Skip to main content

Pawns of War

Pawns of War Game Cover
85%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay
Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, music
85% User Score Based on 180 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
Buy NowGet on Steam
Pawns of War Game Cover

About Pawns of War

Pawns of War is a single player arcade action adventure game with anime and post-apocalyptic themes. It was developed by FLARE and was released on March 10, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Searching for a ray of salvation inside this nightmare. The year is 2044. There is a war going on in the world between two superpowers. On neutral territory, you will have to guard the base as usual, but suddenly the war catches up with you here. You will have to assemble a squad of different characters, equip them, give them weapons and join the battle. The battle scene is presented in the f…

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Pawns of War screenshot
Pawns of War screenshot
Pawns of War screenshot
Pawns of War screenshot
Pawns of War screenshot
Pawns of War screenshot
Pawns of War screenshot
Pawns of War screenshot
Pawns of War screenshot
Pawns of War screenshot
Pawns of War screenshot
+9
Skip Games Like Pawns of War

Games Like Pawns of War

Looking for games like Pawns of War? Here are top arcade action adventure recommendations with a anime and post-apocalyptic focus, selected from player-similarity data — start with Phantom Brigade, Halfway or RAM Pressure.

Phantom Brigade Image
71%3.8kreviews

Phantom Brigade

2020Tactical Role Playing
PCWindows
Games like Phantom Brigade
Halfway Image
70%1.2kreviews

Halfway

2014Tactical Role Playing
LinuxPCMac OS+1
Games like Halfway
RAM Pressure Image
47%326reviews

RAM Pressure

2021Tactical Role Playing
PC
Games like RAM Pressure
Dead Age Image
77%3.8kreviews

Dead Age

2016Survival Role Playing
AndroidPlaystation 4Xbox+12
Games like Dead Age
Vigilantes Image
81%474reviews

Vigilantes

2018Tactical Role Playing
LinuxPCMac OS+1
Games like Vigilantes
Mech Armada Image
79%404reviews

Mech Armada

2022Tactical Role Playing
Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPC+7
Games like Mech Armada
Swag & Sorcery Image
43%1.9kreviews

Swag & Sorcery

2019Role Playing
PCTabletPhone+4
Games like Swag & Sorcery
Home Behind 2 Image
78%408reviews

Home Behind 2

2022Survival Role Playing
LinuxPCTablet+4
Games like Home Behind 2
Bad 2 Bad: Extinction ImageBad 2 Bad: Extinction ImageBad 2 Bad: Extinction Image
83%940reviews

Bad 2 Bad: Extinction

Tactical Shooter
TabletAndroidPhone+1
Games like Bad 2 Bad: Extinction
Infectonator: Survivors Image
62%678reviews

Infectonator: Survivors

2016Survival Role Playing
PCMac OSWindows
Games like Infectonator: Survivors
More games like Pawns of War
Skip User Reviews

Reviews

85%Audience ScoreBased on 180 reviews
story13 positive mentions
grinding14 negative mentions
  • The game is free to play with no real money required for gacha mechanics, making it very accessible.
  • Simple and addictive gameplay with charming pixel art and a military theme that appeals to fans of Girls' Frontline.
  • The turn-based combat mode and weapon customization add strategic depth and variety to gameplay.
  • High reliance on RNG in turn order, combat outcomes, and loot drops, leading to frustrating and sometimes unfair gameplay.
  • Gameplay modes, especially the autobattler and grinding elements, can feel repetitive, grind-heavy, and sometimes lack player agency or meaningful interaction.
  • UI and technical issues such as small or pixelated text, clunky menus, lack of informative UI elements, and occasional bugs reduce overall user experience.

  • story

    79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    16% positive mentions, 78% neutral mentions, 6% negative mentions

    The game's story is an intriguing war drama with a memorable cast and solid team chemistry, though currently limited in content and somewhat unfinished, with much of the story still in development. Players appreciate the thoughtful narrative and pixel-art style but note issues like repetitive missions, heavy RNG influence, and overuse of AI-generated backgrounds. While the turn-based story campaign offers more engaging combat than the auto-battler mode, the lack of variety and balance in some missions detracts from the overall experience.

    • “The pixel style is very pretty and pleasant to watch; the story makes you want to follow it, both the main and the side campaigns currently available.”
    • “But other than that, the story is an intriguing war drama that features a good cast of characters with enjoyable team chemistry.”
    • “Don't get me wrong, this game is still a work in progress and barely has either a story or content, but thus far it's still a memorable experience with a memorable cast of characters in the current story content.”
    • “Many of the story backgrounds are AI generated.”
    • “The main story line of the game is still a work in progress; only the introduction is currently in place, but I hope that will change soon.”
    • “The storyline of desert mode is better than any Borderlands created after Borderlands 2, and better than the majority of games, which is disappointing; an idle gacha game beat you.”

  • gameplay

    44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    18% positive mentions, 73% neutral mentions, 9% negative mentions

    The gameplay offers a basic turn-based combat system reminiscent of Girls' Frontline, featuring both autobattler and tactical modes with simple, accessible mechanics. While some appreciate its fun and engaging nature for a free, early-access game, many find the gameplay repetitive, grind-heavy, and lacking depth or meaningful strategy, with occasional frustrating RNG elements and unclear mechanics. Overall, it shows potential but currently feels rough and underdeveloped.

    • “Pow is a labor of love and works well as a 'proof of concept,' with a solid turn-based combat mechanic and endearing pixel graphics.”
    • “Fortunately, the locator event campaign offers a very different alternate combat mechanic in the form of solid turn-based tactical combat, where the player expends action points to have characters move and use actions, like a sort of XCOM on a chessboard map.”
    • “For a free game, I’d say this game is enjoyable especially if you like idle/semi turn-based gameplay with character and weapon customization.”
    • “It's not a bad game, I'll be honest, and I am aware that this game is totally free and still in development, which makes it good from the start, but I find this game a little too repetitive from my 3 hours gameplay and I have tried the other mode.”
    • “Have to be the worst mechanic to introduce: you try finishing off an enemy, oh wait, your gun jammed and now you're dead.”
    • “No sense or semblance of sane gameplay design even for an autobattler, and most of the time-to-kill of the autobattle sections is waiting for invulnerability shields to disappear.”

  • grinding

    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 7% neutral mentions, 93% negative mentions

    Grinding is a core part of progression, often feeling repetitive and somewhat tedious due to limited content and basic mission design. However, the gameplay’s ease of automation and forgiving in-game currency system help make grinding more tolerable, especially since all progress can be made without microtransactions. Fans appreciate the game’s free-to-play nature and character design but hope for more quality-of-life improvements to reduce grind fatigue.

    • “But what makes grinding at least bearable in most games is that the gameplay is fun, this one gets boring after a while.”
    • “This game has good bones for now but it's very light on content and it's very repetitive, grindy, and has balancing issues.”
    • “- lack of content besides grinding, it's just endless 'attack 1-9 enemies and get loot'.”

  • graphics

    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    36% positive mentions, 37% neutral mentions, 27% negative mentions

    The game features charming and detailed pixel art with a solid, lovingly crafted style reminiscent of retro games like Starbound. However, some users find the graphics problematic due to UI scaling issues that make text difficult to read, detracting from the overall experience. Despite this, the art style is generally praised for its appeal and thoughtful design.

    • “Pow is a labor of love and works well as a 'proof of concept', with a solid turn-based combat mechanic and endearing pixel graphics.”
    • “Great for people who love the pixel-art style and who used to play these pixelated mobile games, story is also very thought through, though some improvements could be made in the English language like grammar or occasional missing words the game is a solid choice if you're planning on wasting time.”
    • “-The art style was made in great detail and has been worked on with passion, it's got a woman's touch to it.”
    • “Graphics can't fit on screen, nothing in options to change it.”
    • “Doesn't matter if it's AAA game or an indie thingy, some developers just manage to ruin it by having ant-sized UI or massive graphics that explode like a 10 meter long scroll and you can see only a bit from the middle.”
    • “The biggest issue I have is the graphics making reading the text on abilities basically impossible to actually read.”

  • character development

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, -33% neutral mentions, 33% negative mentions

    Character development is generally appreciated, with good character design and meaningful story arcs suggested, such as a medic protagonist's evolution fitting the narrative. However, some players feel the game could better highlight character progression through more impactful story elements. Overall, character design is well-received and contributes positively to the experience.

    • “The campaign story could have highlighted the character development arc of medic protagonist Sally by changing Sarline's squad into a logistics team driving a Humvee, fitting well with the evolution of policy admitting women to combat roles.”
    • “The game is generous with rewards and the character designs are good.”
    • “I love the character design and weapons. Despite some grinding on weapons, it doesn't really affect gameplay much.”
    • “The results of these operations ultimately caused US policy to evolve and officially admit women to combat roles, and the campaign story could have highlighted this by changing the unit type of Sarline's squad into a logistics team driving a Humvee, which would have fit well with the character development arc of medic protagonist Sally.”

  • monetization

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game features a fair monetization approach with no microtransactions, timers, or intrusive pop-ups, allowing players to enjoy a gacha-style experience without typical pay-to-win frustrations. All content is obtainable through regular gameplay without tedious requirements.

    • “It's also free, so you only waste time in this and there are no microtransactions.”
    • “All the fun of a gacha game that basically plays itself, minus the annoying parts of a gacha, i.e., no timers, no microtransactions, or 49 different pop-ups.”
    • “There are issues to note, but nothing in it has any bearing towards having microtransactions or other shady stuff (everything can be gotten in-game and not in a tedious way).”

  • music

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Users feel that the game’s music is very basic or nearly absent, noting that a more developed soundtrack would significantly enhance the atmosphere.

    • “This game lacks a soundtrack; I'm aware the developer might not have a big budget, but adding music would greatly enhance the atmosphere.”
    • “Lastly, whilst the soundtrack is basic, I can tell there is potential to add more.”

  • humor

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Users find the game's humor engaging, particularly enjoying the hilarious weapon customization options. They suggest that adding features like workshop support or alternate sandbox campaigns could further enhance the comedic experience.

    • “Weapon customization allows for some truly hilarious combinations.”

  • atmosphere

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    50% positive mentions, 50% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for being immersive, though some users feel the lack of a soundtrack detracts from the overall experience and could enhance the ambiance significantly.

    • “Very atmospheric”

  • stability

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    50% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions

    The game's stability is generally solid with no major bugs, but minor animation glitches, such as inconsistent footstep syncing with movement speed, detract slightly from the experience. Overall, it remains stable and free of critical issues.

Skip Game Offers

Buy Pawns of War

Play Times

8h Median play time
7h Average play time
3-10h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
Skip Videos

Videos

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Pawns of War is a arcade action adventure game with anime and post-apocalyptic themes. Common tags for Pawns of War include indie, colony sim, pixel graphics, dystopian, idler and others.

Pawns of War is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 7 hours playing Pawns of War.

Pawns of War was released on March 10, 2025.

Pawns of War was developed by FLARE.

Pawns of War has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked Pawns of War for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Pawns of War is a single player game.

Similar games include Phantom Brigade, Halfway, RAM Pressure, Dead Age, Vigilantes and others.