Let's just jump right into this Wargroove review.
Wargroove is a turn-based strategy, or more precisely, a turn-based tactics game. You play on relatively small maps, conquering buildings to either produce income, or produce units using your previously produced income. While there exist over a dozen playable commanders with different abilities, all players (AI included) otherwise play by the same rules and have the same units. Instead of playing to your race / faction's strengths, more emphasis is put on outplaying your opponent by careful positioning, and choosing the right units for the right battles. See, each unit has units they're strong against, and units they're weak against, as well as a specific circumstance which lets them deal a critical hit. Additionally, while enemies attack back, all damage is multiplied by the attacking unit's health, so being the first to strike is a huge advantage. The first person to defeat the other team's commander (or a stationary building deep on their side of the map) wins.
Sounds simple enough, and it is. Wargroove initially gave me a very positive impression, because it's quite polished, the art looks very nice, and there's even partial voice acting. But the more I played, the more I realized the problem that lies in that relative simplicity. Wargroove is too simple to be a full-fledged 4X game - the maps are too small, the mechanics are too simple, the games are too quick. However it also feels quite heavy and slow for a turn-based tactics game, while lacking a fine tactical element.
My experience is mostly limited to the campaign and co-op campaign, though I do know it also has arcade mode and PvP. For the campaigns, it is quite easy to beat the levels in a slow, methodical, 4X fashion. However, this is kind of boring due to being slow and monotone, and the game itself incentivizes to play more aggressively by giving a suggested turn count for beating the level. Trying to achieve that, however, falls on the other half of being boring. It requires you to really consider the enemy unit composition, think turns in advance, plan stuff out. This makes you spend too much time thinking, not playing, especially considering both armies easily go into double digits of units, unlike most other tactics games, which just have you controlling a smaller, more powerful squad.
There's also other issues like your commander being the most powerful unit that also automatically regenerates, so you want to keep them on the front line to hit those turn goals. However, with how fragile units are in general, it is far from impossible for your commander to get killed in a single turn, instantly ending the level. Loading a save you've played past also incurs a score penalty, which forces you to start over for a good score. On multiple occasions, I got very close to quitting after an accidental commander death on the last few turns. In the end, I stopped playing for the other reasons listed above.
So, in conclusion, Wargroove is a well-produced turn-based tactics game that is a bit too close to a 4X game. Most battles play out in a similar fashion, and there is a tradeoff between the game being too easy or you thinking for too long. It's most definitely not a bad game, but I would guess most players would rather play something with a deeper combat and management system, or something with fewer units to consider. If you really want a tactics game like what I described, then sure, try Wargroove. Otherwise I wouldn't recommend it, as there are almost certainly many better games of this genre.
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