However, narrow unit rosters and a flawed single-player campaign hold the fantasy strategy game back from true greatness.
Combat inReams of Ruinsuffers from the opposite issue.
It starts with a classic unit triangle.
(Image credit: Frontier Developments)
Offensive melee units beat defensive melee units which, in turn, are resistant to ranged damage.
Rounding out the triangle, ranged units are great at picking off lightly armored offensive troops.
You send out your units from a single base to secure victory points and control points.
The latter nets you resources that you might use for new units and upgrades.
while, should you hold a majority of victory points for long enough, youll win the match.
One campaign mission followed Sigrun and a group of Stormcast stragglers taking the fight to an Orruk leader.
This culminated in a dramatic and moving cutscene that saw a battered Sigrun suffer a grievous injury.
The motion capture allowed for compelling and realistic character expressions which helped sell the emotional weight of the scene.
As a basis for a strategy game, these qualities are hardly a misstep.
All offensive units can charge, allowing them to plow forward into targets with impunity.
Heroes, too, often come with powerful temporary buffs or area-of-effect attacks.
The variance across the units and factions here is impressive.
Upgrade them properly and your usually melee-oriented Karic Acolytes can learn to throw bolts of sorcerous energy at range.
Your Stormcast Liberators can use theirs to gain a temporary shield.
Orruk Gutrippaz can bang on their shields, buffing allies and striking their enemies with fear.
(Image credit: Frontier Developments)
However, these contrasting abilities change the pace of combat infrequently on account of their cooldowns.
Lost in the realms
Realms of Ruinplaces a significant emphasis on its single-player campaign.
Here, fans ofAge of Sigmarwill find themselves very much at home.
(Image credit: Frontier Developments)
The facial movements of the central characters are impressively realistic
The narrative unfolds in an old-school, linear fashion.
You watch a cutscene, play a mission, and then watch some more cutscenes.
The cinematics themselves are excellent and set a new bar when it comes to visual fidelity in RTS storytelling.
(Image credit: Frontier Developments)
In one moving scene, Iden, Sigruns second-in-command, witnesses a duel between Sigrun and an Orruk leader.
Despite the strength of these cutscenes, the story itself feels disjointed.
There is very little exposition.
The opening crawl uses alotof proper nouns.
Even as someone familiar with the setting, I found myself untethered.
Why is Sigmar important?
Why are the Stormcast fighting for him?
Fortunately, this sense of aimlessness does not apply to the games multiplayer systems.
Conquest Mode also offers a novel twist, providing self-contained roguelike mini-campaigns with their own leaderboards.
Though boasting no mind-blowing innovations, all of these systems are robust and fit for purpose.
However, any looking for substantial depth will find themselves disappointed.
Accessibility
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruinboasts a range of accessibility features.
Theres also the option of an easy read font.
UI scaling is also available.
How we reviewed
I spent roughly 15 hours withWarhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin.
I also tested the map editor and army painter features, as well as Conquest Mode.
Ive spent thousands of hours of my life playing real-time strategy games.
My experience with the genre proved vital when approachingRealms of Ruinand provided useful points of comparison for the review.
Looking for more spectacle in your games?
Check out our lists of thebest RPGsand thebest PC strategy games.
