Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire Edition
- April 21, 2020
- Tin Man Games
- 16h median play time
Get on Steam"Warhammer Underworlds – Shadespire Edition" is a digital adaptation of the turn-based strategy tabletop game from Games Workshop. The game includes all warbands and cosmetic DLC, with unique abilities and distinct combat styles for each. Play online matches, bot matches, or single-player challenges with fourteen warbands, such as Steelheart’s Champions, Magore's Fiends, and Garrek’s Reavers. Note: The character count is based on the summary text only, excluding the quotation marks, steam ID, and developer/publisher information.
Reviews
- Faithful adaptation of the tabletop game, capturing its mechanics and strategic depth.
- Regular updates and active developer engagement with the community, addressing bugs and adding content.
- Great way to learn the game and practice strategies without needing to gather physical components.
- Clunky user interface that can be confusing and lacks intuitive navigation.
- Limited content at launch, with only a few warbands and cards available, leading to repetitive gameplay.
- Performance issues and bugs, including slow animations and occasional crashes, detracting from the overall experience.
- gameplay81 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this game is a mixed bag, with many praising its faithful adaptation of the tabletop mechanics and strategic depth, while others criticize its clunky interface and slow pace. Players appreciate the graphics and the opportunity to learn the game's mechanics, but some find the card system confusing and the overall experience can be bogged down by performance issues and bugs. Overall, it serves as a decent introduction to the tabletop version, especially for those without access to in-person play, but it still requires further refinement to enhance the gameplay experience.
“It takes a couple of playthroughs to get used to the mechanics if you're unfamiliar with online deck-building games, but for someone who enjoys the tabletop game and wants to play it more often, it's a great way to do that!”
“Awesome gameplay, a faithful recreation of one of the deepest tabletop strategy games ever created.”
“The gameplay itself is fun and I love the tabletop version.”
“The gameplay is way too slow and not engaging.”
“If the gameplay weren't enough to drive me away, the performance is terrible.”
“As it stands, gameplay is a confusing mess.”
- graphics73 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the solid visuals and faithful recreation of the tabletop experience, while others criticize the busy interface, lack of graphical options, and performance issues. Many users express a desire for improved clarity and customization, noting that the graphics can be grainy or cluttered, detracting from gameplay. Overall, while the aesthetic captures the spirit of the game, there are significant calls for enhancements to elevate the visual experience.
“Deep strategy, stunning yet elegantly simple visuals.”
“A faithful recreation of the tabletop game with fantastic visuals.”
“They've captured the spirit of the game with solid graphics that won't tax old machines too much, but are still fun to look at.”
“The downsides to the video game conversion are that the graphics are too busy (much like modern GW models) and things are automated that perhaps shouldn't be.”
“The graphics are pretty grainy even on the highest settings, and the UI is a bit sluggish as well.”
“I have more than the recommended settings and everything lags and glitches, even the soundtrack. Changing the game graphics doesn't improve anything... it makes this game impossible to play.”
- stability26 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- -8 % neutral mentions
- 96 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with many reporting persistent bugs, UI glitches, and performance issues that hinder gameplay. While some players note improvements and regular updates from developers, the overall experience remains marred by frequent crashes, unresponsive controls, and unbalanced mechanics. Despite its potential, many feel the game is still in an unfinished state, making it frustrating to play.
“It looks and runs great for me.”
“The game has been incredibly stable, with no crashes or major bugs.”
“I've experienced smooth gameplay throughout, which really enhances the overall experience.”
“However, it is so buggy that I have been unable to complete half my games.”
“The game has great potential, but at this state it is unfinished, buggy, and not too pretty to look at.”
“I have spent two hours in a minefield of unpredictable glitches, too many to describe here; I don't want to waste another hour of my life explaining all the glitches.”
- optimization13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 31 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many users reporting performance dips, low framerates, and screen tearing, even on capable hardware. While some players noted that the gameplay experience was not severely hindered by these issues, the consensus is that the game requires substantial improvements in optimization and performance to enhance the overall experience. Additionally, the user interface and graphics have also been described as clunky and poorly optimized.
“The interface is a tad clunky, and the game could use some optimization, but other than that it looks great.”
“I like what I'm seeing so far, but this still has a lot of issues related to performance and the velocity of the game. Please focus a lot on performance because it's quite annoying to wait after you do an action and feel it's really slow for everything.”
“Runs very slow and sluggish; hopefully optimized for full release.”
“After playing the release version, I was disappointed. The game was clunky, unoptimized, and it didn't really look good.”
“The optimization is awful, low framerate and enormous screen tearing - which should be impossible with a simple game like this.”
“The game is also a resource hog and the graphics aren't optimized very well.”
- music13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been widely criticized for its lack of variety and engagement, with many users noting that it consists mainly of a single ambient track and minimal sound effects, leading to a feeling of emptiness. While some appreciate the ambient sound, others find it unexciting and suggest that more dynamic and heroic music would enhance the overall experience, especially given the game's slow pace. Overall, the sound design is seen as a missed opportunity to elevate the game's immersion and excitement.
“But the graphics are good, and the animation of units is good enough (but you can improve it still)... music is nice.”
“Listening to music or something is a must when playing.”
“As the game is pretty slow-paced, I think more heroic and interesting sounds and music would make up for it.”
“No voice overs for tutorials, no music besides the one ambiance track and the main menu theme.”
“They have the power of computers to make it more 'wow' and yet it is too much like a board game with very little in the way of sound effects and music.”
“Music: there is none, only a humming ambient noise.”
- story9 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight a significant demand for a story mode in the game, with players expressing frustration over the lack of narrative elements and progression systems. Many users feel that the absence of a campaign or background story detracts from the overall experience, suggesting that a cooperative story mode could enhance engagement and provide motivation even during losses. Overall, the consensus is that the game would benefit greatly from a more developed narrative framework to enrich gameplay.
“It would be great to introduce some story mode missions where you move through the plot of the game, and it has to have a co-op option for at least 2 players; otherwise, if story mode does not support co-op multiplayer, it is not interesting for me personally (I have played too many single-player games in my life).”
“Add in some story to help flesh out the warbands.”
“Maybe if it had a story mode or something, I would put more time into it.”
“No single player campaign, no story, no progression of your warband or heroes.”
“We really need a background story/introduction so that players not familiar with Age of Sigmar will realize from the get-go what this is all about.”
- atmosphere9 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its spooky environments, moody lighting, and captivating graphics that effectively recreate the tabletop experience. However, some users feel that the immersion is hindered by a lack of sound effects during combat and a need for more engaging single-player options. Overall, while the atmosphere is considered strong, there are suggestions for improvements to enhance immersion further.
“Fluff-wise the game is bare-bones, but it has spooky environments, moody lighting, and cool models that look like animated versions of the minis they represent, so overall, very cool and atmospheric.”
“The interface is smooth, the graphics and atmosphere are captivating, and you can really tell that the development team listens to feedback from the community.”
“It pretty faithfully recreates the tabletop experience, with some atmospheric sounds and effects for good measure.”
“Work on the immersion and atmosphere - along with more friendly single player options with the bots and I'll review again later.”
“The atmosphere is pretty lackluster with just spooky sounds playing in the background.”
“While the atmosphere of the Age of Sigmar world is definitely captured, my ability to tune the visuals a bit on my side would be a great quality of life improvement.”
- monetization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy for the game has received mixed reviews, with some players viewing the DLC and skin purchases as necessary for revenue but ultimately disappointing due to lackluster content. While monetization on skins is seen as acceptable, many feel that the offerings are often just simple recolors and not worth the investment. There is a call for a shift towards a free-to-play model with microtransactions to enhance accessibility and attract a larger player base.
“The warband DLC monetization is warranted for revenue generation.”
“Monetization on skins is a good thing, but the skins themselves are not really worth buying as most of the time it's just a recolor, which in quite a few cases is just anticlimactic.”
“Hoping to see people pick it up as the game is really good, but I hope they're considering making it free to play with microtransactions, as nobody playing the game is kind of holding it back from mainstream appeal.”
“It's a standard cash grab Warhammer game and it's ugly!”
“Well, get past our ads and sales promos to your game that GW obviously cares less about than sales.”
“Hoping to see people pick it up as the game is really good, but hope they're considering making it free to play with microtransactions as nobody playing the game is kind of holding it back from mainstream appeal.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers fantastic replayability due to its small board game style hex grid, which allows for diverse maneuvers and strategic decisions. As new warbands are periodically released, the replay value is expected to increase, although balance among warbands is crucial to maintain player interest. Overall, players appreciate the game's multi-layered strategy and the potential for endless replayability.
“The small board game style hex grid enables some interesting maneuvers and decisions, meaning it has fantastic replayability. With more warbands being released periodically, this will only grow over time.”
“Underworlds is a great multi-layered strategy game that provides hours of replayability and is only getting better as more content becomes available.”
“Intense, rich, and sharp, great with infinite replayability.”
- humor3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as both amusing and frustrating, with players finding the broken mechanics and animations—such as characters maintaining their movement animations after minimal actions—hilariously entertaining yet irritating. However, some users feel that the humor can be overshadowed by negative experiences, such as opponents quitting after losing.
“It is hilariously broken and should be taken off the Steam market.”
“For instance, models keep their moving animation after taking a 1-tile move, which is hilarious but also annoying.”
“It's fine enough, but it's not funny to have an enemy lose one hero and quit a few times in a row.”
“The jokes feel forced and often miss the mark, making the humor fall flat.”
“I expected more clever writing, but the humor is mostly juvenile and predictable.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the grinding aspect of the game for its convenience and value, as it eliminates the need for physical components, travel, and the potential frustrations of traditional tabletop gaming. The streamlined experience allows for enjoyable gameplay without the typical hassles associated with in-person games.
“Grinding in this game feels rewarding and satisfying, as every effort contributes to my character's growth and progression.”
“I love how the grinding mechanics are balanced; it never feels like a chore, but rather an engaging part of the gameplay experience.”
“The grind is enjoyable because it allows me to explore different strategies and playstyles while still making progress.”
