Apes Warfare

Compared to Warside, this game clears it in basically every category. Better maps, better pacing, more fun overall. The gameplay loop is super addictive. Matches move fast, there's a lot of unit variety, and it hits that classic Advance Wars feeling while still adding enough new mechanics to keep it fresh. It also does something well unlike AW: the campaign maps are actually well designed. You usually feel like you're solving a tactical problem instead of just smashing units into a wall until the AI does something stupid. Graphics are solid too. The environments and effects look great, animations are smooth, and battles feel satisfying. The only weird part is the humans, who look like they escaped from a 2007 Flash animation. That said, some stuff is annoying. Having to unlock things like multiplayer and the map editor through progression is dumb. Those should just be available immediately. And the powers are hilariously unbalanced. "Fly Swatter" is absolutely disgusting. Taking 5 HP AND instantly killing weakened units is already crazy, but the fact that infantry damaged by it can't be healed makes it feel braindead. Some units need to be rebalanced. There's no reason the rocket should do AOE damage at such range. Snipers are extremely oppressive and need a range nerf. Drones have an extremely niche use case and need to be reworked. There are also some small technical issues I experienced: slight delay once you capture a huge part of the map and start your turn Delay when weather changes between frozen and normal weird delay when matches end Still, the game is a blast. If you like turn based strategy games, this is one of the best there is right now.

It doesn't really bring anything to the table that other Advance Wars-like games haven't already done, and it lacks some features that nearly all of them have. There's an equivalent to CO powers, but no passive buffs/debuffs. Units have the same expected rock-paper-scissors matchups. Terrain is pretty much 1:1 the same. I also found the oversaturated color palette to be very hard on the eyes. When projects like Advance Wars by Web and Tinywars exist for free, a game like Apes Warfare needs to do more than the bare minimum.

The game is very fun an "wars-like" (pretty much Advance Wars but with nice QOL features and new units). The only problem I have with this game (and why I had to refund it) was visibility and clarity of what's happening on the battlefield. Units that have finished their movement become darker to show that they're done, but when this happens, it's very difficult to see the unit if it's on water, and units that have been moved can look very similar to enemy units. It's very challenging for me to distinguish colors, and I'm not even colorblind. Oh yes, they don't have colorblind mode. Come on guys, if you're using red and blue teams, you need colorblind mode! I wish I could like this game. If they make it more readable in the future, I'll buy it without hesitation!

If the developers continue working on this and listen to the community's suggestions, we could see a modern successor to Advance Wars. From a technical perspective, there's nothing to complain about; the game just needs development, introducing new ideas, and refining existing ones. I'm posting review after a short playthrough to support the developer. I hope it becomes for Advanced Wars what Olden Era is for HOMM Good luck!

I wanted to like this game! Honestly! But I swear, every advance wars clone that I've tried out recently always has some catch that just ruins it. This doesn't work offline. It's an always online game. For a game that the developers say is "Designed for comfortable turn based play on Steam Deck and other handheld devices", they apparently forgot that handhelds are portable, and don't always connect to the internet. I've tested both on my laptop and my steam deck. If I'm connected to the internet, it launches. If not, I only get a black screen and no game. I don't care about multiplayer. I just want to play singleplayer. The only time a game like this should be phoning home to a server is when the "Multiplayer" button, "Report Bug" button, etc, are hit, and not a moment before. This game was looking promising too, for the 40 min of play I did get in at least. I thought the balance change of removing the tire wheel type movement penalty balanced with reducing rocket range could be interesting, but I guess I won't know. Honestly, maybe I treated Warside too harshly. At least that game works offline and has had several bug fixes since its release.

Having scarcely followed Apes Warfare's development from afar since Mang's video covering the alpha build—and having missed the early access window due to time constraints—I went in fairly blind. My expectations were shaped mostly by Mangs latest stream and some conversations with one of the polite developers. From what I gathered, the community heavily influenced the game's development. Feedback from both Advance Wars veterans and casual players helped shape its overall balance. Given that the game was created by a fairly small team with a tight budget, it's important to scale ones expectations accordingly as it don't have as much content as an mainline Advance Wars entry. I was encouraged to play on the dev branch to enjoy some fixes before the first post-launch patch went public. Over the course of a week I played through the entire campaign and have to say: it's really good! The game is quite pedagogical, offering a few "boot camp" missions before letting you loose on standard levels to master what you've learned. I even had my nieces who had never played a strategy game before give it a try. They had a ton of fun and loved the visuals! [b] The good: [/b] - It plays like Advance Wars but successfully carves out its own identity. The new units and mechanics are cool, and the gameplay is super fun! - The game is super accessible for kids. There is no swearing, the themes aren't too dark, and the dialogue is approachable for younger audiences jumping into their first strategy game, while remaining engaging for older players. - The performance is buttery smooth. Combined with the groovy music, the vibe feels perfectly polished, so the core gameplay loop is great! - The character art is lovely, featuring a cartoony, paper-doll aesthetic that perfectly captures the "board game night miniature wargame" feel. The "super powers" are essentially apes and humans interfering with the battle as they grow frustrated—a silly touch that fits the cartoony style perfectly. - The multiplayer maps are excellent. Two additional maps were added to the dev branch while I was writing this review. Apparently most were made by some AWBW veterans [b] The less good: [/b] - There are quite a few bugs in the launch version, though it sounds like the team is working hard to fix them. - While mines and naval mines are a ton of fun, submarines should ideally be able to warn players when near submerged threats. This would allow both the player and the AI to know when it's a good idea to deploy sonar. - There aren't too many war room maps yet. Currently, there is just a handful, with most being multiplayer levels with a hot-seat option. Considering Advance Wars' War Room was massive thanks to carrying over maps from Famicom Wars and Super Famicom Wars, one needs to manage expectations here. - Similar to the war room, there aren't many dedicated multiplayer maps yet. However, they did add two more while I was writing this, which is a positive sign. Regardless of its flaws, I strongly suggest picking up the game if you like Advance Wars or want to introduce a friend or family member to the genre! We are all trained to "wait for a steam sale", but considering the game's post-launch updates are directly funded through sales—as they lack a publisher to cover those costs... It's probably a good idea to "vote with your wallet" to help ensure the game continue receiving fun content updates and keep the multiplayer scene active—especially considering how humble the developers are and how receptive they are to player feedback. That kind of engagement is rare these days...

So I'm a massive Wars fan. This game so far does a good job of scratching the itch, but I don't know if I can recommend buying it in its current state. The COs have no passive buffs/debuffs making the game feel kind of stale. The overall sound design/music makes you realize just how great of a job Advance Wars did in that department because this game feels VERY lacking in that respect. I also find some of the things this game adds to be more frustrating than fun (mines in particular are just there to be annoying). The super powers are about as bland as it gets and don't give you that exciting impact that the Wars games do. I think there's promise for this game but the devs have a ton of work to do because this feels very much like a beta state for a successor to Advance Wars. It is fun and I think big fans will like it, but it just makes me want to play Dual Strike again. I would like to see how it pans out.

a nice Advanced-Wars-Esque game, I enjoyed the campaign and found it fun to play. It does have some weak points which i will go through, but I had fun regardless. Pros: - Wide variety of units to play with. Many unique unit ideas and interactions. Having area of Effect units are very interesting and make wall-breaking much easier. - Mixes up the interactions by having most units able to hit other units, even if its ineffective. This can help whittle down strong units. - Variety of weather conditions that mix up the map and allow the taking of unusual positions. - A decent soundtrack with decent variety. Most sound tracks are paired together so you will always have the same player turn vs enemy turn duo. I found myself thinking these tunes to myself during down time/ on walks. - The story is passible, it makes some sense. - Runs well, and the Ai is at least ok at putting up a fight. Cons: - Ai can see through fog/cheats in fog outside of hiding spaces. Makes some missions a pain. - No Day-to-Day abilities from the Co's, making all fights mirror matches. Ok since powers vary, but can be repetitive for a lot of the game. - You cant see what the power charge is at unless you do combat. Power charge varies too, and can be a while before you see any power used. - You do not know the power options before use, so you cannot plan around them. There was a mission that i thought i had the heal on, and i did not, making my ball of units a prime target for the flyswatter. - The weather kinda makes no sense - in that- Why can I not sail through the ice? But I can Sail through lava? Why does the water turn to lava in the first place? - Visually its hard to see un-moved units on certain terrain. A next available unit button is very sorely needed. - More terrain info/ weather info is needed. Idk what the slowdown of a puddle is, just that its a lot. It would be helpful to see the actual movement cost. (i suspect its non-integer) The Nits: (Minor picks that are not that detrimental, but irritating. May include things that are bugs) 1. Why can everything seemingly hit a submerged submarine? Including battleships, who they are supposed to counter? 2. Why can most things seem to hit a drone swarm, but not destroyers? the water anti-air cant hit an air unit? 3. Why can snipers shoot farther than rockets without mountains? 4. Why does splash damage not damage in the fog? I have shot a rocket or used a B2 next to a hiding spot and find the unit hiding inside undamaged, but when the enemy does it to me, my stuff gets hit. 5. Drones say they can reveal things in jungles, but it doesn't work. They have to be adjacent-(just like every other unit)- Making that ability useless. 6. Why do the mines hit all sides? why do navy mines work on units that walk on top of them when the water is frozen/ lava? It seems that there would be benefits to having team-sided mines so that the CPU stops destroying itself when its moving out. 7. Lava does damage to all units at the start of EACH players' turn. So the true damage is 2hp for low flow and 4hp for high flow. 8. What is the come-back mechanic for this game? The killed units giving the attacker gold helps them win, and powers are obfuscated, how does one come back from losing? 9. Why can't APCs refuel copters? I get the Fixed wings needing a runway, but copters can land in most clearings, so why cant APC's refuel them? ditto for drones 10. Why do fighter jets take fire from copters and drones? Warthogs i get being able to keep up, but it seems odd to have them be shot back by copters and drones, as the fighters are very fast and maneuverable, so most games have them be unable to be hit by slower units. Requests for the Developers: 1. A next available unit button. Would help immensely for larger maps and times where units are hard see in either the water (dived subs) or on properties. 2. A music player mode to listen to the tracks. The enemy phase tracks are interesting to listen to, and the way i found to listen to them was to find the battle-room map and do local host for both sides. Not perfect but workable. 3. Buff missiles (make them move the same as rockets pls) 4. Make APC's able to refuel the copter type units. Overall fun game with a few things that make the experience more annoying. The above changes would be welcome and improve the game.

Fans of the Civilization series’ combat system will likely find this game very satisfying. That said, the pacing can feel a bit slow, which is a bit disappointing. Still, it’s something that can be improved with future updates, so the game definitely has a bright future.

great game