Raredrop Games’ Warborn is a traditional turn-based tactics affair that takes the thoroughly tried and tested gameplay of the likes of Advance Wars – and, more recently, Wargroove – and adds great big sexy Gundam-esque mechanised robots and a generous dollop of ’90s-style overwrought anime backstory to the mix.
Fans of the genre will find absolutely zero surprises with this one; it plays it safe and straight down the line in terms of how its tactical warfare evolves over the course of a hefty 20-hour campaign and, although ma-hoo-sive robots are always undoubtedly awesome and the game competently covers all the expected bases, in the end, the whole thing comes off as feeling just a little bit too safe and sterilized.
In Warborn you assume the role of four different faction commanders – Luella, Vincent, Aurielle and Izol – each in charge of their very own strike forces of Variable Armour mechs, who have been caught up in a war that’s engulfed the Auros system in political strife and turmoil. Each commander controls the same ten mech unit types, but brings to the table their own set of (rather underwhelming) special skills and buffs that imbue troops with a variety of perks on the battlefield and are unlocked as you play through the ten missions that make up each commander’s contributions to the interweaving storyline.
