RuneQuest: Warlords is a battle-scale turn-based strategy game set in the RuneQuest universe.
Immerse yourself in the rich lore of the world of Glorantha. Become a warlord, master the use of runes and defend your tribe against the incursions of Chaos. Vanquish your enemies using a mix of ma...
64-bit Windows 10, i5-4460 (or equivalent), 4 GB RAM, Geforce GTX 750 (2GB VRAM), Version 11, 25 GB...
Description
RuneQuest: Warlords is a battle-scale turn-based strategy game set in the RuneQuest universe.
Immerse yourself in the rich lore of the world of Glorantha. Become a warlord, master the use of runes and defend your tribe against the incursions of Chaos. Vanquish your enemies using a mix of magic-enhanced strategies and rune-based abilities. Field a diverse army drawing from heroes and creatures alike.
Players are drawn into the rich world of Glorantha, a mystical cube of earth surrounded by the Sramake’s River, where ancient floods still cover much of the land. Set between the lands of Talastar and Dorastor, to the west of Dragon Pass on the Genertela continent, the game’s storyline unfolds during the crucial year of 7/37 (1608) in the Glorantha timeline, encompassing the desperate struggle of the Talastar Tribes, fighting for their very survival against the hordes of Chaos.
The campaign tells the story of Hahlgrim, a tribal champion from Talastar’s Bilings, as he gathers allies - including elves, and even temporary Lunar allies - to push back the invading Chaos hordes from Dorastor. The journey progresses across 18 missions, narrating a story filled with deeds of valor, heroism, cruelty and betrayal.
As the story progresses, players will encounter iconic characters from the Runequest world like Ketil Whiteye, Hakon the Swimmer, Woowander and Ralzakark.
In RuneQuest: Warlords, battles unfold on a grid-based map where terrain and positioning provide real tactical depth.
Each unit holds a 'Zone of Control' over nearby tiles, forcing enemies to engage or maneuver around. Action Points (AP) can be used for moves, attacks, or special abilities, with Heroes gaining two AP for advanced tactics like flanking and spellcasting. Spirit, Rune, and Sorcery magic bring powerful abilities, while Sentry Mode allows units to guard areas automatically. Tactical reactions like Opportunity Attacks and counter-attacks make positioning critical, adding layers of strategy to every move.
Each of the three factions - Talastar, Chaos and Lunar Empire - offers diverse units, each consisting of multiple models ranging from 1 to 7 per unit. These units span a great variety of types from specialized heroes like Chieftain, Howler and Centurion who possess unique abilities and distinctive appearances, to powerful spellcasters such as the Stormwalkers and Broo Shamans. Each faction also boasts heavies and skirmishers units including hybrid warriors equipped for both melee and ranged combat, monsters and artillery, cavalry, and versatile troops like Shadowcats and Broo Marauders. Every model in a unit has its own health points, adding layers of depth to the tactical gameplay.
Magic plays a central role in the game through the ancient and powerful Runes, connected to the Glorantha pantheon of gods. As players progress, heroes strengthen their affinity with specific Runes, unlocking new magical abilities based on their connection to the Gods.
These magic abilities can be instant or sustained, requiring careful management of unit resources. Cult Rune Magic, exclusive to commanding Hero units, grants powerful abilities that provide both short-term advantages and sustained tactical support. Mastering Cult Rune Magic is key to harnessing the full power of Glorantha’s pantheon.
Players can engage in intense tactical battles across a variety of maps, each designed with unique strategic challenges. In the Competitive Arena, they test their skills in replayable scenarios. With three distinct factions to choose from - Talastar, Chaos, and the Lunar Empire - each with its own strengths and playstyle, the game offers diverse matchups and strategies. This multiplayer structure encourages the refinement of tactics and fosters dynamic, strategy-driven battles, fully embracing the strategic essence of RuneQuest: Warlords.
As much as it pains me to say, this game is disappointing.
It is great that there is a turn based strategy game set in Glorantha, but unfortunately that is the best thing about the game.
The game itself is lackluster. The combat itself is serviceable but only that. The UI is not as informative as it should be.
The sound design is nothing short of awful and immersion breaking.
Some more time in the oven would have helped to at least make it satisfactory.
The sound design problems, at least, can probably be fixed with some effort by the devs.
This is a game Built on the same engine as WH40K Battlesector which was a really good 40K turn based strategy.
Saying that it also bring all the good and bad stuff using the same engine, mosty the bad stuff and then bringing all the bad stuff to the front.
40K uses both ranged and melee combat and the engine does both sides ok, with ranged combat being more prominent.
Here the combat is mostly melee focused and that is where it falls apart by most battles being stuck in the front row because moving anywhere would trigger attacks of opportunity. It is also very unconsistent with what it shows you and what it triggers.
Apart from the badly copied battle system it also has technical issuses I encountered in Battlesector, but they are worse here.
For example if you load a save file a couple of times the game would dip into single frame digits and there were a few crashes to desktop.
The game offers a single player campaign with one faction and two more for use in multiplayer and skirmish games.
I played on Hard and the difficulty curve is beyond insane, some missions you just move around your units smashing through anything the game throws at you, on other missions is spams you with almost infinite amount of enemy units and since this is a melee focused game it just bogs down your units in place while the computer throws an almost infinite amount of units at you.
This mostly happens on open maps where you are surrounded on all sides with no chance of manouvering.
This also bring me to the campaign which is just bad. I'm on the penultimate mission and I have no clue what is going on with the story beside the main character being after his father's sword. That's it.
The mission structure is bad and nonsensical as you'll encounter missions with objectives to hold out 3 turns. Guess what happens after three turns?
The objective turns into defeat all enemies, so why the hold out if you have to wipe everything in the end.
Some missions can be sequence broken if you know what the mission trigger is, but also can be a problem with the penultimate mission where you have to exit the map filled with enemies.
You start almost in the middle of the map with enemies on all sides, just one turn from you, so you'll be locked in melee combat from all sides in one or two turns.
If you go to the suggested exit nothing happens because you need to spend X turns in combat for reinforcements to arrive and then proceed to the exit which is impossible because by that time you'll be locked in melee from all sides unable to move. Even if you manage, the objective will change what units have to leave.
Apart from the gameplay and campaign the voice actig is something to be belived.
On one side it is competent from the voice actors, but the direction is baffeling.
An bronze age shamanistic culture is voiced like US southerners, combined with bad writing really leaves the player confused with what is going on.
Music is fine, it reminds me of Fantasy Generat 2, but not as good.
In the end I'd say this is a mediocre reskin of an existing game and an incompetent reskin at that.
It has mechanical issues, technical issues, a bad campaign, incomprehensive story and really bad voice acting.
Droppin this before the last mission because everything above add to frustration, but without any of fun in the process.
If you want a strategy game like this just go with BattleSector or maybe Sanctus Reach, avoid this game.
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