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WARBORN

Warborn set out to bring a great tactics game inspired by mech anime and I would say it has. It misses the mark here and there but fans of tactics games should consider this a victory.
73%Game Brain Score
gameplay, music
story, graphics
76% User Score Based on 102 reviews
Critic Score 70%Based on 9 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5Mac OSPlaystation 4Xbox OneXboxWindowsPlayStation
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About

"WARBORN is a Science Fiction Turn Based Strategy game, offering both single-player and multiplayer options including PvP. Command a strike force of deadly mecha, choosing from four distinct factions and their unique powers, traits, and playstyles. Engage in tactical combat, calling in reinforcements and maneuvering across a hexagonal battlefield, seeking advantage in terrain types and cover."

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
WARBORN screenshot
WARBORN screenshot
WARBORN screenshot
WARBORN screenshot
WARBORN screenshot
WARBORN screenshot
WARBORN screenshot
WARBORN screenshot
WARBORN screenshot
WARBORN screenshot
WARBORN screenshot
+6
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76%
Audience ScoreBased on 102 reviews
gameplay13 positive mentions
story14 negative mentions
  • Warborn offers a solid turn-based strategy experience with a lengthy campaign and a variety of unit types, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
  • The game features no RNG, ensuring that combat outcomes are based entirely on player strategy, which adds depth to the gameplay.
  • The inclusion of a map editor and multiplayer options provides additional replayability and customization for players.
  • The AI is simplistic and often makes poor tactical decisions, leading to a lack of challenge in many missions.
  • The game suffers from repetitive gameplay and a lack of depth, making it feel grindy as the campaign progresses.
  • Visuals and story elements are considered lackluster, with some players finding the art style and narrative uninspired.
  • story
    106 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story features a 40-mission campaign divided among four factions, each with unique commanders, but it is often criticized for being generic and lacking emotional depth. While some players appreciate the overarching narrative and character dynamics, many find the exposition weak and the missions repetitive, leading to a sense of grind rather than engagement. Overall, the story serves its purpose but fails to leave a lasting impression, with some missions dragging and lacking variety.

    • “The game has a forty mission campaign with ten missions per faction, and an overarching story that ties them all together.”
    • “The campaign and story are quite fun and reminiscent of the Gundam universe.”
    • “The story is a grounded sci-fi military tale.”
    • “The story exists but isn't fantastic.”
    • “The story is very generic but certainly serviceable.”
    • “Lackluster story that fails to draw any emotional connection with the characters.”
  • gameplay
    53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Warborn is a turn-based, hex-based strategy experience that emphasizes strategic decision-making over randomness, reminiscent of titles like Panzer General and Advance Wars. While it offers a variety of units and mechanics that provide depth, some players find the gameplay sluggish and repetitive, with issues related to clarity in mechanics and movement limitations. Overall, it is considered accessible and enjoyable for casual play, but may not justify its full price for everyone.

    • “The gameplay design is excellent, and I really appreciate the fact that the mission outcomes are entirely dependent on strategy rather than the caprice of RNG.”
    • “I love the unit variety, and gameplay is pretty streamlined, while still providing enough depth in my opinion.”
    • “Perfect balance of story, beautiful art, inspiring music, and challenging gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay is extremely sluggish - units have very limited movement distance (often moving only single tile right after they spawn in their next turn).”
    • “I would say it's probably not worth the full purchase price at this time, even for a mecha fan, due to the sort of repetitive nature of its gameplay and nothing special in the plot department.”
    • “The units might look like mechs, but they lack any gameplay related to the units being mechs.”
  • music
    35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in "Warborn" has received high praise for its rock-based soundtrack, featuring impressive basslines and memorable themes that resonate with fans of Noriyuki Iwadare. While some players found the music inspiring and well-integrated with the gameplay, others felt it was merely decent and not particularly memorable. Overall, the soundtrack stands out as a highlight for many, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere.

    • “The soundtrack is spectacular in all aspects.”
    • “The basslines throughout the entire soundtrack are splendid -- aside from vintage Wishbone Ash (like 'Vas Dis' or 'Handy'), I usually don't hear such high basslines, and it's a real refreshing treat.”
    • “All in all, Warborn has the best soundtrack I've heard in quite a long time.”
    • “The music is decent but not good.”
    • “Oh, there was music in this game?”
    • “What music?”
  • graphics
    35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics feature simplistic 2D art assets that some players find lackluster, with limited options for improvement despite resolution adjustments. However, others appreciate the nostalgic anime-inspired visuals reminiscent of 70s and 80s Japanese cartoons, praising the crisp art style and overall aesthetic. While the graphics may appeal to fans of retro anime, the animations and unit designs can feel repetitive and uninspired.

    • “I love the graphics and the look of the game.”
    • “The 2D graphics look like Japanese robot cartoons from the 70's/80's, and I rather like it that way.”
    • “It has crisp anime-like graphics, a boppy soundtrack, and enough variation of units, tactics, and factions for multiple playthroughs.”
    • “While there are options to change the resolution for the game, all this does is scale up the simplistic 2D art assets used to make the game, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality.”
    • “It's 2024, you know, computers are capable of rendering their own 3D graphics now!”
    • “Graphics and art are alright, but you will get tired of those boring animations and the units from both sides look the same, unlike games like Wargroove.”
  • replayability
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Warborn offers decent replayability with over 40 missions, a robust map editor, and multiplayer options, providing good value for players. However, once the main campaign is completed, replayability may diminish without future updates to multiplayer content. Players who enjoy the game may find lasting replay value through the map editor and multiplayer features.

    • “With over 40 missions, some replayability, a great map editor as well as multiplayer, Warborn offers a lot of value for the price.”
    • “Hooray for replayability!”
    • “Once you complete the main campaign, it will be difficult to find any replayability in Warborn without future updates to multiplayer, so keep that in mind.”
    • “The map editor and multiplayer will offer replay value for those who fall in love with Warborn.”
  • optimization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is characterized by a lack of mech customization and localized damage effects, as mechs maintain their performance regardless of health loss, except when affected by specific debuffs. This design choice highlights the significance of buffs and debuffs in gameplay, but may limit strategic depth for players seeking more dynamic mech management.

    • “For example, there is no mech customization, not even changing weapons, and no localized damage, or even performance degradation due to damage other than when hit with specific debuff attacks.”
    • “Mechs have different resistances to various types of damage and performance doesn't degrade as they lose health, which emphasizes the importance of buffs and debuffs.”
  • atmosphere
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of Warborn is characterized by a diverse and eclectic soundtrack that combines rock, metal, orchestral, country, and a unique "cowboy bebop-esque space western-inspired blues," creating an immersive and fitting backdrop for the game's themes.

    • “There's a good blend of rock, metal, orchestral, country, and a genre which I can only describe as 'cowboy bebop-esque space western-inspired blues,' which perfectly befits Warborn's atmosphere.”
  • stability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent bugs, a simplistic AI, and a poorly designed user interface. Reviewers also note that the gameplay feels unbalanced and the story lacks inspiration, further detracting from the overall experience.

    • “Extremely buggy, simplistic AI, terrible UI, unbalanced, and uninspired story.”
    • “Extremely buggy, simplistic AI, terrible UI, unbalanced, and uninspired story.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for its lackluster story, which fails to create any meaningful connection with the characters, leaving players feeling disengaged.

  • grinding
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Many users note that while the game successfully captures the fundamentals of its genre, it quickly devolves into a repetitive grind just a few missions into the campaign, lacking the depth to keep players engaged.

    • “It gets all the basics of the genre right, but it simply lacks any depth and becomes incredibly grindy only a few missions into the campaign.”
    • “The game starts off strong, but quickly devolves into repetitive grinding that feels more like a chore than fun.”
    • “After a few hours, the excitement fades and you're left with endless grinding that makes progress feel painfully slow.”
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70%Critics’ scoreBased on 9 critic reviews
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30h Median play time
30h Average play time
30-30h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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