We’re starting to see a notable resurgence in the real-time strategy space, but what’s happening with large-scale, turn-based tactics games? Sure, they’ve never gone away, but we’ve also been missing ambitious takes on the subgenre outside of large IPs and huge AAA bets. With RuneQuest: Warlords, prolific publisher Slitherine and Virtuos-owned studio Volmi are looking to bring the fantasy tabletop world of Glorantha to PC.
Despite its popularity in the roleplaying-loving circles, RuneQuest had never fully made the jump to the realm of video games, so that alone should make many ears perk up. In the preview I was able to play recently, Volmi made sure to ease newcomers into an old setting that many people aren’t familiar with. Even in its unfinished state, the opening cutscene was agile and easy to follow, unlike other fantasy world introductions which are absurdly dense and proper noun-filled nightmares.
The basics are quite simple: “Between the lands of Talastar and Dorastor, to the west of Dragon Pass on the Genertela continent,” the Talastar Tribes battle the forces of Chaos under the leadership of Hahlgrim, a “champion” rising to the challenge of repelling the invading enemies. RuneQuest: Warlords, at least in its 18-mission campaign, is meant to be narrative-oriented, and during the four missions I was able to play, the key players and stakes were cleanly presented. Mind you, none of it feels especially memorable, but sometimes you just need clear-cut heroes, villains, and missions to get an old-fashioned adventure going.
On paper, RuneQuest: Warlords is also uncomplicated: “Here’s a limited chunk of grid-based terrain and scenery. Here are your starting units which can lay out before starting the mission. Defeat all the enemies or reach this point. Have fun.” It’s the sort of no-BS approach of game design that many developers and publishers have forgotten about in recent times. Even the meta progression layer is just a matter of briefly bringing up a traditional skill tree for each hero and recruiting units from your pool while staying below a ‘power cap’ of sorts before each encounter. I’m not expecting RuneQuest: Warlords to overstay its welcome.
This all doesn’t mean Warlords is a paper-thin or terribly dull affair. Quite the opposite: Volmi’s game shows its teeth and claws from the very beginning, and small actions like making sure units are facing the nearest enemy group before ending a turn can mark the difference between winning or losing. Putting the right amount of distance between the different types of units and enemies also feels crucial; it’s not just about minimizing the risk of enemy attacks, but also about making sure your soldiers can actually use all their abilities properly.
For example, the militia units in this preview build are both melee and ranged attackers, but definitely excel at hurling spears from afar. However, they need to be placed within a certain range to use that ability. If they’re too far away, they’re pretty much useless. If they walk up to the enemy, they can only ‘poke’ them and are left quite vulnerable to all attacks. Finding that middle ground is a no-brainer then, right? Well yeah, but your own melee units might be using those ideal positions, especially if the sides are blocked by a bunch of rocks and/or trees.
Therefore, the solution is to keep moving most units around. Enemies rarely stay put and know when to retreat until reinforcements arrive, and same should be your own strategy. If you need a clear path for your ranged soldiers, shuffle the tankier, shield-protected warriors around. To cleanly do so, you also have to pay attention to whether unit groups are tangled up in ongoing fights; moving away from the closest aggressors without using the right movement command (which consumes ability points) typically leads to receiving damage.
Overall, RuneQuest: Warlords ends up feeling like a fantasy-themed version of chess played on a more complex board and with the added extras of RPG-like skills and the possibility of getting reinforcements. Spamming units at the enemy or carefully holding a position isn’t enough. Even a big HP bar means very little when four different enemy groups know how to sic on Hahlgrim. You may argue this is how more tactical strategy games are, but a leaner and more rock-paper-scissors approach is obvious here and not that common as most video games strive to become bigger and deeper.
This appears to be a fast and furious turn-based game that sacrifices complexity in favour of keeping the battles dynamic and the moment-to-moment mechanics light and easy to grasp. On those terms, and having only experienced a fraction of the journey, it works well enough and feels engaging. I also believe this approach to the overarching game design will help the flow of online PvP matches. Whether RuneQuest diehards will be satisfied by such a laser-focused tactics game is a different discussion.
RuneQuest: Warlords hasn’t locked a release window yet, but we know it’s coming exclusively to PC (Steam). Stay tuned for updates in the coming months.
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