Wartales - Review After 100% 

I've not had a chance to play it yet (I bought it a few days ago) but regarding the end-game, I think something the developers could do is allow us and our mercenaries to settle down and purchase land and build a settlement when certain end-game elements have been met. We could then retire or build our own mercenary business out of it (that doesn't need to be playable, it could just be an ending slide).

This review was so in depth I genuinely can't imagine having any other questions about it. Easily one of my favorite reviews you've done, thank you!!

I challenge you to 100% Battle Brothers. I remember what a pain The Black Monolith and the Sunken Library legendary locations are.

i dont mind the game not having an "end" if you could build your own settlement (like in kenshi building your own stuff and even producing crops and equipment) or mercenary guild hall where you could send out your own mercenaries to acomplish quests accross the map. kinda like building your own "empire" while growing your army-squad

I have to wonder how different the game was 7 months ago. Because there are features in it now that weren't there when you made this video, or at least ones you didn't mention, which I imagine you would have given it's a 100% review. The company can now have a more direct effect on the world by building travel posts in major cities and then paying to pave the main road between those cities, creating a trade route. This has benefits for the company such as each travel post having a storage chest, a bench to leave companions at if you want to change your troop around a bit without losing a current member. But they also make it so that new merchant caravans start traveling the trade route and they sell goods that aren't available in the regular caravans. Each travel post also has a peddler who can sell you regional supplies and, once connected via trade route, can sell you other regions supplies as well. This can help cut down on the busy work a lot as you don't have to necessarily spend days walking to the next regions market. You can also "fast travel" between travel posts. It still takes in game days, so you have to put up any food and wage costs to cover the trip, but it effectively teleports you.

There's like 20 achievements with an progress of 0% in the steam achievement page for this game, meaning less than 0.1% actually 100% this. You are one hell of a gamer Mortismal. You have my respect.

I think they could easily add a "story" if they add a "Rival/Enemy" Mercenary Company that you have contact with continuously becoming stronger as you become stronger, that work for a Noble of some sort. They can then have an "endgame" which is defeating the Rivals and Exposing the mechanations of the Noble.

I've been playing Wartales for several days now, and I think I've already sunk a hundred hours into it😅 I've also been naming everyone after characters from The Witcher books and games, so that's pretty fun.

Love this game as I love Battle Brothers but in slightly different ways. Can't wait to watch this fully! UPDATE: LOVE that you include a Steam Deck section. As an owner this really helps. Thanks!

It's more or less an Isometric Mount & Blade, it's a good game, Shiro has been doing well.

I was on the fence after reading some of the steam reviews, thanks for the in-depth man.

Me and my bro was looking to play this game, since they added co-op to it, but I've also played it solo, and I must say, 65 hours in 2 weeks, this game is addictive. It's strange how well I connected with this game, it's so much fun and fits my playstyle really well. I have so many ideas of things I'd like to see added in the future! I hope this game keeps evolving

I'm totally obsessed with this game. really fun to just explore what it has to offer

This is my first time seeing anything of you, and i love your idea of reviewing after 100%, and your way of describing everything is peaceful, and easy to listen to. Got my sub.

Hi Mortym! Had my eye on this game for a while. Played Battle Brothers and really enjoyed it. Wartales seems like it's quite similar. Definitely wish list-worthy. Thanks for another great video!

I may not nor will I ever have a Steam Deck, but I think it’s awesome that you include it as it’s own section. Kind of cool to see the potential the Steam Deck has

It looks like a mix between Battle Brothers, Mount & Blade and a CRPG

Pro tip, in case it wasn't mentioned in the video or I missed it..always bring your companions to 15 willpower. When they reach zero health they don't immediately go into "dying" mode. It gives you a little extra time to get that unit support.

As someone who loves Battle Brothers I may have to give this a go. Shame there are no elevation differences on the combat maps.

Just picked it up a few days ago. Really enjoying it so far. About 22 hours in and completed the first area. I am taking it very slow to build up for next zone. :)

Great review. The only detail I would add is that the 1.0 release is the not the end of the game’s development cycle. Additional content has been promised, including new perks in the various Paths and possibly new regions. These are evident via “coming soon” messages in some screens and has actually been a point of contention in the game’s community, with some decrying the “incomplete” state of the game. The lack of an overarching narrative doesn’t help with this impression either. Personally, I have no such issue. The game is engrossing and the promise of more to come is enticing. I would agree that combat can become cumbersome towards the middle to later part of the game, especially as you grow your party on Adaptive mode, as the AI will always try to match or exceed your numbers. For example, if you have 15 deployable units, you will always face 16 to 20 foes. The sheer number of units in the field bogs down the flow of combat, to the point that you have incentive to bench some of your party members at a trading post (which you can build), just to bring down enemy numbers. In addition, the combat deployment system needs some work. At present, you cannot choose the area on the battlefield in which to deploy your units. Rather, they are pre-deployed randomly across the battlefield, sometimes in illogical and dangerous locations, forcing you to hunt down your units and reposition them before commencing combat. If you have many units, this process can be quite time consuming. It is a testament to this game’s strength that, even with this annoyance, I enjoy combat. It just needs some quality of life revisions.

Would love to see a 100% review for battle brothers and get some more eyes on that game.

Honestly love this game and its super addicting! I remember when i started playing Divinity Original Sins 2 and this is giving me the same vibes in term of playability. Story is how you make it and no magic powers (unless you get mods) but still really fun. Have not beaten it yet but im planning too

I played this game a while ago, still in beta. I had fun. I think I'll start a new play-through now when its full released. Good game in general.

Thanks for the review brother. I love this game! A challenging and rewarding experience. The graphics are excellent. The world is beautiful and exciting to explore. I had a great time running through it and am planning another run since the full release is out. Best gaming channel by far; Mortismal Gaming!

I’ve lost 2 save with probably a total of 20 hours on Xbox. For whatever reason when it crashed both times I log in and all my save are gone. Infuriating because I was really like it but I’m not going through that crap again

I am reaply excited to see where this game goes. My imagination runs wild at the possibilities.

Thanks, Mort. I've been waiting for your full review of this one. I'm definitely gonna pick it up.

This may be the first time I hear about Wartales and Battle Brothers isn´t even mentioned. It certainly looks like a more accessible (and prettier) BB and I´ll give it a shot in the future.

I know this video is older at this point, but just wanted to say that I really appreciate the Steam Deck portion! :)

Not just 1 minute and i already subscribed to you only because you said you review games after 100% them to set you apart from other reviewers DAMN thats real professional of yourself. Amazing! hahaha

Love the steam deck section - I hope to pick one up sometime this year or next and I enjoy a lot of the same games you cover. Appreciate what you do.

A friend of mine just recommended this game to me, and OF COURSE I discover that you've done a review 🤣. This was great information.

This game felt and looked like battle brothers when I started but then I understood its much more of a classic rpg where you just navigate in an interesting way. Very fun but its not as complex as it looks at first glance which is a positive imo

Thanks for the well put together review! Really was waiting to hear how it compared to Battle Brothers.

Thank you as well for the content you are putting out there. Been watching you for some time now and your opinion matters, since I've noticed we have very similiar taste.

Long time viewer and lurker. I very much respect your transparency regarding access to titles and the tact with which you discuss the context. That's all and may you wander in wisdom!

This is the kind of not so well known kind of game I easily could have missed that I can easily spend more than 200 hours in, like Project Zomboid, Rimworld or Dwarf Fortress. Excellent execution of a very good, fun concept. I just love these kinds of smaller games that are built with passion and are just so damn fun! So thanks for the excellent recommendation Mortismal. Oh and btw if I had one only minor personal suggestion for your videos, it'd be to sound a bit more like you're talking to a friend, you know? I watched a bunch of your videos recently and listening so many times to 'an so this brings us to our conclusion' feels a bit like reading a school report 😂 Great videos though man.

Bro Mort if you see this I watch alot of reviews for numerous games I always seem to come to your reviews. You are for the most part unbiased and very thorough keep it up. Great content.

I'd like to see a Wartales-like game with high fantasy + magic and in a non-depressing/fun world. That'd be awesome. And no-perma death for startes. That sucks hard.

Been waiting for your review of this one! Alright.

First time watching your video and I loved it. I will happily look forward your content!

I started playing this a few days ago and it became easily one of my favorites of all time. I dont know what it is, it just scratches an itch i didn't know i had.

Thank you for the awesome review, Mortismal! Will hold off a while longer before playing the game - want some patches and hopefully some good mods before I embark.

Bruh this just dropped! How?? You're incredible! Edit: oh I should have waited for you to explain haha

Though a bit older at this point, I'd love to hear what you think of Battle Brothers. These two games are very similar but honestly BB is a bit more fun in terms of combat for me, and it streamlines the gameplay loop a bit more. as you said certain systems in Wartales get tedious after a while and turn into busywork.

You did it againt ! I've a new game because of you ! Great review, as always.

I haven't played the 1.0 version yet (played only Early Access earlier), but personally I don't mind that it doesn't have a set story with a definitive ending if it does have an emergent story based on all the choices throughout the game. First of all - it opens up the room for second installment, secondly - I think that fits the open-ended nature of running a mercenary company - the boss decides what's the goal and if/when the band retires. Ps. I didn't pick it up in the video, but in case it wasn't mentioned - there's a similar (in nature) game called Battle Brothers which is quite fun too.

If the battle brothers legends community can inspire anyone to take on the helm of modding for wartales in the similar method then this game has the potential to sky rocket. Needs scenarios like BB, in the vein of thematic play styles, holy knights? Sure. Barbaric Despoilers and highway men? Go for it. This game has a good infrastructure to build upon, I just hope it's not a project that once completed the devs never touch. That would be a shame.

Looks fantastic, Mort. It seems the devs really put their heart and soul in this one. Battle Brothers, but on steroids. That's an easy recommend to me. No game is perfect, but I can see this game even getting better after release.

Really appreciate that you gave a sponsorship disclaimer that you had done one in the past on this game.

Just bought this game as it's right up my alley. Thanks for the review Mort!

I bought this game on release day but only now got to play it. I am completly addicted, it is everything i wished for. PS: It reminds me a lot of "Shandalar", an old Magic the gathering based game with very similar concept.

Thanks man, this was a really good review and convinced me to try out this game!

Awesome review, first time I've watched a vid from you but you got yourself a sub. Great stuff!

Just need ONE play through and you got the platinum trophy, very satisfied! This game is FUN!

Bought this towards the end of early access. Tried it out, saw some potential and decided to wait to actually play it, since a lot of the reviews at the time implied that the content was limited and there was a possibility that you would finish all the major content rather quickly. Have to retry it now that it has been fully released.

Subscribed , I hope this help with your dream job and keep sharing good things with other people. Nice review btw, I'll buy this game and see myself. Thanks!

Another awesome review, thanks Mortismal. I just picked the game up for full price and am looking forward to diving into it. This is the golden age of TTRPGs in video game format.

Great review, thanks. Looks much better now, did wishlist the game ages ago. but I don't tend to go for EA so sometimes forget about them until I'm ready for my next game to play. thanks

this is a game i was really curious about! thanks for the review!

Tried it about a year ago when there was a demo available and tho I found it intriguing, felt nothing really special. Now that that I got my hands on the final 1.0 version I'm absolutely obsessed and can't get enough of it. ~45 hours in, and I'm already dreaming about the insane possibilities a sequel could (and hopefully will) bring. Amazing game.

Such a good review. I love the game and I couldn't agree more with this review.

Battle Brothers Review After 100%!!!!! Morty, if you want to be a true all-time hero-of-the-internet then this is your destiny!

I say it a lot, but thank you. I've looked into other reviews, and they don't provide nearly enough information to make an informed decision. Onward to 200k. All glory to the algorithm.

Sounds like it needs a "Retirement" system ala Sid Meir's Pirates. It was a similar game and you could retire your pirate and got a score depending how much money, land and titles you acquired by then. So, you could end up as anything from a Drunk to a King's Advisor.

This is a great game. Fantastic review. Looking forward to playing full release, and some future updates. For me, a little more variety in aesthetics of armour would be nice

Thanks for my morning upload with coffee

This game is really amazing. I'm having an absolute blast with it.

Still only in the second region but enjoying this so far. Agree with your positives and negatives. It forecast lot of cool stuff really well. Couple more negatives from me - pathfinding needs work. Sometimes it’s inexplicably hard to get around certain bits of terrain. Also the game really needs a keyboard shortcut to rotate the map.

Thx for detailed reviewing. This game is way too much n too complicated for a SRPG lol. I’d prefer a traditional J-SRPG like fire emblem styles.

How does this game compare to others in the genre, like say Battle Brothers or even the Expedition series? Obviously the graphics are very different and the map seems to be very free flowing. As in no set hexes or even squares that limit movement, which can be either a good or bad thing depending on how all the different skills work in combat.

Very accurate. We trained the same way, the attacker will draw back and your done. I’d like to see however how he would react to a more explosive defense (eg blocking but in the same breath ramming into the enemy’s body to be face close and therefore locking his arms giving him no way of moving his arms and the knife therefore being too far away to do harm)

While it's sizeable enough already, I do hope we see some expansions. Also, a higher difficulty mode, and more (toggleable?) random elements to increase replayability. It's a great game as it is, though.

You know what I'd like? A Wartales-style game with an equally large overworld map, but with D&D turn-based combat and character progression, a la BG3 or the Pathfinder games (but definitely with the battlefield interactivity of BG3). No "origin" characters, but a team of 6 custom characters created by the player. And nodes on the overworld map that modules could be plugged in to either via DLC or community modding for one-shot, more hand-crafted adventures, like The Temple of Elemental Evil. As long as the encounter variety was large, I suspect I would end up playing such a game for literal years. Especially if it had drop-in co-op, where friends could bring their main characters along to join your party.

Now you have to check out Battle Brothers as well :)

Great review my friend. This game was not on my radar at all but now I’ll be picking it up. This is a genre that I’ve been intrigued by for decades, but I’ve never really been able to get into them when I play. My favorite games are Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem (pretty much all of them). Thanks for getting me to understand how to enjoy this genre.

I bought it on release launch discount, for $25, it wins my VALUE FOR MONEY award. Very entertaining for the price and so many ways you can set up your merc company. I have like restarted over 10 plays in Tiltren experimenting on class combos and make up.

After putting in about 20 hours, I feel like this game could really benefit itself, by including a tutorial I dunno, "prologue" maybe? Something that can be a short campaign leading up to the formation of your own troupe. Like maybe you take orders directly from your former commander? I guess it would be kind of a challenge to shoehorn in a tutorial, with the way this game is structured. But the devs shouldn't expect new players to spend several hours watching "beginner's guides" to learn the ropes. That's what I did, but that is kind of a part of the devs responsibilities to their customers. Their's room to improve this product in future updates.

I wish the End game was more special but overall this game is very good. Lots of fun

Battle Brothers is a similar game and i am extremly addicted to it ^^ Wartales is on my list and only the time is a problem atm. But when we, my brother amd I have time, we will buy and play it in Co-Op 🙂

That steam profile is really impressive man I love it, I got to do disco elysium next for those 0.01% achievements

I Love it so far an digg the open world system. You pointed out the "weak" story, but in my head I kind off treat it like the side content of an Elder Scrolls Game. I build my own story, by building my mercenaries and questing with them through the world.

I played 100 hours of this a year ago in EA and starting a new game on full release day I see I've added maybe 30 hours or so more. In that 30 hours I've just managed to complete the starter region, Tiltren, and barely poked my nose into the next region along as far as the town. My question is this: how in the name of all that is holy has Mort managed to 100% this game already? 😯 Is Mort man or is Mort machine? BTW, man or machine, Mort is dead right IMHO: the world building, exploration, progression and fighting (until is gets to ridiculous numbers) in this game make it a must play for ttRPG fans, especially those who like Battle Brothers (which it copies thematically to some extent but is also refreshingly different in many aspects).

Fell asleep in my office while watching your video and had a dream I was attending your class about Wartales. I kept holding my hand up and you wouldn't let me ask questions. When I woke up I was so bummed that there was no class about Wartales.

Good show sir, have been having a good time with it🙂 got mauld by 3 high lv bears! Caught me by suprise haha

Im getting some SERIOUS Gladius 2003 for PS2/XBOX/GAMECUBE feels from this game. if anyone has played Gladius and can tell me it is somewhat like it, I will buy it instantly. That is still my favorite tactical, turn based rpg and its been 20 years.

Awesome review! Earned yourself another subscriber 👍

I picked this up in early access, the first act included choosing between the interests and needs of a region that borders on another nation undergoing a civil war- and the refugees who forced their way into that nation and turn to banditry to prey on the host country that let them stay. It was an easy moral solution (get paid to defend civilization from its predators) but also really satisfying to attempt to reason with the bandits and inevitably fail, to finally prosecuting the resolution. Great quest design. Would recommend to anyone into the sort of gameplay.

Wartales is one of these games I really want to like. The gameplay loop and the systems are good. There is a constant sense of danger due to losing party members. But the story and setting just ends up feeling extremely generic. What this game lacks is a soul, a reason to actually care about the world or any of its characters. It almost feels more like a board game than a video game.

Wonderful video, bro! Thank you

This gem is on sale for $25 on Steam atm. I picked it up finally, and Im really loving it.

Really helpful video, thanks, man!

might be your best 100% review yet, good one

Really expecting to love this if it goes on Steam Summer Sale. Back to Kenshi until then.

This game looks fun I saw tomato Gaming play this, funny vid. I would like to ask, can I play this game Solo and have fun with it or should I just find people? 🤔

Regarding technical issues/stuttering, I have an annoying issue where my performance more often than not will dip when performing the blacksmithing and mining mini games. This leads to subpar crafting results on the item I'm making or missing the circle when mining. Its not game breaking, by any means, but its annoying to lose out on the perfect sequence.

This game reminds me of Battle Brothers (without the myth-monsters) a really nice game!

Just bought this on your recommendation! Thank you oh wise wanderer

It seems good. I love RPGs where I can build a personal story around characters. Although, this game seems very limited on options to do this. I'll have to look into it more I think :)