Wargroove has made a name for itself on the Nintendo Switch, coming at a time when strategy games were still sparse. Its release was met with great success, and four years later, Wargroove 2 has released after much anticipation. After the success of the first game, does Wargroove 2 bring enough to the table to set itself apart from its predecessor?
Story
Much like the first game, the story of Wargroove 2 is told through the lenses of several characters, all from different factions. It takes place after the events of the first game, following the destruction of Requiem. However, it appears that Requiem was just the tip of the iceburg, with other weapons existing all across the world that have just as much destructive potential. Every faction will eventually learn of these new weapons (or be exposed to them via another faction) and go on their own journeys seeking them out.
Outside of the first and last chapters, you’ll be able to play through any chapter in any order. The stories start out separate from each other, but will eventually come together as the story crescendos into its finale. The order doesn’t matter and doesn’t affect the outcome of the story. The storytelling is much like the first game, full of comedic quips and heart-wrenching moments. These moments are mixed well together and bring out a charm in each of the characters.
As you complete stages and explore through specific maps, you’ll unlock new lore. Wargroove 2 doesn’t go in depth with the lore of the characters and the world during the main story, leaving the player to read up on details as they unlock them. For those who haven’t played the first game in a while or at all, the Codex allows for an easy way to get caught up.
Gameplay
Wargroove 2 is a turn-based strategy game where players get to control specific factions during each battle. There is no leveling up, so your only way to victory is to strategize and make the most of your units. In the beginning of each battle, you’ll be given a few units to start off with, including your commander. Past this point, you’ll need to battle against your enemy. Each battle has three objectives that can earn you a star each, with battles typically ending by defeating the commander or destroying their headquarters.
Combat
Battles are turn-based, with you typically starting first. There are two types of battles that you’ll come across in Wargroove 2. The first is where you’ll be allowed to summon units with money earned over the course of battle, while the second is where you’ll be given a limited amount of units with no options for reinforcements. With your typical battles where you’re able to summon reinforcements, money will be generated each turn based on the amount of buildings you have captured. The amount of barracks that you have will also determine how many units per turn you can summon, since you can only summon one unit per barracks.
During your turn, you are able to move, attack, or wait with each of your units. All units have a health bar of ten and once it’s depleted, that unit is removed from the field. When attacking other units, you’ll be able to see how much damage you’ll deal before going into battle, allowing you to weigh your options before committing. Each unit, with the exception of commanders, can initiate critical hits by performing attacks in certain locations. For example, foot soldiers deal more damage if they are adjacent to their commander.
However, commanders have their own unique ability, known as Grooves. For every attack or captured structure, the groove bar will increase for commanders until it eventually reaches 100%. At that point, they can use their special ability, which varies from boosted stats to a powerful attack that can hit multiple targets. They can be useful, but there are some commanders who have Grooves that are more cumbersome to use.
Along with choosing the right units for your battles, you want to pay attention to the map layout. Each tile offers a different level of defense to the unit that is waiting there, which can easily turn the tide of battle. Wooded and mountainous areas give more defense, while beaches decrease your defense.
In order to build up your money supply, you’ll need to capture buildings. Village-like buildings are your main source of income, with each building being worth 100 gold. The enemy can also capture buildings, so stealing a structure from them will also cut into their money generation. When a building is captured, it will gain half of the total health of the unit performing the action. After that, all buildings will gain one health point, until they max out at ten health. Another benefit to buildings is that you can recoup health, provided you have the gold and the building has enough health.
Unit Types
There is a wide plethora of units to select during battle, from ground to sea to air units. Every unit, outside of the commanders, have their own special conditions that allow for critical hits, adding to the level of strategy in the game. But of course, not all units are created equal. The more expensive a unit is, the more powerful it is as a baseline. However, that doesn’t mean that you should only summon expensive units, as it is possible to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Thus, a balance needs to be struck with your powerhouses and your foot soldiers.
There are a few new units to Wargroove 2, as well as new commanders (with a new faction making its appearance). The frog unit can pull units closer using its tongue, allowing for you to bring in enemy or ally units. Krakens are water units that can deal heavy damage and also restrict the enemy. There is also a new boat unit that can capture buildings, as well as a hybrid air/ground unit that gives you more flexibility with your unit types. While these new unit types don’t change the game per say, they do offer a bit more variety to your strategies. However, you’re not always going to have access to these units, as unit availability is dependent on the map.
Additional Content
Along with the main campaign, there is a map creation section that allows players to create their own maps and campaigns. With the map creator, you have control of all aspects of the map, from the terrain to the specific units initially made available for both sides. Map sizes start out at 24 x 13 tiles, but can be expanded past that point. Otherwise, the world is your oyster to create. Once you have units placed down, you can go in depth with their stats, such as their initial health and whether they’re holding an item. You can also control the map properties, such as the time of day and the the environment of the map, such as bringing your battle to the desert or the jungle. Once your map has been created, you’re free to play through it, or share it online for others to play.
Campaign building will feel a bit more complex if you jump right into it, and the controls do take some getting used to. You are able to build out your campaign road maps however you like, laying down each battle icon. Past that point, you’ll need to go to each node in order to edit the individual maps. You can make the campaign building process as simple or difficult as you choose, with the inclusion of building out your own cutscenes and map events. With cutscenes, you’ll need to build out the scene one component at a time, and depending on how long and complex you want scenes to be, it can easily grow to an overwhelming task. Every character, background action, and movement will have to be its own action. Although, like most things that require time and practice to perfect, seeing the final product can be very rewarding.
Outside of the campaign and creation modes, there is also conquest mode, which acts as the roguelike challenge mode of the game. Here, you can complete challenging maps. You get to choose a commander at the start, each who has their own advantages, such as giving you additional units to start off with in battle. Afterwards, you’ll choose your initial formation of soldiers, that come accompanied with a certain amount of gold. And with that, the main goal is to go through the generated map without losing all of your units.
There are different nodes that you can land on, such as recruitment nodes to gain more units, combat nodes to fight against enemies, heal nodes to restore your army’s health, and mystery nodes that can give you great rewards, but at a cost. This mode is a nice change of pace from the campaign and creation mode, showing what Wargroove 2 excels at best, which is its challenging strategy gameplay.
Difficulty
Wargroove 2 gives the player full range of the difficulty settings. You can change the difficulty level between four set levels: story, very easy, easy, and commander (which is the default setting). Changing the level changes the damage received, the income generation level, groove charge max, and the amount of undos you’re allows per battle. But beyond selecting the difficulty level, you are also able to change those four levels manually. So for those looking to fine-tweak the difficulty to suit their needs, Wargroove 2 is excellent in this department.
Aesthetics
Wargroove 2 brings back its pixel art, with some minor touch ups to make the artwork and UI cleaner. But otherwise, those who played the first game will be right at home with the sequel. With the addition of nighttime, it does add a new look to the game to set it apart from its predecessor.
Music and Voice Acting
Likewise for the music and voice acting, Wargroove 2 brings back what it’s best at with its music and voice acting. There are new tracks with this new title, with the main difference being that a lot of the tracks sound a lot more orchestral, bringing a sense of scale to the game. The voice acting is once again partial, with some character lines being voiced while a majority are not.
Conclusion
Wargroove 2 is a sequel that maintains the status quo for the series. While bringing new units and new modes to the game, at its core it is still the turn-based strategy game that succeeded years ago. For those looking for an intense shake up with this sequel, you may be disappointed. But for those who are fans of this genre and are simply looking for more of the same delivered in a satisfying package, Wargroove 2 is a wonderful time. It knows what it does well and gives that to the player.
Rating: 8/10.
