Wartile is a unique take on the tile based tabletop genre that has found its way to the PC via Early Access on Steam. When I was first talked to about this game I had not even heard of it, much less taken a look at it. As a casual tabletop gamer, it appealed to me from the beginning but I was skeptical. Taking the dining room charm of tabletop games and trying to move it to a PC is a challenge, but one that seems to have been conquered with Wartile.
Wartile immediately thrusts you into the tutorial level, and it answers all of the questions that a new player might have. It covers movement on keyboard/mouse (as the game can be played with either) and the way you are able to interact with the world using your semi-animated 3D model. You learn limitations and the basics of the game right away and are able to comfortably play from there. The mechanics are simple, which was a huge question mark for me going into this. I wasn?t sure how they would translate movement and positioning from a tabletop to a PC. I immediately took control and stopped thinking about the movements I was taking, it all flowed perfectly.
Visually Wartile is an impressive specimen. The environments on the virtual table are stunning, with detailed character models and an incredibly well realized world. You can tell that the developers are people with a true love of this genre of gaming and wanted to do it justice and translate a beloved hobby into a solid video game. There are changes in the environment as you progress, and each new area is as impressive as the previous. I always spend the first few minutes looking around each area and marveling at the detail that is included in each piece.
Movement across the tiles is simple and intuitive. Your characters are able to move once and then have a cooldown timer that is quick and easy to read. NPC enemies operate under this same set of rules. Combat is just as simple, standing on a tile within the prescribed distance from an enemy initiates an auto attack. Each character model also has a special attack in the form of a card. These run on a much longer cooldown process and are reserved for one use per encounter. These are unique to each different model and can be the key to succeeding or failing in a level.
Wartile is simple to grasp but difficult to master. The gameplay at its core is very easy to understand and to play, but has a meta to it that I feel like I could really get into given the proper time. I have very much enjoyed my time with Wartile thus-far and am looking forward to delving more in depth with it in the coming months. If you are a fan of tabletop gaming this is a game you must check out and try, however if you are not into the genre this may not be the right title for you.