Crusade

About

Crusade is a single player real-time strategy game with a warfare theme. It was developed by abba_Split and was released on March 10, 2023. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

97%

Audience ScoreBased on 3,016 reviews

gameplay74 positive mentions

stability9 negative mentions

Highly enjoyable and addictive gameplay reminiscent of classic RTS games like Total Annihilation and Command & Conquer.
Extensive modding support with a vibrant community, allowing for endless replayability and customization.
Runs smoothly on low-end hardware, making it accessible to a wide range of players.

AI can be simplistic and predictable, often leading to unchallenging gameplay, especially on lower difficulties.
Limited base game content and lack of a comprehensive campaign mode can make the experience feel repetitive over time.
Pathfinding issues with units can lead to frustrating gameplay, especially in larger battles.

gameplay
181 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
57%
2%
The gameplay of Rusted Warfare is widely praised for its solid mechanics, intuitive controls, and engaging core loop, making it accessible for both casual and experienced players. The vibrant modding community significantly enhances the experience, offering a plethora of mods that can transform the game and extend its replayability. While some players note issues with AI and pathfinding, the overall consensus is that the game delivers a fun, fast-paced RTS experience reminiscent of classic 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.”
- “The balance and pacing is fantastic, the units and buildings are interesting and fun, and if you get a bit tired of the base game's units and mechanics after a while, you can install one of the many total conversion mods to bring you entirely new RTS games to mix it up a bit.”
- “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.”
- “Can be improved with mods to add more mechanics and make new game modes, but overall for what you're getting, it's just a basic bare-bones RTS that can provide simple fun, but if you're looking for more, look elsewhere.”
- “Here we see bad graphics, barely recognizable units, and super boring gameplay with nothing going on.”
graphics
163 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
66%
5%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a simplistic pixel-art style reminiscent of late '90s games, which some players find charming and nostalgic. While the visuals may not be cutting-edge or highly detailed, they effectively support the gameplay, allowing for smooth performance even with large numbers of units on screen. Overall, the minimalist graphics are seen as a feature that enhances the strategic depth and replayability of the game, rather than detracting from it.
- “With a modest pixel-art style reminiscent of games from the late ’90s, it might not look like much at first glance, but behind the retro façade is a deeply engaging strategy experience capable of handling thousands of units simultaneously with smooth performance.”
- “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 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.”
story
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
68%
8%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth, with many reviewers noting that the single-player missions do not offer a cohesive narrative or character development. While the gameplay is enjoyable and the missions provide a solid foundation for learning mechanics, players express a desire for a more engaging storyline and a longer campaign. Overall, the game is seen as fun and worth the price, but it falls short in delivering a compelling story experience.
- “A lot of RTS games handle your growth like it's checkpoint to checkpoint or mission to mission, but in this one, every match feels like a full story.”
- “This game offers solid and modern RTS foundations, that are nicely put to practice with missions, challenges, and survival modes even at this point, and with some effort from the modding community and developers, it can easily have a long and bright future ahead.”
- “All around good game, great for that classic simple RTS itch, would love to see a story campaign at some point.”
- “The game has 10 campaign missions (no real story, just different maps that become more challenging).”
- “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.”
music
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
53%
16%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the minimalistic background tracks that enhance focus on gameplay, while others criticize the repetitive and low-quality sound design, likening it to outdated MIDI files. Many users express a desire for a greater variety of music, as the current selection can become monotonous, leading some to turn off the in-game music entirely. Overall, while there are positive mentions of the soundtrack, the consensus leans towards a need for improvement in both music quality and variety.
- “The music, though minimal, sits well in the background, allowing players to focus fully on the strategy.”
- “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.”
- “The music tends to get annoying very fast, so I have turned it completely off.”
- “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.”
- “The music is lame (think 1990s MIDI file sounding), but since it just uses OGG Vorbis files, you can replace it with almost anything you want.”
optimization
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
28%
8%
The game is highly praised for its exceptional optimization, allowing smooth performance even with thousands of units on screen, making it accessible on a wide range of devices, including older hardware. Users report no significant performance issues, and the ability to adjust settings for better performance further enhances the experience. Overall, it is considered a well-optimized title that offers great value for its price, especially with its vibrant modding community.
- “With a modest pixel-art style reminiscent of games from the late ’90s, it might not look like much at first glance, but behind the retro façade is a deeply engaging strategy experience capable of handling thousands of units simultaneously with smooth performance.”
- “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!”
- “It's optimized well and has a large amount of quality of life features.”
- “Its fun, honestly it should be more popular, but it does make sense since the game has basic graphics, but is extremely optimized; you could probably run this on any computer/laptop system, which is really good.”
- “Good game, has tons of mods, you can install mods on mobile too, has Windows - Mac - mobile crossplay, you can run it without big performance issues on pretty much any device, and if it does lag, changing some settings will fix the problem (like limiting the max amount of units in the game at the same time).”
- “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!”
replayability
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
41%
8%
The game boasts exceptional replayability, largely due to its vibrant modding community and extensive custom map support, which allows players to create and share new content. With a variety of skirmish maps and customizable gameplay options, players can enjoy countless hours of strategic depth and challenge. Overall, the combination of community-driven updates and mod capabilities ensures that the game remains engaging and fresh long after initial playthroughs.
- “There's also a full-featured sandbox editor and active modding community supported by the Steam Workshop, allowing players to create custom maps, scenarios, and even entirely new unit sets, giving the game near-infinite replay value.”
- “The community support, coupled with the game's purposeful easy integration of mods, gives it almost infinite replayability for me.”
- “Great game, honestly, unlimited replay value, amazing mechanics and a lively workshop full of mods that will suit any type of game you want to turn this into, and you'll basically never run out of maps.”
- “While not remarkably stunning in terms of graphics, Rusted Warfare more than makes up for it by its scale, replayability, challenge, and many explosions.”
- “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.”
- “This game is so far has withstood the test of time, thanks to its replayability, constant updates/patches, and its community.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
64%
The stability of the game is mixed, with some users reporting significant bugs, particularly with AI pathing and unit behavior, while others praise its performance on various systems, including Linux. Many players note that while there are occasional glitches and stutters, the game generally runs well, especially after switching to the 64-bit version. Overall, the experience can be enjoyable despite some stability issues.
- “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.”
- “I got some huge maps from the Steam Workshop, 10,000 unit cap, and it runs great.”
- “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.”
humor
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players enjoying the funny pixel mechs, amusing gameplay moments, and entertaining mods that enhance the experience. Many reviews highlight the comedic aspects of multiplayer sessions, where chaotic interactions and unexpected features lead to laughter, making it a fun choice for playing with friends. Overall, the game's humor adds a lighthearted charm, despite some minor bugs.
- “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 while 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.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, often requiring a significant time investment that feels unbalanced and potentially unintentional. The lack of innovation in gameplay mechanics, combined with shallow economic systems and straightforward unit countering, contributes to a frustrating experience during end-game scenarios.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “That's pretty tedious. I'm not sure if the game was actually designed like this 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.”
monetization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
80%
Players appreciate the game's monetization model, highlighting the absence of ads, microtransactions, and DLC, which contributes to a nostalgic and uninterrupted gaming experience reminiscent of classic RTS titles.
- “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 developers focus on providing a complete experience without pushing for additional purchases.”
- “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.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its vibrant community and excellent modding capabilities, which contribute to a unique and engaging experience reminiscent of classic titles. Players appreciate the game's distinct style, which enhances its overall ambiance and enjoyment.
- “Excellent mod creators and a good community atmosphere are the keys to the success of this game.”
- “Brilliant little game, nice atmosphere, editors, and modability all around.”
- “Rusted Warfare feels almost like the first two Command & Conquer titles, but has its own style and atmosphere.”