Warside

While Warside doesn't rewrite the rules of turn-based tactics, it does a fantastic job of polishing and modernizing them. The pacing is tight, the strategic depth is strong, and the tools it offers players, from custom maps to faction variety, ensure that it never overstays its welcome. Whether you’re a grizzled tactics veteran or a newcomer curious about the genre, Warside offers a compelling and addicting battlefield to master.

71%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

stability, replayability

73% User Score Based on 362 reviews

Critic Score 63%Based on 3 reviews

Platforms

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About

Warside is a single player and multiplayer tactical role playing game with a warfare theme. It was developed by LAVABIRD and was released on January 28, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Welcome to Warside, the fast-paced turn-based tactics game. With a single-player story campaign, multiplayer support, and a built-in map editor, the fight for victory never ends. Choose your Commander, assemble your forces, and battle your way to victory.

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73%

Audience ScoreBased on 362 reviews

story22 positive mentions

stability14 negative mentions

The game captures the nostalgic feel of Advance Wars with its turn-based strategy gameplay and charming pixel art.
The unique faction units and CO powers add variety and depth to the gameplay, making each battle feel distinct.
The developers are actively working on updates and patches to address bugs and improve the game, showing commitment to the community.

The game launched with significant bugs, including a broken economy system that prevented income from captured buildings.
There is a lack of content, with no skirmish mode or local multiplayer available, limiting replayability.
The writing and character dialogue are often cringeworthy and lack depth, detracting from the overall experience.

story
173 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
82%
5%
The story in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it uninspired, simplistic, and filled with clichés typical of the genre. While some appreciate the campaign's structure and the fun of unique missions, others criticize the abrupt ending and lack of character development, leading to a feeling of a half-finished narrative. Overall, the story serves as a basic backdrop for gameplay rather than a compelling element, with many players indicating they do not prioritize story in tactical games like this.
- “The campaign offers plenty of fun missions, unique faction units make every battle feel different, and the commander powers add an extra layer of strategy.”
- “With 25+ unit types, 14 unique commanders, and a story-driven campaign spanning over 30 missions, it’s a deep, satisfying tactical experience.”
- “The story is serviceable at best—a classic good vs. evil showdown told through brief snippets before and after each mission.”
- “Dialogue and story are irritating.”
- “The story is uninspired with little animation, expression of character or personality.”
- “The campaign is poorly written, and the enemy turn on the final mission just takes too long.”
gameplay
104 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
64%
3%
The gameplay of Warside is a blend of familiar mechanics from the Advance Wars series and innovative new features, such as unique unit types and revised city capture mechanics, which some players find refreshing while others feel detract from the original's strategic depth. While the game is praised for its fast-paced, enjoyable combat and appealing pixel art, it suffers from balance issues, a lack of polish, and missing elements that leave some players longing for the classic experience. Overall, it offers a solid tactical experience for fans of the genre, but may not fully satisfy those seeking a more refined or original gameplay experience.
- “The gameplay is fast, rewarding, and makes every move matter.”
- “Warside is a modern, creative take on the tactics genre, full of great ideas and fun gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is addictive.”
- “The gameplay itself is fine, so if you just want more Advance Wars gameplay then you will likely enjoy it; otherwise, stay away.”
- “On the other hand, several gameplay elements were simply abandoned (co passives, unit ammo and fuel, and certain units shown in the trailers), supposedly for the sake of balance, and the AI is dumb.”
- “The very core of the gameplay is there (because it was all taken from Advance Wars), but everything is completely and totally lacking polish.”
music
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
70%
13%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it bland, repetitive, and not fitting the game's overall tone. While some appreciate the nostalgic elements and occasional standout tracks, the use of licensed music has raised concerns about copyright issues for streamers, further detracting from the experience. Overall, the soundtrack is often described as underwhelming and lacking the engagement needed to enhance gameplay.
- “Visually, the game looks great, with colorful maps and smooth animations, while the soundtrack perfectly fits the theme.”
- “The soundtrack also fits perfectly with the overall vibe, adding to the immersion.”
- “Definitely enjoyed the music, absolutely love the gameplay.”
- “The music is bland and doesn't really feel like it adds anything to the game.”
- “The music feels a bit bland, and using powers doesn’t feel impactful.”
- “The music is not very memorable, just fairly short loops for each commander, and their themes become very repetitive very quickly.”
graphics
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
48%
8%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant, colorful pixel art style that evokes nostalgia for classic titles like Advance Wars. Reviewers appreciate the smooth animations and the overall aesthetic, which enhances the gameplay experience, although some note a need for more differentiation between factions. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, contributing to the game's charm and appeal, especially for fans of retro-style strategy games.
- “The visuals are colorful, animations are smooth, and the variety of units keeps things fresh.”
- “The graphics are honestly amazing, super colorful and pleasing to the eye.”
- “The combat system and beautiful pixel graphics make it so fun to play, and the fast pace of the battles keep it from taking too long for a battle.”
- “Graphics have this smooth pixel-esque aesthetics to them.”
- “Visuals and character designs are nothing to write home about.”
- “It's the first impression and thing you see when you open the game; there's no intro, no animation, no cool artwork (there is, but it's hidden by the giant useless square menu).”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and unbalanced gameplay affecting the overall experience. While some major issues have been addressed since launch, many players still describe it as an unfinished and buggy mess, with significant game-breaking glitches persisting. Overall, the game appears to be in a rough state, requiring further updates and fixes to improve stability.
- “The game is an unfinished buggy mess with missing features, missing content, and bugs everywhere.”
- “The game is suffering from some major teething pains at the moment, with multiple game-breaking glitches present at launch.”
- “Sketchy developers, sketchy unfinished buggy release, abysmally stupid game design choices, and missing quality of life features like move-then-attack prompts, which every single game in the genre for 40 years has always had!”
replayability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
Overall, the game's replayability is enhanced by features like a map editor, skirmish modes, and a rogue-like campaign, which provide fresh experiences beyond the main campaign. While some players find the campaign lacking in replay value, the inclusion of cross-platform multiplayer and strategic elements offers significant potential for replayability, especially at higher difficulty levels. However, there are calls for additional multiplayer options and community content to further boost replayability.
- “The map editor and skirmish modes add a lot of replayability and keep the game fresh beyond the campaign.”
- “I like Wargroove 2’s replayable rogue-like campaign that keeps you playing, saving you from the campaign slog.”
- “The pixel art pops, the strategy runs deep, and cross-platform multiplayer plus a mission editor add serious replay value.”
- “Campaign is fine, no big replayability though.”
- “No replayability.”
- “Ideally, they'd pull a No Man's Sky and try to make the game more playable, but I have my doubts.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, featuring a blend of reference-based jokes and dad humor that some players find amusing while others see it as shallow and lacking depth. The dialogue often feels like a series of quips without meaningful character development, contributing to a lighthearted, silly atmosphere. While some players appreciate the comedic elements, others criticize the execution and coherence of the humor, noting that it can feel forced or overly reliant on pop culture references.
- “The campaign has been extremely fun to play with great humor.”
- “Every other line is a funny quip; it feels very much like that's the intention, a silly game with no stakes, just here for the fun.”
- “The unit sprites are gorgeous, maps look great with some nice details, and the rhino, while definitely overpowered against the dumb AI, is hilarious.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Overall, users express concerns about the game's optimization, particularly for the Steam Deck, noting a lack of accessibility options such as key rebinding and screen shake adjustments. Many feel that the game could benefit from further optimization to enhance the experience on this platform.
- “I would love to see it optimized for the Steam Deck.”
- “There are no accessibility options for key rebinding or screen shake, which are deal breakers, and it doesn't seem very optimized for the Steam Deck.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players generally find the emotional depth of the game surprising, as they did not anticipate a compelling narrative given the genre's typical lack of emotional storytelling.
- “I wasn't expecting a grand, touching story, since the vast majority of this specific genre does not have that either.”
- “The emotional depth of the characters truly resonated with me, making their struggles feel incredibly real.”
- “I found myself deeply moved by the narrative; it left a lasting impact long after I finished playing.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game has been criticized for its lack of originality, with character designs described as boring and clashing with the battle sprites' cuteness. Overall, the visuals and character designs do not leave a lasting impression.
- “The character designs feel fairly boring, and while the character sprites are not poorly made by any means, the style of their designs feels like it clashes with the slightly cute battle sprites.”
- “The visuals and character designs are nothing to write home about.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy is widely criticized as a cash grab that exploits fans' emotions, with many users expressing frustration over perceived attempts to maximize profits at the expense of genuine engagement.
- “At worst, it's a 'let's get as much money as we can from playing on the emotions of the fans' cash grab.”
- “This was another cash grab attempt, and unfortunately, there will always be jaded consumers trying to defend this.”