Warpips put to the test - Simple strategy battles and catchy mechanics
Although a bit confusing at first, the gameplay is quickly understood.
© Daedalic
In a relatively manageable combat zone, you place individual units on your half of the playing field and always keep an eye on the situation. Proper preparation is the be-all and end-all when it comes to emerging victorious from war. In practice, this means that before a mission you are given the opportunity to study the circumstances, objectives and conditions in more detail. Once you have an overview of the situation, it is time to assemble your troops. In addition to simple land units, which often serve as cannon fodder and are supposed to hold the fort, you can of course also hit harder and act with different vehicles. The classic tank is always an excellent choice, dealing decent damage and withstanding at least as much. Helicopters, on the other hand, glide more quickly over the area, but are defenseless against defense systems and have a generally low defense.
As you can see, each session has its pros and cons, so finding the right balance is even more important. If you only take land units with you, you will be bombed from the air, if you focus on the horizon, land units have a clear path to your base. The map itself also has a not inconsiderable influence on the battle. This means that rivers can be crossed much more slowly if the nearby bridge is under fire. This is where the advantage of land units comes into play, as they can cross water faster than tanks, compensating for their low offensive power. Basically, it sounds like the gameplay has a fundamental strategic depth, but it stays that way - fundamental. Since we are dealing with a real-time strategy title here, Warpips plays itself after the start of a mission and you just watch how your preparation unfolds in practice. Due to the simplistic nature of the mechanics, there isn't much scope for creative tactics. The first strategy that comes along often works best, and I rarely had to make major changes to my army. On the one hand, this fact makes the game pretty beginner-friendly, on the other hand, the challenge is unfortunately left out a bit despite the optional difficulty levels.
You can choose your next destination yourself.
© Daedalic
Fortunately, you have a little more freedom in your choice of how to progress in the adventure. On a map, you choose the missions as you wish, until there is a boss fight at the end. So while the levels themselves don't necessarily require deep clever ideas, the overall freedom of choice is surprisingly high. So you are able to name your army, choose your preferred color or equip yourself with your individual coat of arms. Even the general options reflect this independence and let you, for example, turn off bloody displays or save battles in the middle. So you can always take a break and continue later, which fits perfectly with the gameplay. After all, the gameplay mainly takes place in the preparation - the rest is a kind of cutscene, the outcome of which you hopefully determines positively beforehand.
You should do both graphically and musically don't expect a masterpiece here. You probably won't remember the soundtrack and the visuals could easily come from a mobile game. The lighting effects and small details create the necessary atmosphere when things get serious, but there's no denying that the visual style feels a bit lifeless and impersonal. With a playing time of around 5-8 hours and low replay value, Warpips is really only suitable for quick rounds in between.
