WARSAW RISING: City of Heroes

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WARSAW RISING: City of Heroes is a single player tactical role playing game with a historical theme. It was developed by Retrovibe Games and was released on October 2, 2019. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

You take on the role of a commander leading a unit participating in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. You start on the first day with a group of three insurgents whose first task is to get their weapons and get to the base camp safely. You participate in a tragic yet heroic chapter of the capital's history. Your job is to survive as long as possible. There is only one way to do this: by fighting with a we…

WARSAW RISING: City of Heroes screenshot

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63%

Audience ScoreBased on 661 reviews

story56 positive mentions

replayability4 negative mentions

Engaging turn-based tactical combat with mechanics inspired by Darkest Dungeon but featuring unique elements like two combat lanes, cover, and stamina management.
Deeply immersive and historically rich setting focused on the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, highlighted by authentic art style, voice acting in Polish and German, and educational codex entries.
Strong atmosphere and emotional storytelling, with diverse characters that have personal backstories and meaningful consequences for injuries and losses, contributing to high replayability.

Gameplay can feel repetitive and grindy due to limited mission variety, random mission objectives, and lack of a broader strategic layer in the updated free-to-play version.
The game has an unforgiving difficulty with significant reliance on RNG that can lead to frustrating misses, instant deaths in events, and unbalanced encounters causing steep challenges early on.
User interface and controls can be unintuitive or clunky, including cumbersome inventory and equipment management, poor tutorial/explanation of mechanics, and occasional bugs that affect game stability.

story
343 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
78%
6%
The game's story delivers a beautifully tragic and historically faithful portrayal of the Warsaw Uprising, enriched by diverse characters with personal backstories that deepen immersion. While the narrative effectively conveys the grim reality and sacrifice of the event, some players find the main story linear and repetitive, with limited character development and occasional pacing issues. Overall, the story is compelling and meaningful but sometimes undermined by gameplay design choices and a lack of dynamic storytelling elements.
- “After playing for 14 hours, completing the story the first time, it was a very great game with a great story.”
- “The developers give a fleshed-out background in the codex and allow you to gather information about the historical background of the uprising, battles, characters in the story, and the surrounding buildings.”
- “The characters in the story are diverse and offer their own skill sets towards your team, and have backstories and even their own respective endings when they survive until the end of the game.”
- “The fixed linear story removed all that: you're gonna fight a lot with wounded characters, and the early game is full of fighting.”
- “Worse, the story may skip days but still only one has passed for your soldiers, and good luck finding interesting new weapons with the 'filler' random missions.”
- “The "story" ruins it more strategy moment, which the devs thought would be a great idea to get rid of, when it was more fun making your own story about your ragtag group of heroes trying to fight back the nazis.”
gameplay
216 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
70%
8%
The gameplay draws heavy inspiration from Darkest Dungeon, blending tactical turn-based combat, resource management, and strategic base building with a strong historical setting. While some players appreciate its addictive challenge, character diversity, and atmospheric depth, many criticize the game for lacking polish, being unbalanced, overly reliant on RNG, and having had core mechanics stripped in later updates, which diluted its strategic complexity. Overall, it offers a solid but at times repetitive and uneven gameplay experience that may appeal more to fans of similar roguelike tactics rather than those seeking deep, original mechanics.
- “Great historical story, and gameplay is addictive.”
- “When you lose a member, you really feel it on a gameplay perspective as they all have unique abilities, and you will feel the loss in the following fights.”
- “An insanely overlooked game that gets bad rep for (admittedly) heavily inspiring its art style from Darkest Dungeon; the game has plenty of mechanics that weren't present in DD like ammo management, the ability to recruit un-upgradable units for short term help, top-down map for more advanced exploration as well as plenty more. I believe that every Darkest Dungeon fan should at least give this game a try because the quality baffled me.”
- “The developers made the game free to play, removed almost all of the strategic gameplay and tried to take the real game from those of us who paid for it.”
- “Devs gutted gameplay elements and spat on people who bought the game by making it free to play, removed strategy to make a more linear visual novel type esque experience years after the game released, avoid at all cost, this type of rug pulling cannot be tolerated.”
- “The attack animations have no weight behind them, the epic narration from darkest dungeon is lacking; therefore, combat is just a series of uninspired visuals slapped onto turn-based combat and they incorporated the worst aspects of darkest dungeon aka stealth mechanics and slapped on some XCOM to round it all out.”
graphics
81 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
48%
5%
The graphics receive mixed reviews, with many praising the unique, grim yet appealing art style reminiscent of Darkest Dungeon and its effective portrayal of the WWII setting, while others find the visuals and animations lackluster or inconsistent, especially given the game's mobile-origin limitations. The artwork and atmosphere are often highlighted as strong points, though some feel the combat visuals and overall aesthetic could have been more polished or better aligned with the game's serious tone. Overall, the graphics are appreciated for style and mood but occasionally criticized for execution and cohesion.
- “The art style is phenomenal; the music is both sorrowful and passionate, echoing the shattered culture of this point in the conflict.”
- “The details and aesthetics in this game are just amazing.”
- “Particularly, the changing graphics of the city during mission movement are a well-made and shocking reminder of the destruction that was wrought upon the city of Warsaw.”
- “New graphics are a downgrade: new characters stick out like sore thumbs compared to the older ones, either due to style or because "animations" are blurry.”
- “The graphics are lackluster because this was designed for mobile phones, not gaming PCs.”
- “I think my biggest takeaway from this game is "meh." The combat is subpar, the resource management is childlike, and the graphics are just plain lazy.”
music
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
53%
10%
The music in the game receives mixed feedback, with some praising its atmospheric, somber, and fitting soundtrack that enhances the setting, while others criticize it for being repetitive, minimalistic, and lacking energy or variety. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as thematically appropriate but limited in diversity, leading to divided opinions on its impact and quality.
- “The art style is phenomenal, the music is both sorrowful and passionate, echoing the shattered culture of this point in the conflict.”
- “The soundtrack is amazing, especially the hideout theme.”
- “A great mix of urgency/anxiety when needed, it feels like a breath of fresh air when you get a chance to breathe and listen to some chill/folkish music back at the home base.”
- “Soundtrack seems even less varied than the old one, without being close to as good or as unique.”
- “All the sound effects sound muffled and the new music sounds like what you would get by typing into Google 'generic WW2 music'.”
- “I'm sorry, I honestly wanted to love this game but can't make it through the most failed soundtrack/music I've ever heard.”
atmosphere
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
48%
10%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its dense, haunting portrayal of the Warsaw Uprising, featuring immersive art, music, and historical authenticity that effectively convey a grim, hopeless struggle. While some find it entrancing and emotionally resonant, others feel the atmosphere lacks depth or drama compared to similar titles, and linear gameplay detracts from replayability. Overall, the atmosphere is considered the strongest and most compelling aspect, elevating the experience despite mechanical or narrative shortcomings.
- “The atmosphere is virtually perfect, conveying the feeling of a hopeless struggle against an enemy you cannot hope to defeat, only delay.”
- “They really nailed the atmosphere of a city slowly being burned to the ground by Nazis.”
- “Wonderfully atmospheric: beautiful graphics, haunting music, and effects.”
- “Not only did they completely ruin the atmosphere of this game but they made it linear af giving it nigh on no replayability.”
- “Although based on history the game does lack atmosphere.”
- “The biggest problem of this game is that it lacks atmosphere, it has no drama.”
replayability
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
68%
18%
Replayability is mixed, with many critics noting limited variety and repetitiveness in mechanics and combat that reduce the urge for multiple playthroughs. However, some praise character and team-building options, different playthrough experiences, and the game's 10-15 hour length as providing moderate replay value. Ongoing developer support and potential content updates may enhance replayability over time.
- “+ The game has a solid amount of replay value because of different characters and every playthrough is different.”
- “One playthrough takes ~4-5 hours if you don't fail and I find that to be a good amount because of the high replayability.”
- “Numerous guns, skills, enemies, etc. provide constant replayability due to the differing parties you can accrue.”
- “Not only did they completely ruin the atmosphere of this game but they made it linear, giving it nearly no replayability.”
- “Game overall has fairly shallow mechanics with little customization options for your characters, to the point where I can't see much replay value or ways to improve on runs; it almost feels like it was envisioned as a roguelite.”
- “The lack of replayability is probably the biggest knock on the game.”
grinding
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
85%
Grinding in the game is widely described as tedious and repetitive, with combat and movement phases feeling especially monotonous once optimal strategies are established. While some appreciate the art style and occasional compelling moments, the overall experience of grinding lacks engaging content and can become a tiresome chore.
- “The problem is, once you figure out best team mix ups and ensure that you have sufficient ammo for your team, the encounters become a tedious formality.”
- “The movement phase on the map is tedious and boring.”
- “It was tedious, repetitive, and could end your run with some bad luck.”
emotional
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game evokes strong emotional responses rooted in its historical context of Polish resistance and suffering, delivering a heartfelt tribute to the Warsaw uprising. While some players find the emotional impact powerful and gutting, others feel it occasionally leans into overemotional heroism without deeper reflection. Overall, the emotional tone is poignant but may not fully resonate as a must-play experience for all.
- “Difficult to play given the horrific history here, but it's a thousand year legacy of Poland rising up against occupation after occupation and I'm proud of the people who continue to make games like this, however emotionally gutting those games are.”
- “I like the art style, I admittedly got really emotional even just during the introduction animation because of my awareness of the historical setting, but I don't think it entirely works since it sits uncomfortably between the two.”
- “The 'ending' [spoiler] gives an emotional payout that solidifies the tone of the game with the history of the Warsaw uprising.”
character development
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The game features strong character design and appealing art style that make players emotionally invested in the characters. However, it lacks a character development system, which some players feel limits their engagement compared to other tactical games. Overall, while the design is praised, the absence of development mechanics is seen as a missed opportunity.
- “The character design is well done to the point that it is tough for me to let the characters die in this game, unlike in Darkest Dungeon where I'd gladly throw new recruits to the grinder.”
- “Sucks as a game, cuz it has no character development system.”
- “I probably would have liked it better if they had leveraged the XCOM 1/2 engine for tactics and character development instead of what they chose; however, it's still a very good game.”
- “Dare I even say that character design is better than in Darkest Dungeon, but since they are completely different styles, it's up to one's interests.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game initially suffered from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs and glitches causing frequent restarts. While some improvements may have been made, occasional instability still persists.
- “The game was infamous for what a buggy mess it was at launch.”
- “Full of bugs and glitches, I had to restart the game frequently.”
- “The only downside I could say about the game is that it is a little bit buggy sometimes.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the monetization intrusive and disappointing, likening it to downgrading quality and being constantly interrupted by ads, making the actual experience far less appealing than advertised.
- “It's like somebody broke into your home and replaced your 70" 4k TV with some smaller low-definition crap that runs ads all the time.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted to be less pronounced and impactful compared to Darkest Dungeon, likely due to its more serious and realistic themes centered around real historical events rather than fictional monsters. Overall, it lacks the same level of dark or playful humor found in Darkest Dungeon.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers deep optimization opportunities by allowing players to customize each squad member with different weapons, each featuring unique abilities, along with main characters possessing distinct active and passive skills unlocked through XP. This system encourages strategic customization to maximize team effectiveness.
- “There is a lot of optimization potential for each member of your squad between different weapons that each have two unique abilities, and each main character having unique active and passive abilities unlocked with XP.”

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13h Median play time

54h Average play time

5-100h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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WARSAW RISING: City of Heroes is a tactical role playing game with historical theme.

WARSAW RISING: City of Heroes is available on PC, Windows and Tablet.

On average players spend around 54 hours playing WARSAW RISING: City of Heroes.

WARSAW RISING: City of Heroes was released on October 2, 2019.

WARSAW RISING: City of Heroes was developed by Retrovibe Games.

WARSAW RISING: City of Heroes has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its replayability.

WARSAW RISING: City of Heroes is a single player game.

Similar games include Classified: France '44, Urtuk: The Desolation, Iratus: Lord of the Dead, Pathway, MASSIVE CHALICE and others.

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