Warlander

About

Warlander is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Clock Drive Games and was released on February 26, 2020. It received neutral reviews from both critics and players.

"Warlander" is a roguelike, stamina-based combat game with Dark Souls and Slay the Spire influences. As a resurrected hero seeking vengeance, explore a procedurally generated world, battling enemies and harnessing their power to appease an immortal deity. Death results in a loss of progress, but the opportunity to fight and sacrifice again in an endless cycle.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+14

Skip User Reviews

50%

Audience ScoreBased on 46 reviews

gameplay10 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features a unique combat system that allows for targeted dismemberment, adding a satisfying layer to the gameplay.
The art style and setting are visually appealing, creating an engaging atmosphere for players.
The progression mechanics, including the skill tree and permanent upgrades after defeating mini-bosses, provide a sense of achievement and encourage replayability.

The controls are clunky and unresponsive, making combat feel sluggish and frustrating.
The game lacks polish and feels unfinished, with numerous bugs and technical issues that detract from the overall experience.
The repetitive nature of the environments and enemies, combined with a short length, can lead to boredom after extended play.

gameplay
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
48%
15%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its unique mechanics like limb dismemberment and a deep combat system reminiscent of Dark Souls, while others criticize its clunky execution and lack of polish. Despite these issues, many find the core gameplay loop engaging and fun, particularly for its price point, though some players struggled to enjoy it due to its poor state. Overall, the game offers interesting features and addictive action, but its execution leaves room for improvement.
- “Like this game is real jank but it does a lot of things that make the moment-to-moment gameplay great fun.”
- “The core gameplay loop is very promising, scaling a randomly generated tower with varying battles and buffs to engage you.”
- “Warlander offers a very interesting spin on the Dark Souls formula, featuring a deep stamina-based combat system with limb cutting mechanics, interesting setting, and progression mechanics inspired by roguelike games.”
- “I can forgive a lot if the gameplay is at least there, but it's not.”
- “The gameplay is a clunky mess and getting to the gameplay is somehow worse.”
- “However, with the core gameplay being in such a poor state it really taints the whole experience.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The graphics of the game receive mixed feedback, with some players praising the unique aesthetic and enemy models, while others criticize the lack of graphical options and inconsistencies in design elements that clash with the overall theme. Despite some players appreciating the visuals, there are concerns about audio issues and a general feeling that certain graphical aspects could be improved to enhance immersion. Overall, while the art style has its fans, it also faces scrutiny for not fully aligning with the game's intended atmosphere.
- “I love the aesthetic a lot.”
- “Everything else about this game is really good, the skill tree, the graphics, and I love the enemy models; they are so unique.”
- “Good graphics and sound - I am very surprised by the scathing reviews, particularly if you consider the price.”
- “Threadbare graphical options, audio de-sync in cutscenes, and at one point, after deciding to switch to keyboard and mouse in the hopes of gaining some precision when aiming swings (which didn't help), I had to restart the game because the menu stubbornly showed the controller inputs instead when I wanted to check the bindings.”
- “However, the game feels like some aspects aren't fully sitting with the theme of the world, like the health bar or perhaps the 'you died' screen may need a bit of amping up to fit in with the general aesthetic of the game as they feel a bit out of place.”
- “Warlander's visuals and story are generic and it's a bit short on content, not to mention the irksome bug that removes your permanent upgrades.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
Overall, the game's optimization is mixed; while some players report a stable 60fps and no crashes, others criticize it for being poorly optimized, particularly at resolutions above 1080p. Recent updates have improved performance for some, but issues with hit detection and overall polish remain.
- “With the 1.1 update, the performance is now decent, and the halberd boss seems to be fixed.”
- “The optimization issues for resolutions above 1080p have been addressed, improving the overall experience.”
- “The game has seen significant improvements in performance, especially after the latest updates.”
- “1) It's badly optimized.”
- “I could use many adjectives to describe the performance in this game, but none of them would be kind ones.”
- “[Combat lacks weight, with weird hit detection and hitboxes, interface and animations lack polish, optimization issues for resolutions above 1080p, short length]”
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The game's story has potential but is hampered by poor execution, with some players finding it generic and lacking depth. While the setting and visuals are appreciated, the narrative's abruptness and brevity detract from the overall experience. Additionally, technical issues further undermine the storytelling aspect.
- “This game has a nice setting, some enemies and bosses look cool, and the story is potentially interesting.”
- “The story might be solid, but when the controls are so bad it really takes away from the experience.”
- “The story might be solid, but when the controls are so bad, it really takes away from the experience.”
- “The story is bad and just throws you in mid-stream, but not in a good way.”
- “Warlander's visuals and story are generic, and it's a bit short on content, not to mention the irksome bug that removes your permanent upgrades.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is marred by numerous bugs and glitches, including issues with achievements and progression after miniboss encounters, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences. Despite these faults, some players still find enjoyment in the game, indicating a mixed reception regarding its overall stability.
- “Those who have the 'luck' to play it have a buggy game (some achievements don't work and sometimes you can't continue after killing a miniboss), and it becomes boring after a while.”
- “Now glitches in the game can kill you on a good run, or prevent you from completing an area to progress because the enemy had god knows what happened to it.”
- “I wish there was a neutral option, because it has its faults, its issues, and glitches, but for some reason I have fun playing the game.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
200%
The music in the game is characterized as heroic and epic, enhancing the addictive action-based gameplay and complementing the engaging slicing-and-dicing mechanics that players find endlessly enjoyable.
- “The music is quite heroic and epic, perfectly complementing the addictive action-based gameplay.”
- “Slicing and dicing never gets old, especially with such an engaging soundtrack.”