When a franchise spans books, board games, and video games, you know it has a massive following. Warhammer has been around for years and has covered multiple themes and genres in the gaming market. There is something for everyone and I was genuinely excited when I received Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground. On paper, it ticked a lot of boxes for me. Fantasy, check. Turn-based strategy, check. Rogue-like elements, ummm not really, but check.
Developed by Gasket Games and published by Focus Home Interactive, this forms part of the Warhammer fantasy series. With such scope to produce a weird and wonderful title, I couldn’t wait to see how the story would develop. With so much creative licence, would the developers go crazy, or would they play it safe? Let’s jump in and see!
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground is pretty straight laced!
Now, I’m no expert on the delivery of fantasy titles, but even I know they don’t have to be deadly serious. Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground delivers a mostly serious ethos with the occasional witty one-liner. It takes itself too seriously for my liking and this creates a wooden delivery and unintentional humorous moments. It was a shame as it detracted from some interesting conversations between your faction leader and random controllable characters.
“What are these factions and what do they do?” You may think! The gameplay is split across three groups, each with special units and different advantages and disadvantages. You control the Stormcast Eternals, Nighthaunt and the Maggotkin. You begin life as the Stormcast Eternals, using their campaign as a tutorial. The other factions then become available to select and here is where you learn the finer points of the game.
The Stormcast Eternals are your hardened warriors. There are plenty of unit choices and equipment to select from. The Nighthaunt are weaker in comparison and their strengths come from agility, teamwork and combos. The Maggotkin are the strangest of all and probably the most tactical group. With the ability to manipulate and alter the map, you funnel the enemies to destroy them. They sadly lack in units and upgrades and feel hollow compared to the other factions.
Simple rules make it instantly accessible.
Every new turn-based game that I play fills me with dread! I adore the genre but I detest the learning curve. Each has its quirks and approach that’s unique to its concept. It was refreshing that Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground was simple in its approach. Its basic set of rules was easy to grasp, allowing you to jump into the action.
Each battle begins in the same way. The enemy Warband spawns in, followed by your hero. You then use power points earned from each turn to summon your forces. Each round takes a “your turn, my turn” approach, and movement is denoted by a hex layout on the map. Raised platforms offer troops attack and defensive advantages and structure create bottlenecks. Using the correct troops was as important as utilising the surrounding environment.
Each unit has special abilities that cost Aether points. Every unspent power point converts to Aether points, leaving you in the position of summoning new forces or saving up for special abilities. I loved this tactical approach, and it made you consider each portion of the battle no matter what stage you were at.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground is all about the upgrades, custom options and the grind.
Rogue-like games and my playing “career” haven’t always gone hand-in-hand. Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground is the prime example of my disdain for the genre. The loss and the constant grind is simply agonising. Yes, you get so far before the grind kicks in, but when it does, it’s soul-destroying. Replaying almost identical missions for small XP gains or to find better equipment was tough. Then there is the loss of your progress when you die. You’ll need a strong will, some luck, and lots of patience to defeat this.
If you forget the grind, you’ll see some great features that improve the gameplay. Treasure chests collected during each battle contain new equipment to improve your stats. Skill cards that improve abilities or overcome attacks are key to victory. You’ll also earn XP to level troops up and improve the strength of your Warband. There are lots of ways to adjust and improve your team to suit your game style. This freedom was great and kept the gameplay feeling fresh.
It looks awesome with lots of detail and plenty of variety.
I may have found the grind tiresome, but I never got bored with what I was looking at. The highly detailed character models and unique level designs were great. Sadly, though, they were undermined by unnecessary animations and slow gameplay. Waiting to swap units was a painful experience and something that ruined the fluidity of the action. I liked how it was presented, but it needs some polishing to reach its potential.
Like the graphics, there are many positives to take out of the audio. It sets the fantasy atmosphere perfectly with its strange magical sound effects. But, where it falls short is its wooden acting. The delivery of the lines is drier than the Sahara and is tough to take seriously. It was a shame about the acting as each battle contains key information that you simply laugh at.
Simple rules = simple controls.
Though the tactical elements are complex and planning to survive, isn’t easy, the simple rules make it easy to play. The well laid out controller setup and thorough tutorial ensure you’ll be competent in no time. You will find the slow gameplay frustrating, but this doesn’t detract from its accessible approach.
With three campaigns to win, the worry of rogue-like elements, and a tough achievement list, this will keep you playing. To finish the game, you’ll need around fifteen hours, to collect everything you’ll need a strong will and around one hundred hours. Needless to say, I’m not collecting everything.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground didn’t live up to my expectations.
There was plenty to enjoy about Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground, but it didn’t live up to my expectations. With too much grinding and an imbalance of troops, I felt like I was treading water. I’m on the fence, but you can buy it here! Complete each campaign, upgrade your troops and master each faction.
