Users report excellent performance even during large-scale battles with numerous units, and the ability to adjust settings further enhances its efficiency. Overall, it is considered a well-optimized title that supports extensive modding without compromising gameplay quality.
“This RTS is incredibly optimized and fun on its own, but mods nearly make it a robbery with how much content there is for such a small price.”
“Game is smooth as butter, very good optimization. Most of the time, games like this rely on one core of the CPU, and many troops or enemies can struggle most CPUs, but from what I saw, the engine is optimized to work with multi-core.”
“The game is full of content with the ability to mod it and allows you to play cross-platform multiplayer either online or LAN. The game is heavily optimized and allows for battles with thousands of units.”
“The game is full of content with the ability to mod it and allows you to play cross-platform multiplayer either online or LAN. The game is heavily optimized and allows for battles with thousands of units, and by thousands, yes, I mean it!”
“Extremely optimized; I have never experienced any lag spikes or lag in general.”
“The graphics are simple, yes, but it helps a lot with performance and when making custom units.”
- replayability33 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The game boasts exceptional replayability, highlighted by 48 skirmish maps, robust modding support, and a vibrant community that continually enhances the experience. Players appreciate the game's strategic depth, competent AI, and the ability to customize gameplay, which collectively contribute to an almost infinite replay value. Overall, it is regarded as a must-play for RTS fans, offering countless hours of engaging content for a budget-friendly price.
“With its community-driven updates and budget-friendly price tag, Rusted Warfare is a must-play for RTS fans looking for strategic depth and endless replayability.”
“Extremely fun, challenging AI, easy controls, and very simple to learn; the amazing mod support adds literally hundreds, if not thousands of hours of replayability to it.”
“The community support, coupled with the game's purposeful easy integration of mods, gives it almost infinite replayability for me.”
“While not remarkably stunning in terms of graphics, Rusted Warfare more than makes up for it by its scale, replayability, challenge, and many explosions.”
“This game has withstood the test of time, thanks to its replayability, constant updates/patches, and its community.”
“From the simple concept, there is a lot of replay value, and the modding community is huge for this game.”
- stability13 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 62 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally praised, with many users reporting smooth performance across various systems, including Linux. However, there are notable issues with AI pathing and movement, leading to glitches and units getting stuck, particularly in complex scenarios. While some players experience minor bugs, they do not significantly detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
“Runs great on any computer.”
“Thanks to a next day response from the developer, I was informed about a 64-bit version of the game which runs great with about 10 mods.”
“Just came to say this game is so well done, runs great on everything, graphics are the best for the gameplay, and I love the Linux support.”
“The AI pathing is terrible; setting patrols simply glitches out the unit seemingly half the time.”
“Some glitches with pathing result in builder units getting trapped very easily and becoming useless. Pathing for groups of heavy ground and sea units also becomes quite unwieldy, with them getting stuck on each other, jammed between islands, choke points, etc.”
“The game glitches and stutters and shows weird messages while playing sometimes.”
- humor10 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a standout feature, with players enjoying the funny interactions among teammates and the comedic elements introduced by mods and gameplay quirks, such as backward ship movement. Many reviews highlight that playing with friends enhances the experience, leading to hilarious moments and entertaining gameplay, despite some minor bugs. Overall, the game's humor contributes significantly to its fun factor, making it a memorable experience.
“Great RTS game, despite having minor bugs like torpedoes don't hit 100% and hilarious features like backward ship moving, etc., but it's great to play. Would be perfect if they actually fix those in the future.”
“Some of the most fun gameplay I've seen in a while. Custom maps add plenty of life into the game. The single-player is fine, but it's not my kind of genre for single-player. I highly suggest playing with friends as there's always something funny and stupid, and you're pushing back the painfully hard and impossible bots.”
“So long as you can protect, upgrade, and go nuts building your fabricators, you're laughing all the way to victory.”
- grinding7 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
Players consistently express that grinding in Rusted Warfare is excessively time-consuming, often requiring a significant investment of time that feels tedious and unbalanced. The lack of innovative mechanics and shallow gameplay further exacerbate the grind, leading to frustration over the repetitive nature of the end-game experience.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“That's pretty tedious; I'm not sure if the game was actually designed this way and has any purpose, or if this is a bug.”
“Rusted Warfare doesn’t offer anything innovative to the genre, instead producing some combination of Red Alert and Supreme Commander; shallow economics and simple unit countering, along with extremely tedious end-game clean-up, limit potential strategies.”
- monetization5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -40 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its lack of advertisements and microtransactions, providing a nostalgic experience reminiscent of classic RTS games without the burden of additional costs or intrusive monetization strategies.
“There's no microtransactions, DLC, or any of the useless stuff!”
“The game offers a fair monetization model that respects players' time and investment.”
“I appreciate that the game doesn't pressure you into spending money to enjoy the full experience.”
“Even with a thousand units moving at the same time, the advertisements are overwhelming.”
“That advertising is no joke.”
“It brings me back to the good old RTS days where it was just a game without any horrible microtransactions.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of Rusted Warfare is praised for its unique style that evokes nostalgia for the early Command & Conquer titles, while also offering a fresh experience. Players appreciate the game's engaging environment and the modability that enhances its overall ambiance.
“Brilliant little game, nice atmosphere, editors, and modability all around.”
“Rusted Warfare feels almost like the first two C&C titles, but has its own style and atmosphere.”
