WARMACHINE: Tactics

About

WARMACHINE: Tactics is a single player and multiplayer strategy game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Privateer Press Interactive and was released on November 20, 2014. It received neutral reviews from players.

WARMACHINE: 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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

+18

Skip User Reviews

44%

Audience ScoreBased on 937 reviews

story50 positive mentions

stability118 negative mentions

The game captures the essence of the tabletop experience with a solid turn-based strategy system.
The graphics and character models are well-designed and visually appealing.
The developers are actively updating the game and responding to community feedback.

The UI is clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult to navigate and control units effectively.
The game suffers from performance issues, including lag and crashes, even on capable hardware.
The AI is simplistic and predictable, leading to a lack of challenge in both single-player and skirmish modes.

story
326 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
75%
10%
The story in the game is generally viewed as engaging and set in a rich universe, with many players appreciating the lore and character development. However, criticisms abound regarding unclear mission objectives, clunky controls, and a lack of polish in the presentation, which detracts from the overall experience. While some players find the narrative enjoyable, others feel it is poorly executed and riddled with bugs, leading to frustration during gameplay.
- “The main campaign is interesting, engaging, and long, and the missions are really varied and well built.”
- “They do a great job of keeping the balance between different factions, and the storyline and characters pull you into the setting beautifully.”
- “The story is polished and reasonably well written (for a computer game). In short, it has a lot going for it.”
- “The cut scenes are beyond 'rough' or 'unpolished'; they are unfinished with static models posing as the voice actors try their best but fail to hold your interest in the overlong and unbelievable plot full of unlikeable characters.”
- “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?”
gameplay
221 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
58%
17%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its clunky controls, awkward UI, and technical issues that hinder the overall experience. While some appreciate the depth and tactical elements that reflect the tabletop origins, others find the mechanics unengaging and frustrating, particularly due to performance problems and a lack of polish. Overall, the game shows potential but suffers from significant flaws that detract from its enjoyment.
- “Matches kind of feel like playing the tabletop game, but it has notably different mechanics that make it a different experience.”
- “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.”
- “Awkward mechanics and clunky controls.”
- “Gameplay is clunky and unengaging.”
- “The gameplay itself is subpar on so many levels.”
graphics
219 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
62%
13%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that they appear dated and unoptimized, leading to performance issues such as low frame rates and graphical glitches. While some appreciate the artistic design and detail of the units and environments, others criticize the clunky user interface and lack of polish in animations and cutscenes. Overall, the visuals are seen as competent but not exceptional, with many players expressing frustration over technical problems that detract from the gaming experience.
- “The graphics are nice and very faithful to the originals.”
- “The look of the units and the quality of the graphics could not be better.”
- “It has really good graphics for a game of its type (though unoptimized at this point), the sounds and music are great.”
- “The graphics look like the kind of thing I might try to put together on my home PC if I was underpaid and doing a rush job.”
- “The graphics are incredibly dated, the cinematic scenes are out of sync, and the controls are blocky and jarring.”
- “I did not bother trying the rest of the game, as the graphics are pretty poor (the bloom literally hurts your eyes and you cannot turn it off, only switch between 'low' and 'high' quality).”
stability
122 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with many reporting persistent bugs, glitches, and performance issues that hinder gameplay. While some players acknowledge potential in the game, they express frustration over its clunky controls, graphical problems, and frequent crashes, making it difficult to enjoy the experience fully. Overall, the consensus is that the game remains too unstable and unpolished for a satisfactory playthrough, despite occasional improvements from patches.
- “As far as system performance, I have everything maxed out and it runs great.”
- “The game runs great.”
- “In the end, cut scenes in the single player game still look bad with the lack of animation, but the game runs great and is easy enough to navigate around in and do what you are trying to do.”
- “I really want to like this game, but it's a buggy mess and every time I end up getting around to trying it again, I regret it.”
- “The game is still an unoptimized, buggy mess.”
- “After all this time, it still feels a bit buggy and clumsy in the controls, and the music is sometimes a bit over the top as it only has one tune of 'overly dramatic', even when there's currently no fighting happening.”
optimization
91 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
54%
36%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with many users reporting severe performance issues, including lag, stuttering, and crashes, even on high-end systems. Despite some improvements over time, the game remains unoptimized, leading to a frustrating experience for players who expect smoother gameplay. Overall, the lack of effective optimization significantly detracts from the game's potential enjoyment.
- “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 can't say enough good things about the game; it definitely needs to be refined and optimized more, though I haven't had a single issue with it, no crashes or stability issues.”
- “You will need a beast PC to run it; it is horribly unoptimized, and even on low settings, you will get lag and stuttering.”
- “The game is poorly optimized, sometimes needing you to be on the bare minimum due to some assets that are continuously rendering in the background, while in other levels you can crank it up to maximum.”
- “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.”
music
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
52%
26%
The music in the game has received largely negative feedback, with many players finding it repetitive, overly dramatic, and irritating, often looping the same track throughout gameplay. While some reviewers noted that the music is inoffensive, it fails to enhance the experience and can detract from immersion due to its lack of variety and poor integration with the game's sound design. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant drawback, overshadowing other aspects of the game.
- “Considering this was not a multi-million dollar campaign, the devs delivered a really fun game with amazing graphics, great tactical gameplay, and awesome music.”
- “Good (if not slightly repetitive) soundtrack.”
- “Background music is fitting.”
- “Sadly, the only soundtrack I heard played through all 5 missions I did, and it's sort of short and loops. It's not a smooth loop; it's a sloppy loop.”
- “The music is irritating and apparently never changes.”
- “The music and sounds are very repetitive, and I turned them off after playing for about an hour.”
humor
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
92%
8%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, featuring amusing moments such as quirky character interactions and unexpected gameplay mechanics, like troops having conversations with dead comrades and humorous animations. While the campaign offers a blend of witty and serious moments, some players find the repetitive nature of certain humorous elements to become tiresome over time. Overall, the game successfully incorporates humor into its design, though it is often overshadowed by its rough edges and technical issues.
- “Hilariously, the game engine had no concept of tracking units for dialog as I then proceeded to have a conversation with my dead troops about what the enemy mage could be up to.”
- “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) and an excellent way to spend your money.”
- “Funny once, not funny for the next one hundred times.”
monetization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
30%
40%
The monetization strategy of the game has drawn significant criticism, with many users feeling it prioritizes microtransactions over gameplay quality, likening it to a cash grab rather than a fully developed product. Players express frustration over the lack of substantial content and the reliance on paid DLC, suggesting that the game needs to improve its core mechanics and expand its offerings before it can be recommended. Comparisons to other franchises highlight a desire for a more player-friendly approach to monetization.
- “Warhammer 40k seems to have found a good route, where each expansion has the full set of units available, without microtransactions.”
- “Bugs and crashes are fixed as they are reported and new models seem to be added at a good rate (via DLC microtransactions).”
- “The monetization model is based on buying minis like in the tabletop, which is a model fit for MWG but not video games.”
- “Get as many people into your user base as early as possible, then do microtransactions.”
- “The price and volume of microtransactions make this game an even worse buy.”
- “The monetization model is based on buying minis like in the tabletop, which is a model fit for tabletop games but not video games.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
88%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and time-consuming, often leading to frustration and disengagement. The clunky interface, long cutscenes, and poor unit control contribute to a slow and uninteresting gameplay experience, making it difficult to enjoy the strategic elements of the game. Overall, the grinding feels more like a chore than an engaging challenge, detracting from the overall enjoyment.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
- “The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
- “I quit the game when it gave me more than a handful of units; it's just too tedious.”
- “In execution, it is tedious and time-consuming for one chapter or battle.”
- “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.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for effectively capturing the essence of the tabletop version, immersing players in the world of the Iron Kingdoms. While some players note that certain elements may detract from the overall experience, the game's thematic elements and engaging single-player storyline contribute positively to its atmospheric appeal. Overall, it successfully creates a compelling environment for fans of turn-based tactical games.
- “I'm a big fan of turn-based tactical games, and this one seemed like it has a good core gameplay going, with a very nice atmosphere to boot.”
- “They at least got the atmosphere and the theme right.”
- “I love the atmosphere; the game brings the world of the Iron Kingdoms to life.”
- “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.”
- “I love the atmosphere, the game brings the world of the Iron Kingdoms to life.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional impact of the game is polarizing; while some players feel it profoundly addresses themes of mortality, others criticize it for lacking emotional depth due to technical issues, poor graphics, and uninspired cutscenes. Overall, the game's potential for emotional engagement is undermined by significant design flaws and bugs.
- “No game has ever made me feel my ebbing mortality like this game.”
- “It is continually bogged down by constant fatal errors, a conflicting design philosophy, an underutilized graphic engine, and; probably the most heartbreaking downside, a complete lack of soul.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
Character development in the game is notably lacking, with reviewers highlighting that while character designs are strong, the overall rendering quality detracts from their impact. The mechanics are compared to titles like Valkyria Chronicles, but the absence of meaningful character growth is a significant drawback.
- “The game mechanics are pretty good, but it feels like a less polished version of Valkyria Chronicles with no character development.”
- “Character development is severely lacking, making it hard to connect with the characters or feel invested in their journeys.”
- “Despite the interesting premise, the character development is shallow and fails to provide meaningful growth or depth.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game offers significant replayability in multiplayer due to diverse unit selections and opponent choices, ensuring unique match experiences. However, the limited unit options in the early single-player campaign detract from its overall replay value.
- “There is an unlimited amount of replayability as unit selection and opponent choices make it so no two matches are exactly alike.”
- “Limited unit selection in early matches means not as much replay value for the single-player campaign.”
- “Honestly, I have no idea why they decided to make this in Unreal... if it was simpler, it would probably be a lot more playable.”