Empires Shall Fall
- February 19, 2024
- Weird Penguin Games
Get on SteamIn "Empires Shall Fall" , command your troops in a dieselpunk world embroiled in the Great War between the Black Empire and Blue League. Utilize terrain and strategy to outmaneuver opponents in turn-based combat with various unit types and boss fights. Engage in local hotseat multiplayer to test your tactical prowess against friends. Non-random combat and grid-based maps hearken back to classic strategy games.
Reviews
- Engaging gameplay with a good balance of unit types and enjoyable animations and visuals.
- Successfully captures the essence of Advance Wars while introducing unique perks and customization options for units.
- Runs smoothly on the Steam Deck and offers a fun, casual experience for fans of turn-based strategy games.
- The game is relatively short and lacks depth in terms of story, character variety, and overall difficulty.
- Limited to only two factions with commanders that do not have unique abilities, making gameplay feel repetitive.
- Some balance issues with unit perks and AI difficulty, leading to an experience that can feel too easy or unchallenging.
- story20 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The story in the game is generally considered weak and forgettable, with many reviewers noting a lack of depth, interesting characters, and engaging dialogue. While some players appreciate the overall gameplay experience, they express a desire for more content, such as additional campaign missions and unique commanders. Overall, the narrative does not significantly enhance the game, making it more of a tactical experience than a story-driven one.
“I could only wish there was more to this game, perhaps more campaign missions or more battle maps with higher difficulty, maybe more unique commanders with their own superpowers and benefits or even a new playable faction like the one we fight in the last campaign mission.”
“The story and characters are very weak, but the dialogue sections are so short that those elements only come across as forgettable, rather than annoying.”
“It doesn't have much else in the way of single player content (there's always the opportunity to replay missions for better ranks), and I don't see its PvP scene taking off (especially without online), but I've enjoyed my time with the campaign.”
“The writing and overall story is utter trash.”
“Do not buy this game for the story, because there more-or-less isn’t one.”
“No interesting characters, voice acting, cutscenes, dramatic story or influential choices.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the vibrant pixel art and smooth animations that evoke nostalgia for classic titles like Advance Wars, while others criticize the limited graphical options and unengaging art style. Overall, the visuals are described as appealing by some, but lacking depth and variety according to others, resulting in a polarized reception.
“Interesting gameplay, great balance in terms of different types of units, plus animations and visuals are super good.”
“The graphics pop, the battle animations are great.”
“The game has good looking graphics (despite being pixelated).”
“Not for me, while the graphics are half decent, there isn't anything especially engaging about this game.”
“Options are severely limited with the only graphical option being windowed mode.”
“Art style: I didn’t like the art style here.”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its interesting mechanics and balance among unit types, with smooth controls and visually appealing animations. Players appreciate the quick and engaging gameplay loop reminiscent of Advance Wars, though some express concerns about the handling of character powers and specializations. Overall, the game offers a fun and intuitive experience, with customizable speed settings to enhance playability.
“Interesting gameplay, great balance in terms of different types of units, plus animations and visuals are super good.”
“The artwork in the game looks great, the gameplay is quick and smooth, and it does a great job scratching that Advance Wars itch.”
“It has a really fun, intuitive, and interesting gameplay loop with lots of fun stuff to explore and experience.”
“My main gripe comes from how the game handles COs: CO powers are determined by faction, not character, and characters themselves have no gameplay specializations.”
“Mechanics: each map you have an objective and most of the time it's kill all troops or take the HQ.”
“Map speed, AI speed, and battle speed can all be individually controlled, along with an invaluable option to skip some of the 'confirm' menus to speed up gameplay.”
- music4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with some users praising the soundtrack as engaging and fitting for the gameplay, while others find it merely decent. Sound effects also contribute to an immersive experience, enhancing the overall atmosphere during battles.
“The soundtrack is fantastic and really enhances the story.”
“The music adds a lot of energy and excitement to the gameplay.”
“The audio (sound effects/music/voice acting/ambient) – 5/10.”
“Music: decent.”
“The music kept things going, and the sound effects were immersive enough to 'feel' the battle.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization received mixed reviews, with users noting that while there are no performance issues on desktop systems, the overall graphics and animations are lacking, resulting in a low score of 3/10. However, the performance on the Steam Deck is highlighted as a positive aspect, particularly for its ability to support hot-swapping in multiplayer, though it still falls short of previous titles in the series.
“No performance issues on my desktop.”
“Perhaps the largest positive I can give ESF is the Steam Deck performance while mimicking the ability to hot-swap with multiplayer like in War Room.”
“Perhaps the largest positive I can give ESF is the Steam Deck performance while mimicking the ability to hot-swap with multiplayer like in War Room, but as close as that gets, it's still not where AW was.”
“[h1] [b] Graphics (quality/art style/animations/ui/performance) – [3/10] [/b] [/h1]”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Character development in this game has been criticized for lacking depth and charisma, with reviewers noting that it feels overly edgy and pandering, reminiscent of a stripped-down version of the Advance Wars franchise. The character designs are described as overwhelming and off-putting, detracting from the overall experience.
“You take a franchise like Advance Wars, strip it of its commanders, suck it dry of charisma, make it edgy, and then pander to the point where I started feeling the character designs hitting me in the face.”
“The character development feels shallow and uninspired, leaving me disconnected from the story and its protagonists.”
“I expected rich backstories and growth, but instead, the characters are one-dimensional and forgettable.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its stability, being free of bugs or incomplete features, which contributes to a smooth and enjoyable experience, especially given its affordable price.
