Sounds interesting...

In Warborn, you take command of mechs known as Variable Armor (VA) and over the course of the single player campaign do battle across asteroids, the planet of Cerulia, and space colonies of Nethalis. Featuring commanders from various factions, you assume the role of each of the four main faction commanders as you progress through the story. Two nations in the middle of a ceasefire but still waging a secret war, a mining company whose own strength rivals that of any military and a mercenary unit led by a former VA mechanic, now a wanted criminal. Their paths cross on the battlefield but where do they lead to?

The commanders you play as each have their own personality and hit all the mech anime tropes. The skilled young merc? Check. The cool and serious commander of a defence force? Check. Powerful mechs? Double check. They, along with the story and supporting cast, really capture that ‘80s/‘90s anime feel, but it just never really pulled me into it. I never felt any attachment to anyone, even in dire situations such as when Luella, a commander in the mercenary group, is slowly dying of her DUSK enhancements. I didn't feel any urgency towards her plight, which is one of the biggest issues of the campaign: it's a pretty good story but it didn't do anything to draw me in. When I was reading story dialogue between and during missions, I felt more like I was just watching something rather than playing it. Compared to other games in the tactics genre, such as Final Fantasy Tactics' far-reaching story, or space anime like Gundam, it comes together well enough with some pleasant twists but doesn't really grab you and pull you in.

...But does it work?

Stories are important but the battles are just as, if not more, important. If you've played a tactics game like Advance Wars or Fire Emblem, this will sound familiar; each round is divided into the player turn and enemy turn. During your turn you issue commands to your ally VAs, such as moving and attacking, followed by your opponent doing the same. Grid-based movement on the map, but hexagonal as opposed to squares so you have two extra directions to move and attack/be attacked from. Maps feature forests and cities if you are fighting on Cerulia or the space colonies and mining equipment and warehouses if you are in space, which provide cover to increase your defences, but reduce movement as well. Your typical tactics things. But on some maps you have Outposts and Eionite Refineries. Outposts act as a base and where you deploy additional units. And to deploy more units you need Strategy Points (SP), which you receive from every Refinery you have under your control at the start of your turns. Each VA has its own cost and you can only deploy one per base per turn. Your enemies can use them as well and call in additional units to strengthen their numbers. It's a nice little hook, making it easy to tweak your strategy from turn to turn.

One of the best things about Warborn is the variety of VAs you have access to, each with its own specialization. You have the low power but low cost infantry Havok that can capture Outposts and Refineries, the Vanguard with its short-ranged but high-powered energy sword, and the status inflicting Invader. Each unit has a set range of movement and five actions--movement, waiting and three skills for that VA. Certain skills, like the Novus' Disintegrate Armor, have a cool down period so you don't only use one move or one certain unit constantly. There are three types of attacks, excluding buffs and status as they're typeless; Kinetic, Energy and Explosive. Each VA has a rating in terms of its defence to those three types. The Prospect deals in Explosive damage and has max defence in it as well. But it has none when it comes to Energy attacks, so you really have to weigh matchups at times, though enough units can negate the worry of less than ideal situations. The commanders all have their own Variable Armor and each one is exceptionally powerful, making most other units seem like nothing.

Speaking of commanders, each one has their own set of passive skills called Commander Traits, unlocked as you progress through their respective chapter, that improves the abilities of your allied VAs. Increased damage when occupying a forest or ignoring cover when attacking an enemy in a city. Since there is no customizing units, this is a good alternative as it modifies their attacks and defences, if ever so slightly. In addition to these Traits and their unique and powerful VA, they have what are called Commander Powers. When activated, they grant powerful buffs to all allied units for one round of combat. My favorite was Vincent's, which increases the damage to attacks with a range of one space by 150%. They can change the tide of battle but can't be used anytime you want. They require Commander Points (CP), which are earned from attacking/being attacked and destroying units/having units destroyed. Once the CP gauge is full, it can be used at any time and can be refilled multiple times per battle, so you aren't limited to just one use. The Commander isn't always on the map either. Certain missions have you starting with your commander's VA on the field or you have to use your CP to call them to an Outpost you control instead of using your Commander Skill. Sometimes if the map has no Outpost, you can only use the units given. It's nice as it adds a bit more depth to what you do with your CP in a battle and relying too heavily on your Commander Unit to simply clean house.


There is a good amount of depth and strategy to the game, from the types of VA you can deploy and Commander Powers to just being hexagon shaped spaces. But it does have some issues. One of the bigger things being the AI. On a number of missions I found it to be incredibly predictable and making decisions that didn't make much sense. On one particular mission where it was all units or Outposts lost for win/lose, the AI left its one Outpost completely unprotected as it pushed towards a wall of my VA and I had two units go down another path and capture the Outpost. It was too easy and almost frustrating how simple it was to bait the AI into making foolish decisions. That said, if you mess up, it seizes on the opportunity and will try to punish you. I lost a good handful of units because they were too close together and got rained with mortar fire. But, if I had been paying attention, I would have known what the AI was going to do. The other major issue is that all missions pretty much end the same way; Destroy all units or take all the Outposts. While there were missions that weren't like this to start, they eventually ended with these conditions. It started to get repetitive as most missions just ended up being me pushing and bolstering my numbers until victory. At the end of each mission you are assigned a rank based on enemies defeated, your units deployed/destroyed and time. It is one of the few things that makes going back to the main campaign worthwhile, if only to improve your rank.

A Space for Everyone

Warborn also features a Multiplayer mode as well, though I was unfortunately only to play offline in Skirmish. You have a large number of maps to choose from ranging from small 10x10 to the large 20x20 maps. Some come from the campaign and others are multiplayer-only maps. You pick the commander for you and the AI, pick colors and set the victory conditions among other things; SP to start and how much the Refineries output and also set Commander Traits, Powers and Units on or off. Both sides start with two Havok units at the designated A and B start Outposts and the battle begins. It was pretty enjoyable, especially with control over everything, but a local versus option would have been nice, since the AI gets predictable and makes the wrong move quite a bit. A little sidebar here, while I was not able to play with others online via the Quick Play, Host and Join Game options, I was able to open a room through the Host Game. Options are pretty much the same as far as setup goes but with the added option to invite friends and you are given a code you can share as well for people to join with.

One of my favorite parts of Warborn and the most unexpected was the Map Editor. It was easy to use, understand and was pretty damn fun. When you start up the editor you can work on previous maps you've made or create a new one. Creating a new one is as simple as naming, choosing the setting, weather and size you desire. From there, you get into the editor proper and are free to create as you want. You have all the tiles available to use depending on the setting. All the controls are displayed at the bottom and you can go and edit certain things like conditions for the lighting and weather. Any map made can be used in Skirmish and when hosting a game as well which I found to be pretty awesome.

The design of Warborn is very well done, in particular the Variable Armors and tiles for the map, but even the menus are excellent. The tiles are detailed and stand out, bring the map to life and giving it dimensions. Even in the space setting, where most everything is gray and rocky, it comes together in a really pleasing way. A strong gust of wind blows randomly and all the trees blow. When units are destroyed, they explode and leave a crater, which is on the map until the end and when the game pulls that tile if a VA is fighting on it, you see the crater underneath them. A lot of little things, but they come together to bring detail to the game. The mech designs are fantastic and have that mech anime feel, in particular Luella's Deity. The soundtrack is wonderful but pretty small. The quality is fantastic and fits what's game, giving each playable commander their own background theme that plays on your turn. Though, over time, I hardly noticed it. Since it is an RPG, it is mostly menu navigation, so controls are good. When highlighting a hex in battle or on the map editor, the cursor pulls to the center, making it easy to make sure you select the right space.

On to the Next Battle

I spent just over 16 hours on the main campaign spread over 40 missions. While the story wasn't completely engrossing and the AI wasn't the most challenging, the variety of Variable Armor and look of the game more than makes up for that. There is a good amount of depth to be found and the multiplayer will surely bring its own challenges. Despite a few shortcomings, Warborn is a nicely polished game and well worth a look at. I know I'll be deploying again.