WARTALES, the next Tactical - RPG -Team party game you should try!

Notes: I am not paid to write this article, nor do I work for Shiro Games. I am just expressing my humble analysis of this title.

INTRODUCTION

Wartales, made by Shiro Games - the studio behind Evoland and Northguard, is coming super strong on the Tactical, RPG, and Team Management scene. Despite being on Early Access, it took me off guard (pun intended)! The game provides the unique feeling of managing a mercenary squad from misery to fame, or death.

Before going into further details, Wartales is a mixture of XCOM series (for the tactical part, team management, and choices) and For the King (for the open world and quests) set up in a Medieval Dark Universe.

The game is challenging (not for everyone), and every mistake is paid harshly but every victory brings you immense satisfaction. So let's dig in!

THE GAMEPLAY: Combat System and Turn-Based Tactics

As in other titles of this genre, the fights are taken by turn, you chose which one of your mercenaries will make the first move based on their unique abilities, combat style, and synergies. Generally, you start to move 1 or 2 mercenaries, then it's your enemy's turn, and repeat. The order you chose to move your mercenaries is key.

Synergies are the main point of the game, in each fight, several questions will pop up:

• Do I start moving my tank or should I inflict damage first?
• Which class should I use first? Is it a good decision?
• Is it a good position or my mercenary will be back-stabbed?
• Should I wait a turn to position better my mercenary or I try to attack first?

Moreover, as you progress in the game, you can encounter and recruit other mercenaries, which will help you get the advantage in the battle but for a price.

The game starts fairly, as you get your first mercenary baby steps, but it escalates quite a lot, so you'd better choose the good teammates and pick your battles!

And this is another important part of the game! Chose the right battle at the correct time, or you will probably die or lose many of your mercenaries T_T

When you finish a battle nothing is reset so you will need to:

• Repair your equipment (on villages or on-site if you have the correct materials)
• Heal your wounded mercenaries (on villages or on-site if you have the correct materials)

So, if you picked a battle in the middle of nowhere, then it will be extremely hard for you to survive it! And, that's what makes it really interesting, as it really gives you the sensation of struggling and ramping up with your mercenaries!

As your mercenaries gain experience and are divided into several classes with unique attributes that you can choose from, that will lead to many Mid - Long term planning and decisions.

THE WORLD: A living and breathing environment where everything wants to end you.

When you start your first game, you will wonder what you have to do and where you are. And, that's what makes it so unique,

as the path and direction you chose will determine how the story will be told to you:

• Should I explore, but risk being attacked?
• Should I scout a bit and play fairly safe to see the surroundings?

These questions, you will always ask yourself during your playthrough and it will determine your success and failures: Risks and Rewards!

As most of the encounters and resources are randomly generated, you can venture forth and discover by yourself what's new and what has popped up! You will need to explore in order to gather precious materials and craft better gear!

The world is composed of several things:

• Towns, fort, and villages: Where you will be able to get your missions, quests, and side quests. Purchase food, and materials and recruit new mercenaries.
• Resources: scatter all over the map, you will need to explore to find some and to craft / get better gear.
• Encounters: Bandits, wild animals, and some other "not spoiled" encounters :p bring the salt to the game, but can also help you increase the levels of your mercenaries and collect materials from them.
• Quest lines and borders: The world is quite big and is composed of different regions, you can explore after completing the storyline of each one (or choose to have a specific mode that overpass it). Each one has its own stories and resources (at the market), which always provide a new exploration feeling.
• Camps and other sites "no spoiler": Bandit strongholds that are hard challenges but provide unique rewards!

TEAM MANAGEMENT: Welcome to the team buddy, you will be a nice addition to our un-notorious Warband.

At first, you start with 4 mercenaries (you choose upon their background), and a nice little horseyyyy <3

You can customize your mercenaries as you wish (physical and attributes) that will determine your play style and synergies!

The game is composed of various classes which you can find in many classic RPGs (Warrior, Swordman, Brute, Archer & Assassins) and it's up to you what team you want to have:

• Do you want to play more distance with Archers or full melee?
• More sneakily with many assassins?
• A quite composed team with a bit of everything?

These choices are entirely yours and can also lead to how you want to play the game: Do I want to be a good person fighting for just cause or raid everything, steal, loot, and kill And oh boy, you can be evil :p

The game is set up in a medieval environment with some other enchanting events "no spoiler" :p, but comes out as a nice addition!

Moreover, each team member can choose a job that will grant them more attributes but also give them possibilities to craft new equipment, and food and interact with the world.

The options are quite wide. I started my first playthrough with a composed team and changed for a more Tank / sneaky approach in my second one, so everything is possible!

CONCLUSION: Pros & Cons

As far as I follow the development process (for over a year), I can say the game is in safe hands and is taking a terrific turn! I have almost 60 hours of playtime which is quite a lot and a good sign for an Early Access game. With regular updates and clearly stated by the developers, and if you like this kind of genre, you can go for it!

Pros:

• A living world, believable with a lot of content, quests & side quests.
• Your mercenaries, your choices, your party: Make the best out of your party and recruit the best ones, if you can...
• Adapt your play style to what you want to achieve: be good or evil, the game allows you both!
• Progress, explore and become the best mercenaries out there: The game gives this unique vibe of leading a mercenary crew!

Cons

• The game is difficult (really), even while playing in normal mode, the game is still hard. Making a bad move can lead to disastrous consequences. The game is unforgiving and will make you pay harshly for your mistakes. Not for everyone!
• No voice acting. Despite the random generation and many quests, the game lacks a bit of life on that matter, but you probably don't play this game for this... Yet, for the main quests, some sounds could make it better.
• Choosing the wrong guy can lead to sometimes a restart of the game (if you persist in your mistakes). Even if it's up to you, you need to know a bit about the game to understand what is best for you, but sometimes it's too late for that.
• Leave me in peace please T_T As encounters are randomly generated and basically everything wants you dead, you can end up in a situation where you have no other choice but to die and restart a save. It has of course improved, but planning is key, so if you are not focusing on what you want to achieve, you will lose.