WARMACHINE: Tactics
- November 20, 2014
- Privateer Press Interactive
- 5h median play time
Get on SteamWARMACHINE: Tactics is a turn-based strategy game set in the steam-powered fantasy world of the Iron Kingdoms. Command a warband of elite soldiers and mighty warjacks in tactical battles, utilizing unique abilities and customizable loadouts to outmaneuver and overwhelm your foes. Experience a deep and immersive story in single-player mode, or test your mettle against other players in multiplayer matches.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game captures the essence of the tabletop version, providing a familiar experience for fans.
- The graphics and character models are well-designed and visually appealing.
- The game offers a good amount of tactical depth and strategy, making it enjoyable for turn-based strategy enthusiasts.
- The UI is clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult to navigate and control units effectively.
- The camera controls are frustrating, often obscuring important gameplay elements and causing disorientation.
- The game is riddled with bugs and performance issues, leading to crashes and a lack of polish.
- story286 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The story in "Warmachine Tactics" is described as having potential but ultimately falls short, with many reviewers finding it lackluster and derivative. While some appreciate the engaging setting and character dynamics, others criticize the narrative for being one-dimensional and poorly presented, often feeling like a standard "macguffin" plot. Additionally, the lack of clear mission objectives and the absence of a save feature during missions contribute to a frustrating gameplay experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment of the story.
“They do a great job of keeping the balance between different factions, and the storyline and characters pull you into the setting beautifully.”
“Warmachine Tactics had a lot of potential to be a really good game; it takes place in an interesting setting, follows interesting characters, and has a very solid story that is enjoyable and contains missions with unique and cool objectives.”
“The game plays well, and the universe and story of the campaign are fairly engaging.”
“Though the campaign claims to sport an 'extensive, story-driven experience'; I felt that it was sloppy and the story is one-dimensional and dull.”
“The story is almost cringe-worthy in its absolute lack of originality and, so far, bad presentation - I mean, another superweapon that could change the course of the war / end the world as we know it plot line?”
“The campaign flip-flops on which characters are critical to your success and nothing is more frustrating than seeing 'keep jakes, sarge, rourke, and your warjacks alive.' however, several missions throughout the game only have 'keep jakes alive.' as your main objective.”
- gameplay186 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Warmachine Tactics is characterized by clunky controls and awkward mechanics, often leading to a frustrating experience for players. While it attempts to capture the essence of the tabletop game, many reviewers note that the execution falls short due to issues like lag, poor UI design, and a lack of polish, making tactical gameplay feel cumbersome rather than engaging. Despite these drawbacks, some players find enjoyment in the strategic elements and the adaptation of familiar mechanics, suggesting that with further refinement, the game could reach its potential.
“The gameplay is well done, with actual thought being required so that you don't open yourself up to enemy charges or block your own movement and/or line of sight with an ill-timed activation.”
“When you start to understand the synergies of your units, the gameplay feels very satisfying; you feel like you have to earn victory against a competent opponent.”
“They have very successfully transferred what is a very top quality tabletop board game and directly applied it in terms of look and gameplay to the PC.”
“The gameplay itself is subpar on so many levels.”
“The main gameplay feels like a kludgy, sticky mess where you often feel like you're fighting the controls more than the enemy.”
“The gameplay is clunky, even for a turn-based game.”
- graphics150 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players noting a range of issues including graphical glitches, a clunky user interface, and performance problems on various systems. While some appreciate the artistic design and overall visual quality, others criticize the dated appearance and lack of polish, particularly in cinematic scenes and camera control. Overall, the graphics are described as mediocre to good, but plagued by technical shortcomings that detract from the gaming experience.
“They went all out on the graphics, that much is obvious.”
“Graphics are amazing, and bring the universe to light.”
“Even if you've never heard of the tabletop game, tactics is a well-designed squad-based tactics game with excellent graphics and a sense of humor.”
“The graphics are incredibly dated, the cinematic scenes are out of sync, and the controls are blocky and jarring.”
“On the Mac version, the framerate is so low, even with the lowest graphical settings and lowest resolution, that it is unplayable.”
“This game is not finished, there are tons of graphical glitches, the single player campaign is very poorly made with 0 animation to the cutscenes, and the camera and UI need to be completely overhauled.”
- stability102 mentions
- 2 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 98 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and performance issues, including frequent crashes and graphical problems. Many players find the experience frustratingly unplayable, particularly in single-player campaigns, while others note that despite some improvements through patches, the game remains in a rough, unpolished state. Overall, the consensus is that the game has significant stability issues that detract from its potential.
“As far as system performance, I have everything maxed out and it runs great.”
“It runs poorly, is overflowing with bugs and glitches, and its multiplayer community is all but gone.”
“This game is not finished, there are tons of graphical glitches, the single player campaign is very poorly made with 0 animation to the cutscenes, and the camera and UI need to be completely overhauled.”
“It's still too buggy and clunky to be considered a full game.”
- optimization74 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with many users reporting severe performance issues such as lag, stuttering, and low frame rates even on high-end systems. Despite some improvements noted in patches, the overall consensus is that the game remains poorly optimized, making it nearly unplayable for many, especially on older hardware. While a few players have experienced satisfactory performance, the majority express frustration over the game's inability to run smoothly.
“As far as system performance, I have everything maxed out and it runs great.”
“Performance-wise, it's the best so far and there is still more content to come.”
“I would like to point out that despite the overall disappointment towards the game by many reviewers, the patches fixed a lot of issues over time as well as adding new stuff, even though some glitches and bugs are still out there and the performance of the game isn't at its best yet.”
“A very disappointing game that is not optimized for Windows and Mac; even after so many years of release, the support is non-existent.”
“The performance is atrocious, making it nearly unplayable.”
“There are constant bugs, the optimization is non-existent (I get sub 10 fps despite my system clearly passing minimum specs), the single-player content is really minimal, the camera is super wonky, the UI is a mess, and generally everything in this game is unfinished.”
- humor18 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted through its witty campaign characters and amusing moments, such as the quirky behavior of troops during movement, which can be both entertaining and frustrating. Players appreciate the lighthearted elements, like festive updates, but some find the game's rough edges detract from the overall comedic experience. Overall, while the humor adds charm, it is often overshadowed by gameplay issues that can be more annoying than funny.
“The campaign is funny and the army editor allows you to create your own strategy.”
“The characters of the campaign are diverse, offering a variety of witty, funny, and serious moments to the game.”
“Even if you've never heard of the tabletop game, Tactics is a well-designed squad-based tactics game with excellent graphics and a sense of humor (see Christmas update with hats for all infantry, even zombies).”
- music12 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it irritating and repetitive, while others appreciate its fitting nature. Many users have noted issues with sound effects cutting out during gameplay and the inability to turn off background music without muting all sound. Overall, the music contributes to a frustrating experience due to its lack of variety and integration with other audio elements.
“Nice graphics & music.”
“Background music is fitting.”
“The music is irritating, and apparently never changes.”
“Music/sound effects cut out every time an enemy unit moves.”
“Finally, you cannot turn off the background music without turning all the sound off!”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is praised for capturing the essence of the tabletop version, providing an engaging experience without the need for physical models and measuring tools. However, some users feel that while the atmosphere is strong, it can be hindered by certain gameplay elements, making the single-player storyline the standout feature that enhances the overall experience.
“It's a great game to play if you love the tabletop version; it's not the same, but the atmosphere is there without actually pulling out models and measuring tapes.”
“Sadly, the only thing that really makes it worth playing is the single-player storyline, which is decent, and the atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere of the game truly enhances the overall experience.”
“It may have pertinent information (it usually does), but it also impedes the atmosphere of the game.”
“Sadly, the only thing that really makes it worth playing is the single player storyline, which is decent, and the atmosphere.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be frustrating due to a clunky and unresponsive control interface, which makes commanding large armies tedious and prone to errors. The difficulty in navigating maps and understanding mission objectives further exacerbates the grind, leading to a cumbersome experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment of gameplay.
“In my experience, though, I can't even imagine how slow and tedious activating a large-scale army would be, whether against the PC or, I shudder to imagine, against another opponent.”
“The control interface is clunky and unresponsive; it's too easy to give the wrong command to your units without any way to undo them. Activating your units gets exponentially more tedious the more units you have under your control. The maps are difficult to read in terms of where you can and can't go, and even the distances your units can move become impossible to determine on certain maps because of the color schemes. The minimap is almost unusable because of how little information it gives you and how difficult it is to navigate around. Mission objectives are revealed to you either very obviously or way too obscurely (there is no middle ground), and for some reason, shields seem to be more effective weapons than spears, swords, and guns.”
“This is adrenaline-injected metal-on-metal grinding hopped on steroids!”
- monetization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game is criticized for prioritizing microtransactions over essential improvements and content expansion, leading to perceptions of it being a cash grab. Reviewers express a desire for a shift in focus towards enhancing gameplay and providing regular, purchasable DLC, suggesting that the current approach detracts from the overall experience.
“If this game wants to be anything other than a floundering, half-functional cash grab, it needs a lot of work. The clunkiness needs to be reduced considerably, the factions need to be expanded, and the DLC needs to be added as regular content available upon purchase and expanded as well.”
“I don't recommend it for now, but once they focus more on fixing the game and less on microtransactions, I will happily recommend this.”
