This morning, an article about this game, WARSAW, crossed my feed. Reading the article, it was described as taking elements from Darkest Dungeon and placing the game in Warsaw, 1944... during the uprising against the German occupation. Rogue-like... turn-based... dark but realistic setting... I was hooked! So, I immediately fired up Steam before I had to run out the door to get to a concert... I had a quick look at the reviews which were pretty mixed... but the support from the developer seemed to be pretty amazing, with an October full of updates, and a first day patch that fixed a good deal of reported problems... perhaps it should have been an Early Access release, but the premise of the game was really too good... So, a very rare full price purchase... although, at 20 euros, it wasn't too bad!

Now, it is a bit rare to have a good historical war game... most of them can tend to glorify the idea of war, approaching the subject from a superhero perspective... or they can trivialise the entire idea, with a sort of kitschy setting that is more reminiscent of a high school romp in the park rather than a viscous and scarring scrabble for survival. War of Mine was one of the more memorable attempts in recent history, and it WARSAW seemed like it was going to be taking the right path with it's treatment of war.

The setting is the Polish uprising in Warsaw in 1944... if you want to read more about it, you can find it here on Wikipedia... let us just say that it does not end well for the Poles. With this as the setting, you know how this game is going to end... this won't be a superhero treatment, with your tactical genius changing the course of history... I suspect that the way this is going to turn out is going to be heart-breaking...

Well... the opening video.... Wow... I was playing this on the train... I'm stunned. It's a really touching opening sequence... and this is the tone that the game is going to take for the opening cinematic? This really is promising to be a real game that is going to evoke some serious emotion....honestly, just viewing the opening cinematic nearly brought me to tears!

Setting WARSAW apart from the Darkest Dungeon influence is the existing of unique characters, hero characters. These are characters that are barely more powerful than a regular foot soldier/civilian and can also die (permadeath is the norm here!). There are conscripts that you can recruit... but these guys have a backstory which is revealed as the game progresses.... so, when they die... and they will die... it will be a heart-wrenching moment... and I suspect that these are the three guys from teh opening cinematic, so you know how it goes.

You are fricking kidding me!... the "scout" class hero is a KID! I found him after one of the first missions... so I wonder how many other hero characters are also out there waiting to be rescued and recruited.

Your hideout is a beautifully drawn 2D side cut out... reminiscent of the modern XCOM series. It's really that art style that is so similar to both War of Mine and also Darkest Dungeon. The contrast of colour against the bleakness of the background is a great artistic touch.

There is also a strategic layer involving the various districts of Warsaw. All of these districts are contested areas (initially starting with the Polish Resistance) and provide supplies and various in-game items and recruits. When you begin, you have a great deal of "morale" in each district... which I guess represents how much punishment they can take before they return back to the German Occupation.

Gearing up for the tactical deployment involves a similar system to Darkest Dungeon.... but you have juggle not only the supplies required to survive several days out of the hideout... but also ammunition and any other tactical items. Guns and all sorts of equipment are pretty scarce... this is a ragtag band, Resistance is a pretty optimistic description...

Tactical deployment takes place on an overhead map... with various encounters existing (both revealed and hidden). You can choose to attack posts or patrols... or they might well ambush you, there is a rudimentary line of sight system at play here. There are also in-game "events" which will be text based and utilise the skills of your patrolling charactes.

There are some potential good or bad consequences for the text based events... but it is going to be a gamble... which is possible to try and stack the odds with an appropriately skilled character... but don't count on a guarantee! In this case, I managed to scrounge some weapon parts which I could fashion into a pistol of sorts. I took it on my first deployment after, but I didn't find it to be much better than the one I started the game with.

Combat (and the art style) is influenced by Darkest Dungeon, but it would be unfair to say that it is a complete rip-off. It is in fact quite a bit better than the tactical combat in Darkest Dungeon. There is a better implementation of cover and a dual lane system... plus a stamina system and an ability to choose which characters act within a given round, with the limiting factors being the Action Points (number of characters) and the Stamina (an individual character action limit, and debuff for multiple use in a given round...).

The addition of different types of ammunition make the tactical game quite a bit more complex and with more long lasting ramifications than the Darkest Dungeon inspiration. I would even go out on a limb and say that is vastly superior!

A tactical (mission) victory is a matter of really picking your fights pretty carefully... you just don't have the firepower and survivability to last more than a few encounters. Also, any rough treatment that your characters take will put them at a disadvantage for a few (or more days).... which will tend to have a snowball effect.

Conclusion

OMG!!!... I was smitten at the opening cinematic. A game that is going to really pull at the heart-strings... the futility... and yet the struggle to stay alive... knowing that doom is just a matter of time. The final twist is the fact that they make you familiar with the hero characters... and get you attached. These developers are going to be a studio to keep an eye one for future games... this is shaping up to be an amazing one.....

Review Specs

DELL XPS15 (9560)

CPU: i7-7700HQ
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: SSD
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050

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