Developer: Playwood Project
Publisher: Playwood Project
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
WARTILE – Preview
While WARTILE might sound like a new kind of Pokémon or a futuristic war game where you spend your time looking at maps, plotting your next giant attack on your enemy, it’s actually a digital board/card game that can be played both single player as well as multiplayer. With a medieval-Viking theme we were rather intrigued by this very early build of the game, even though the kickstarter campaign and development still has ways to go. Despite the overall build we were offered being very short and low on content, we were able to form a decent picture of what one could expect from a game such as this.
With the current lack of story we aren’t truly sure if the game actually will have a story to tell when it’s finished. That being said, the presentation of what is happening on your screen is spot on, even with the usage of some placeholders until the actual maps and other items have been implemented. Nonetheless, the ‘boards’ on which you’ll be spending most of your time are very spiffy looking. These play areas have a gridded design with, as expected, many tiles for you to move your pawns on, making it seem like an actual board game, albeit with moving pawns and objects that you can interact with or even destroy. The pawns themselves look like normal game characters in a medieval Viking theme, all while keeping the board game vibe intact as these moveable characters are glued to a base, just like a physical pawn would have been. The indication of their health is also depicted on the same base they’re on. All of this is accompanied by cards with decent artwork on them.
The current test build only has a few scenarios for you to play through but the idea for all of them remains pretty much the same, as you’ll get one or more main objectives you’ll have to complete with your pawns or simply the one(s) left after the fierce battles you’ll find yourself in. The end goal is often at the end of the board and you’ll pass enemy units along the way, as well as item chests, relics to grant you more resources to use the cards in your hand and buildings and towers for you to enter and vanquish foes that attack you from afar. While things seem like one fluent game, there is still a turn based system, which feels rather smooth. If you move a pawn, you’ll see a blue line surround its base and when it vanishes you can move again. Each character can move only a few tiles per turn, making it so that you’ll have to plan your moves accordingly, since when you move in range of enemy pawns, they will start moving as well. This means that it’s best to move all your units into range, before rushing into combat.
Combat activates automatically when you move in range. Of course, you can still move your pawns even if they are in combat, if you think they would deal even more damage from a different position or sometimes it even pays off when one of your units is fighting a foe, to move another toward the back of the enemy, attacking an unguarded spot. Even if you come out victorious, your characters take damage and thus it’s sometimes wise to let other characters initiate combat to spread the damage evenly and to heal those in need, if you are holding the proper cards. You can slow down time for a few seconds, in case you quickly want to take action when you’re in a pickle. Using cards becomes quite important as well, as you can also heal your character, add buffs or strike your enemies down with the use of the lightning card. Each of the pawns also has a character-specific card that can boost their attributes or defend them from harm. The cards mechanic adds another layer to an already tactical experience.
The game also supports multiplayer play, which is pretty much all of the above when it comes to combat, but against another player who can use the same items as you can. Overall a fun input, but the game still has ways to go.
At the moment the controls still feel a bit clunky and sometimes irresponsive. That being said, the overall gameplay mechanics already prove to be very interesting and it’s clear there are still many options to come, as the hub already indicates you can mess around with your deck of cards and the gear of the pawns in your collection. When this is fully functional, it becomes a lot more personal, especially when playing against other players.
Conclusion
WARTILE is a very promising hybrid board – card game. You’ll find yourself fighting battles on beautiful maps, all while having to consider what moves you’ll have to make or even if the use of your precious resources will prove to be worth it, as it only comes in limited supply. It’s An interesting concept with still a lot of work ahead to become an actual finished product, but as it already stands this one is a title to keep track of, especially for board game enthusiasts.
WARTILE - Preview,
No Comments