2019-04-01 PC Gamer

An easy comparison to reach for is

Into The Breach. Both feature direct,

turn-based confrontation between

two factions who often use the

landscape to their advantage. But

Wargroove is more in every way

• more factions, more units, more
  maps, more more. This could sound
  overwhelming but
  getting started is
  actually really easy.
  In the first few
  missions, as well as the
  arcade mode, your goal
  is generally to either
  defeat the opposing
  army’s commander or
  take their fortress.
  Capturing unallied buildings on the
  map or taking them from your
  opponent earns you money, which
  you can spend on new units or
  health. The campaign introduces the
  units one after another and gives you
  hints as to their use.
  The first time you’re up against
  airborne fiends, for example, you also
  gain ballistas and mages, both
  excellent against that particular type
  of enemy. These missions give you
  time to get to know units and their
  strengths and weaknesses without
  being overbearing.

While all armies share the same

standard units they all have distinctly

different looks that fit each

commander and their lands

beautifully. Commanders are the

most important characters, not only

because they’re the strongest, but

because each of them has a unique

special ability, the

so-called groove, which

is charged by defeating

enemies. Some grooves

have defensive

capabilities and some

are good, old-fashioned

special attacks.

The 30-plus

missions of the

single-player campaign follow a cute

fantasy story. As well as standard

conquering and destruction tasks,

you’ll be rescuing prisoners from a

fortress or helping refugees flee the

site of a battle. If you prefer a quick

challenge, there’s an arcade mode for

each commander, and a puzzle mode.

COMMAND & CONQUER

Wargroove’s weaknesses are an at

times crushing difficulty and

tendency to drag on. Positioning

characters in the right spots for

attacks and critical hits is already

difficult enough. But Wargroove’s

maps are huge, meaning you can

spend round after round simply

travelling to meet the enemy. It’s not

always clear how damage is

calculated, and I had to adjust the

difficulty options to have a chance at

more than one mission. Maps often

have chokepoints such as bridges that

can be difficult to circumvent, quickly

leading to your soldiers literally

queuing to get slaughtered.

The multiplayer for up to four

people comes with its own maps and

is organised by passing in-game

match codes around. In two-player

mode, I found small maps, evenly

split in the middle by bridges. Both

players pick a commander and start

out on equal footing, with the same

amount of buildings to conquer on

each side, including multiple

barracks. In this mode it’s vital to

take buildings and retain them, as

you’re going for direct confrontation

with no way to skirt each other.

Once you hold enough buildings,

meaning money, and hold even just

one barracks more than the other

player, the game is all but decided.

Victory is again achieved by killing

the commander or taking the fort, so

real players are more likely than the

CPU to aggressively bolster their

forces to keep buildings surrounded.

Whereas the campaign manages to

switch things up, here the simple

gameplay works to Wargroove’s

detriment – I could have done with

more variety to elevate this mode

above its arcade counterpart.

Wargroove comes with a brilliant

set of highly intuitive tools you can

use to create your own maps and

even cutscenes. Chucklefish certainly

wants you in for the long haul, but as

I started skipping lengthy battle

animations and came to dread any

standard battle, I wondered whether

less isn’t sometimes more.

NEED TO KNOW

WHAT IS IT?

Turn-based tactical

strategy in which you

play 12 adorable

fantasy factions

including an armoured

golden retriever

EXPECT TO PAY

£16

DEVELOPER

Chucklefish

PUBLISHER

In-house

REVIEWED ON

Core i5-8400, GTX

1060, 16GB RAM

MULTIPLAYER

2 to 4 players local

and online

LINK

wargroove.com

78

Brimming character and

imagination, Wargroove

occasionally loses its

groove over long-winded

core gameplay.

VERDICT

Wargroove is

filled with

creative,

demanding

challenges

I

t’s very hard not to focus entirely on Caesar, Wargroove’s best boy

and commander of his own army of warpups. Yes, dogs in shiny

armour are a playable unit in this game. There is no violence

against the four-legged soldiers, either – instead of dying, they just

run away. If you’re not sold already, one of the other 12

commanders might do the trick. Don’t be fooled by the light-hearted tone,

however – Wargroove is filled with creative, demanding challenges.

GROOVY, BABY

WARGROOVE sends dogs to war in their best amour. By Malindy Hetfeld

COMMAND ME The hottest leaders on the battlefield

MERCIA

Always smiling and looks like

she could bench press me.

VALDER

A deep voice and blue, blue

eyes create mystique.

RYOTA

Needs the right person to

coax a smile out of him.

Warg ro ove

REVIEW