I have been nerding out over Warhammer Fantasy and 40K since earlier than I may drive, however my relationship with Age of Sigmar, Video games Workshop’s most up-to-date plane-hopping, epic fantasy spinoff has been largely at arm’s size. Realms of Spoil is an upcoming RTS that reached out a gleaming, armored fist to tug me in a bit nearer. And the truth that it seems to be lots like Daybreak of Struggle, aka one in all my favourite RTS collection of all time, made me all of the extra keen to achieve out and seize it.
For those who’re lower than pace on what precisely Age of Sigmar is, I will do my greatest to interrupt it down for you shortly. The world of Warhammer Fantasy, the one we see within the Whole Struggle: Warhammer video games, was utterly destroyed when the ravening forces of Chaos lastly received in a divisive story arc known as The Finish Occasions. However not all was misplaced, as many key characters survived and the setting was reborn as it’s in Realms of Spoil: people, dwarfs, and orcs, largely renamed to one thing Video games Workshop can legally copyright however nonetheless recognizable in type and perspective, battle throughout a big number of themed fantasy realms linked by big portals known as Realmgates.
The centerpieces of this new setting are the Stormcast Eternals. If they appear oddly like fantasy area marines, that is as a result of that’s exactly what they’re. The chosen warriors of the massive Lawful Good god, Sigmar – the exact same one worshiped within the Empire in Warhammer Fantasy, besides he is a manifested character you may meet and work together with now – these fallen mortals are reforged by holy magic time and again, giving them unimaginable talents, however slowly winnowing away their humanity every time they’re resurrected from the battlefield. For those who’re one of many Free Individuals attempting to make a residing within the Mortal Realms, these are the heavy-hitters on your workforce. I imply, usually. There are some teams of them who would possibly kill you for getting a tattoo, however that is past the scope of this story up to now.
Hacking to the Gate
The one marketing campaign mission I received to play had me main a small vanguard group of Eternals to the airplane of Ghur, Realm of Beasts, a savage and untamed land the place even the geography itself appears poised to pounce and devour you. It is at the moment beneath menace from a gang of orcs – sorry, they need us to name them “orruks” now, however they’re principally the identical previous fighty, inexperienced soccer hooligans with axes from Warhammer Fantasy. When these scouts had been overrun, I took management of the primary power of the warhost – together with a dragon-riding knight of the Stormdrake Guard – and got down to discover what occurred to them.
I wasn’t in a position to seize any footage from this mission, however the multiplayer match you have been watching right here options the identical two factions, the Stormcast Eternals and Orruk Kruleboyz, on a map similar to the one within the marketing campaign. The builders at Frontier are promising two extra factions at launch, however I could not coax them into giving up any particulars. Provided that Age of Sigmar’s large record of armies is split into the broad alignments of Chaos, Destruction, Order, and Dying, and we have already got two of these lined, I would count on to see one from the Chaos alignment and one from the Dying alignment becoming a member of the enjoyable. Some demons and a few undead, to place it merely.
By way of the way it really performs as an RTS, the closest comparability might be Relic’s Daybreak of Struggle collection.
By way of the way it really performs as an RTS, the closest comparability might be Relic’s Daybreak of Struggle collection, although the dearth of canopy and deal with melee fight maybe locations it closest to Daybreak of Struggle 3. You management squads, slightly than particular person items, and there’s no Starcraft-style base constructing. You possibly can improve your most important hub to extend your unit cap and unlock higher-tier items, in addition to construct utility buildings and defenses on the varied seize factors that can function your most important supply of ticking sources.
Planar Mayhem
When two squads get right into a scrap, it really lasts a decently very long time, permitting room to maneuver and make extra selections earlier than one facet evaporates, which I actually appreciated. Each unit has no less than one energetic potential, like this Orruk web gun that may lock down a big formation of troops, and squads beneath assault can retreat to base to heal up, which is mostly less expensive than constructing a brand new squad. There’s additionally a unit triangle the place assault troops beat heavies, heavies beat ranged, and ranged beat assault. Monsters and heroes can break these guidelines, although. The Stormcast Eternals clearly deal with heftier, costlier items, whereas the Kruleboyz want swarm ways and relentless aggression.
I really feel like I’ve barely scratched the floor of Realms of Spoil at this level, however the fundamentals are there. I am down for a brand new Daybreak of Struggle-like, even when I haven’t got as a lot built-in affection for the setting but. And you may’t deny these Eternals look fairly rattling cool.
