YonanMicroProse’s return to the scene has been spearheaded by a number of niche indie games with a “low investment, low price, small target demographic” that has brought us some very interesting gameplay styles. Waronoi, developed by solo dev MFC, has been out for two years already but was recently acquired by MicroProse (alongside Mech Engineer, review incoming). The game does not buck this trend, with the main gimmick being retaining the command structure of a modern army in an RTS. It is also still regularly receiving updates, including a large one this week, and we can only hope the acquisition by MicroProse allows for further development.
The core gameplay of Waronoi is straight forward – a random map customised how you like, either multiplayer or with bots, and then try to be the last one standing. There are no story-based campaigns but there are a series of challenges that introduce you to the game units steadily, all of which are also on randomised maps. This means that the game lives or dies based on how enjoyable you find the combat, as there is absolutely nothing else to keep you here. Thankfully the combat is unique so it’s at the very least enjoyable for long enough to justify the low price. Getting into the combat – I hope you’re comfortable with NATO symbols!
The unique mechanic of the game is that unit control follows a hierarchy of three sub-units per superior unit in the order of Squad < Platoon < Company < Regiment < Brigade < Corps. The largest size is dependent on the scale of the map, and you can have small company sized skirmishes or huge Corps level slogs. If you lose the HQ it counts as a complete loss, and the loss of any unit also results in the loss of all units subordinate to it. New and replacement units are spawned from the HQ so there’s a balance between keeping it far away and safe or closer to the front for faster reinforcing. The control of these unit structures is fairly intuitive, with the basic “go here” right click move to the ctrl-right click x2 “command units here, with subunits ranging towards second click” allowing easier protection of command units.
Units can be mixed and matched at any level, and you can choose from those provided by the generals you recruit – so you won’t have all units available. You can create a Platoon with three infantry squads, or one mech recon, one tank and one attack helicopter. These scales up at each level, meaning you need to decide what tier of units will perform what roles. Will you have faster commanders that can retreat, long range ones that can contribute or dedicated units that match what they command? Chances are you’ll use all depending on what you need to do with that unit. There are also elite units such as MLRS, an upgraded variant of the standard artillery, and you can also gain access to a variety of air strikes and support which are free to use but are on a cooldown. Most units have a 12% hit chance, but will vary in: cost, attack range, movement speed, number of shots, and some special abilities such as increased movement along roads for recon units and indirect fire ability for artillery.
The game has a few problems, some of which could be relatively easy fixes. Hotkeys that you can’t rebind are terrible for usability, although as always auto hotkey comes to the rescue here – drop a comment if you want help with this! Related, the lack of command groups which have long been a staple of RTS games is sorely missed. They would allow for much faster and smoother control over detached forces. The sound is terrible, the music was giving me a headache, so I turned that off very quick, and the sound effects are important, so you don’t want to turn them off, but turning them down helped. The graphics however are perfectly adequate – they won’t win awards but they’re clear and smooth. There are no problems with performance even with huge multiplayer battles at the corps level which is impressive as that’s hundreds of units. The interface can feel a little clunky until you get used to it as the game is quite different to a normal RTS thanks to the unit hierarchy, but it’s solid and functional.
Ample fun can be had for the low asking price for an RTS fan, or someone interested in experimental mechanics. I still plan to play more and think it’ll be a great game to play occasionally as there’s no deep story or large quantity of mechanics to remember which can be a problem with getting back into RPGs or a game like Command Modern Operations. The random map nature helps extend its lifespan, but the lack of unit types hurts replayability. Units like mortars, drones, anti-tank infantry, machine gun infantry and so on would all help make for more varied games. Perhaps even naval units or persistent aircraft – but that would be getting into expansion or sequel territory. I really hope the gameplay formula is continued in some fashion as it has a lot of promise, and it would be great if the support from MicroProse helped it expand further.
This review utilised a key provided by MicroProse and Waronoi is available on Steam.
#roundtablecoop
Chris Inglis
