Punk Wars

About

In Punk Wars, players build and manage their own steampunk-inspired city, competing against rival factions for resources and territory. Using a variety of units and structures, they must balance production, research, and military strategy to achieve dominance. The game features a sprawling map, turn-based gameplay, and a range of customizable options to suit different playstyles.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 51 reviews

graphics8 positive mentions

music3 negative mentions

The game features an interesting blend of 4X strategy and tactical combat, providing a unique gameplay experience.
The graphics and art style are visually appealing, creating an engaging atmosphere that fits the post-apocalyptic theme.
The skirmish mode offers endless replayability with different outcomes, making it enjoyable for players who appreciate strategic depth.

The campaign mode is poorly designed, lacking meaningful missions and feeling more like a skirmish than a true campaign.
The tutorial is insufficient, failing to adequately explain the game's mechanics and leaving players overwhelmed when starting their first match.
Performance issues, including lag and long enemy turn times, detract from the overall gameplay experience.

gameplay
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it interesting due to its unique mechanics and varied factions, while others criticize it for being overly complex and poorly explained, particularly in the tutorial. Many users suggest that the campaign is underdeveloped and lacks sufficient missions and maps, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite its potential, the gameplay feels unrefined and could benefit from further updates and enhancements to fully realize its ideas.
- “The gameplay includes a story and a scrimmage mode, providing a blend of strategy and action.”
- “Unpredictable gameplay makes this game interesting, and every civilization is fun to play with various ways to approach the game!”
- “You can see that it has been thought out and well done - no mistakes, no annoying mechanics.”
- “The game has interesting lore but extremely boring gameplay and an underdeveloped campaign.”
- “When you enter your first match, you will notice endless mechanics and buildings which weren't explained during the tutorial.”
- “There are lots of problems with the gameplay that just don't fit.”
graphics
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
48%
14%
The game's graphics are highly praised, featuring ultra-settings up to 4K resolution that enhance its post-apocalyptic aesthetic. Reviewers appreciate the beautiful artwork, well-modeled characters, and overall visual appeal, noting that the graphics are a strong point of the game, especially considering its budget. While some suggest improvements in contrast settings, the general consensus is that the graphics significantly contribute to the game's immersive experience.
- “Graphically, the game runs ultra-setting up to 4K graphics.”
- “Amazing artwork, beautifully modeled characters with unique stylization - I really love it!”
- “The graphics were great and fitting for the setting and genre.”
- “Without knowing anything about the devs, I have the impression that they are a smaller team, and with a finite budget, decided to focus on the trailers, in-game cinematics, and visuals.”
- “I know I've passed up games with great gameplay due to poor graphics, so I am not critical of the decisions they made, and hope they can continue to build on the elements that I found lacking.”
- “Graphically, the game is at a high level - I recommend that you improve the contrast on the monitor a little, because the default settings can be a bit irritating.”
story
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
63%
19%
The game's story is criticized for being minimal and unengaging, lacking the depth and missions that players expect from a campaign mode. While the tutorial serves as an introduction, the overall narrative is deemed insufficient, with many reviewers suggesting that it fails to provide a compelling experience compared to other titles. Additionally, the absence of meaningful missions and a rich storyline detracts from the gameplay, leaving players wanting more in terms of narrative development.
- “The campaign starts as a mission where you build your faction each of your turns while the other faction explains their faction during their turns.”
- “The lore and storytelling, the world, and the idea are captivating.”
- “The plot is really fun.”
- “The story itself, if you call it a story, is not interesting.”
- “You would think there are scenarios or missions to beat, but there aren't.”
- “There's no multiplayer, so you'll be relying on the campaign which is primarily laid out in stages without too much story.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it average and suggesting it lacks the intensity expected for an apocalyptic setting. However, others appreciate the music and its alignment with the game's art style, indicating a divide in player preferences regarding the soundtrack's effectiveness and emotional impact.
- “I love the music and graphics.”
- “It is my kind of art style; the music is nice.”
- “The music is average; there's no great music like heavy metal, which I always think about for apocalypse time.”
- “Recommended to update the sounds and music to match the gameplay and atmosphere the game is projecting.”
- “The music is okay, but the personalization of the individuals is average.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
Reviewers suggest that the game's atmosphere could be significantly enhanced by updating the sound and music to better align with the gameplay. Comparisons to titles like Frostpunk and Endzone highlight a desire for a more immersive and cohesive atmospheric experience, indicating that these elements are crucial for storytelling and engagement.
- “This adds a lot to the atmosphere of the game.”
- “Recommended to update the sounds and music to match the gameplay and atmosphere the game is projecting.”
- “If you want atmosphere and story/campaign - go play Frostpunk (or Endzone, to a lesser degree).”
- “Endzone or Frostpunk atmosphere with simplified Gladius gameplay.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the campaign's chokepoint map layouts and uncounterable AI ranged attacks. While some may enjoy the turn-based combat, many feel that the extensive time required to progress—often exceeding 50 hours—can lead to a monotonous experience, especially when managing multiple units and buildings.
- “I loved turn-based combat, but I have been grinding on the campaign's first level for most of my play, and the map layouts create chokepoints while the AI has ranged weapons that are not counterable.”
- “I have been stuck in an unnecessary grindy choke point.”
- “The upkeep for each turn when you have more than 10 units/buildings feels very tedious.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game's optimization is mixed; while it runs smoothly on older PCs, some users report significant performance issues and a lack of polish, suggesting it feels unfinished. Additionally, there are concerns about insufficient mid-late game optimizations and inadequate tutorial support.
- “Technically nice, runs smoothly even on old PC.”
- “I don't know if the game needs more substance or more mid-late game optimizations.”
- “The performance is bad.”
- “It has many flaws like poor performance, feels unfinished, the tutorial isn't sufficient, the campaign could be more developed, and the Steam Cloud doesn't work.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Overall, the game offers a good level of replayability, enhanced by its engaging retro aesthetic and well-implemented concepts. However, some players feel that the limited paths to victory may hinder replay value, despite the game's fun and fresh approach in the 4X genre.
- “The game is beautiful and has a very retro Fallout kind of flavor that adds to the experience. The entire idea of the game is very well implemented and has a good amount of replayability.”
- “Punk Wars has a few clunky downsides like the UI and the controls, but it definitely outshines those things as a fun, fresh, replayable 4X title.”
- “Replayability is lacking due to the limited paths to victory.”
- “I don't see much reason to replay the game since the choices feel inconsequential.”
- “Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back and experience it again.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The humor in the game is well-received, as it adds a comedic narrative element that enhances the overall experience and helps to break up the pacing of what could otherwise be a lengthy gameplay.
- “The events are funny and bring a narrative element into what would be a long game.”
- “The humor is cleverly woven into the gameplay, making every moment enjoyable.”
- “I found myself laughing out loud at the witty dialogue and hilarious situations.”