Warborn review: the best strategy is back... now with mechas!

The grid strategy genre is not for all audiences. Video games like Advance Wars or Fire Emblem have been a gateway for many players who did not know this type of proposals, however if you are looking for direct action or not to think too much, Warborn is not for you. Strategy is everything, and a false step will make you fail in your mission and your team of mechas will lose the game. Are you ready to be the brains on the battlefield?

Ode to the best exponents of the genre

Warborn is a return to those exciting Advance Wars games on our GBA. Hours and hours assembling our team and fighting with soldiers and tanks against any enemy. One of the strengths of this proposal was its tight difficulty, with a curve that made you adapt to the style of play. This time we will be in front of mechas that will remind us of the Japanese Gundam designs.

The story is not a simple excuse to rotate from mission to mission, but we are faced with a worked plot and very well written characters that will not leave anyone indifferent. We will control different characters and the variety of situations and missions will evolve in an ascending way.

Novelties in a genre that does not usually change

The main novelty of Warborn with respect to other video games of the strategy genre is that it goes from the usual grids to hexagons. Raredrop Games brings to the table a breath of fresh air to the genre and tries to innovate in its mechanics. It is also a more accessible entry point to the genre than other titles like Fire Emblem or the aforementioned Intelligent Systems game, as the difficulty won't be too challenging

Unlike most grid-based strategy games, in Warborn we will have a series of small campaigns in which we will control different characters with their own particular story. All of them are characterized by having their own mecha and by their pretensions to save their companions and even the world

One of the elements that do not change is that the terrain can play in our favor or against us. Forests and mountains will provide protection against enemies and will cause less damage, but can also play against us if the situation is the other way around

Small details that make Warborn great

Warborn gives special importance to armor and the powers that each of them has. It will be key to win in battles to adapt our armor taking into account the equipment we have and the army we face

The duration of Warborn will not disappoint anyone. The game can be enjoyed both solo and against other people and has a campaign mode with almost 50 missions with a story connected to each other. On the other hand we will have the skirmish mode and multiplayer mode (which may be against the AI or against people online). To these three modes we will have to add the editor mode in which we can create our levels and share them with the community, as if it were Mario Maker 2.

Its graphics and design will make you fall in love with the game

One of the main virtues of Warborn is its artistic section. Graphics have never been a very important element in strategy games. In the genre, originality and care in the designs are usually rewarded. Warborn offers an anime style aesthetic with very marked details in the characters. The designs of the mechas have seemed very original and in general the decoration of the scenarios complies with more than enough

The animations are one of the strong points of Warborn, as well as the music. Its melodies will make us get fully into each and every one of the missions, almost as if we were inside one of the mechas we control

The best thing about the game

• Its duration, we have content for more than 20 hours without adding multiplayer and editor
• The design and atmosphere of the mechas and their universe
• The story, which will catch you from the first moment

The Worst

• Some missions can become repetitive

We have made this analysis thanks to a download code for Nintendo Switch provided by Meridiem Games.