Artifice: War Tactics

[i] Welcome to Artifice: War Tactics, a game where chess meets tactical RPG. Do you have what it takes to outsmart your opponent?[/i] [table] [tr] [th]Category[/th] [th]Rating[/th] [th]Description[/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]🎮 Gameplay[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]Unique unit movement and attack patterns are held back by a lack of depth or any serious decision making[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]📷 Graphics[/td] [td]8[/td] [td]Attack animations character movements are fluid, with pleasing textures throughout[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]🎧 Audio[/td] [td]8[/td] [td]I could not fault the music or special effects[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]💲 Value[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]This is the most subjective part, as some may find it high value, but for me it offers no replayability nor does it have enough content to see you play for more than an hour or two[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] 😔 Overall[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]It was an enjoyable experience, but after an hour, I felt I had seen everything. I pushed on to see if the second island would offer anything different, but unfortunately, it did not[/td] [/tr] [/table] [h1]📝 Main Pros, Cons, and Suggestions:[/h1] 🟩 Pros: + Equippable gear to customise your units + Unit movement and attack animations are fluid + The ability to use the environment to your advantage adds some much needed depth 🟥 Cons: - Forced movement each turn - Objective variety grows old fast - Roguelike element feels like an afterthought rather than something the game was developed around 🏷️ Suggestions: ~ Add a larger variety of units, I’m thinking 10+ to each archetype (mage, range, tank) ~ Adding more units will improve replayability, due to how the devs have designed the movement and attack patterns ~ Additional game modes or objectives, along with meta progression would go far in aiding replayability [h1]Chess Meets Tactical RPG[/h1] Artifice is heavily inspired by chess, with units each having unique movements and attack patterns. However, that’s where the similarities end. Unfortunately, unlike chess, it fails in rewarding well thought out movements. In chess, you outplay your opponent by thinking several moves ahead. In Artifice, I felt like the AI was performing sub optimal movements and taking unnecessary damage, opposed to my own brilliance. While you can trigger chain reactions between units and the environment, it lacks a deep level of depth and decision making. The lack of depth was seen in the map and objective design as well, with both growing tiring quickly. The difficulty of both main and secondary objectives is also questionable. Other than fighting the final boss in the first region, there were no missions which couldn’t be beaten easily without brute force. [h1]It’s Not All Bad[/h1] On the plus side, the Ranger, Pyromancer, and Zephyr each felt and played differently. With each having their own unique movement patterns, along with unique attack patterns, I did feel like there was at least some depth. The addition of items allowed me to create a somewhat tanky Zephyr, with two glass cannons behind to deal a heap of single target and AOE damage, which was enjoyable. [h1]In Closing[/h1] Overall, while I did enjoy my time experimenting in Artifice, I cannot recommend the game. It feels too light on content, lacks any real depth, and offers next to no replayability (especially for a roguelike). Obviously, this is a subjective take and you may love it, but I for one feel there are much better titles out there. [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44931904-Bite-Sized-Reviews//]Follow [b]BSR[/b] for more bite sized reviews.[/url][/quote] [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow our curator page: [b]IndieGems[/b] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.[/url][/quote]

The game is challenging and fun, basically one has to set up the overwatch and the pattern varies for characters. Through different setups you have to achieve the objectives like escorting a bomb or not let the enemies etc. Good things about the game : 1. The gameplay is refreshing and the AI is challenging even in beginning stage. The rogue like element adds up the pressure as well. 2. You can execute some really clever combos involving the environment. 3. The characters and the animations looks really good for an indie game. Things to improve : 1. The game gives various options to perform combos but the UX could be made better for combos especially like a text feedback or a visual effect. The game is in early release but has good challenge and a promising future with more characters to introduce and probably an expansion of the campaign. Looking forwards to it.

When you play a game that is supposed to be chess like you expect to be able to attack things actively. In Artifice it's like all of your pieces are a king. You look to check mate all the other pieces on the other side, but you don't get to actively attack anything. You have to rely on an AI to be really dumb (which it definitely is.) It'd be nice if the game play was fast or intuitive at all, but it isn't. Instead it is slow and boring. It feels like you are washing your clothes get washed in a washing machine, then they are done. Oh wow did I accomplish anything? Nope. Instead you just got your face beaten in by some goblins that you felt your fire mage could whoop ass on. I like the premise, but it is very poorly executed. Characters should be able to attack enemies. It makes no sense that a ranger would just sit back and wait for an enemy to come into it's grasp. They have the idea for a faction that just sits back and chills ( which would be a dope idea for ice mages.), but there is no way to force enemies into your plans. This isn't a strategy game at all. It's an idle game that has a turn based theme to it. If only there was a function to click cookies while I wait for the units to slowly move, or enemies to stupidly run into my attacks.... I hope they rethink their design choices, because this isn't it.

I haven't really played a lot of Turn Based Strategy games, so I don't have much to compare to but I like this game a lot. The passive attacking was weird at first but then it grew on me. There were a lot of cool synergy moments and some of the situations I ended up in felt like brain teasers that were very satisfying to solve. I'd definitely recommend giving this one a shot.

Im trying to like this game as the presentation feels good, such as the art and music but the gameplay fundamentally feels passive for my tastes. There is no concept of active actions in any given turn, everyone just does overwatch actions and then hope the other side try to move towards the attack tiles. Everyone is reacting, the experience feels a bit clumsy. Whenever an enemy gets killed from my units, I feel its more due to a dumb AI than me being smart. Some nitpicks like the fact we absolutely have to move our characters in any given turn, as there are situations that feels like a checkmate if we attempt to move anywhere. I think the dev tried to bring the chess concept of always being forced to make a unit move in a player's turn, but I prefer if characters have the option to stay still as an option. Im giving a thumbs up for now since I don't want to discourage a new dev's first game for Steam. Some might like the gameplay, just not for me.

Awesome idea, fun mechjanics, but utterly boring because the difficulty is a joke. a rogue like shoulkd not be beaten on the first playthough, and should have a lot more variety of enemies and bosses. absolutely great idea because the devs were scared to make the game hard. no truly strategic player will struggle with a game this east. since enemies can only attack on your turn, and since healing is so crazy abundant, there is literally no way any thinking person can lose. hell letting a timer run out doesn't even deny you anything, just makes you start the level over. no penalty at all. skip it, find a strategy game that is worth your intelligence. buy this for your 5 year old maybe? nearly half of my 8.8 hours of playtime was because i left the game on while i dealt with morning chores and such.

CHESS ON STEROIDS! Though its an Early access game, the quality of mechanics that have been implemented so far are really impressive. The art is VERY polished which makes it a treat to watch the combos as and when they happen. The overwatch system, though difficult to understand at first for every character, is very satisfying once your set up results in one or multiple kill-shots. The enemies also provides the players with an adequate challenge right from the beginning. The limitation of not directly attacking the enemy forces the player into thinking about making every step count for each character. Highly rewarding for the players who love turn based strategy, though in a newer approach! Wishing the best of luck to the Devs and I hope the game comes out of early access soon! MORE CONTENT PLS!

Artifice immerses players in a meticulously crafted levels with detailed characters and captivating landscapes. Though initially challenging, the game gradually reveals its depth, offering an engaging experience. At its core is a compelling turn-based system demanding strategic thinking. What sets Artifice apart is its roguelike campaign and the infinite possiblities with which a player can approach it. My initial playthrough focused on pyromancer, with the stats and skill upgrades along the items, it definitely turned into a killing machine. What added to the experience was the visuals and the detail that go along with it in each game. Amidst the immersive gameplay, there were silly moments where I moved the wrong character first, blocking another or get knocked back by enemy before reaching the finish line lol Anyway these experiences contributed to the learning curve, making the eventual wombo-combos immensely rewarding. Artifice evolved from an initial challenge into a deeply satisfying journey which I plan to play through with other characters. I am really looking forward to the full release of the game. Chop chop. :p

Artifice is a visually stunning game with its beautiful art and captivating music, creating an immersive experience. The strategic overwatch system adds depth, making for satisfying combos and encounters with challenging enemies right from the start. However, some players might find the gameplay a bit passive, with characters heavily relying on overwatch actions. There's a sense that victories are more due to AI mistakes than player strategy. Additionally, the mandatory movement of characters every turn, even in tight situations, could limit strategic choices. Despite these considerations, the game shows great potential. Looking forward to seeing the developers refine these aspects for an even more engaging experience as the game progresses toward its full release."

I have been watching this game from afar since it was announced and decided to finally give it a try once it hit 1.0. I do not have many hours on this, so there may be some potential in this game that I am not seeing. I played through one of the biomes, worked through a boss, and played a few of the different mission types that were available. [b]Summary[/b] Ultimately - I am not recommending this game because it did not feel very fun and the tactical gameplay just didn't feel very engaging. It is not doing anything really innovative in the genre, and where it does innovate, I believe it is taking a step backwards. If you really enjoyed games like Into the Breach or Tyrant's Blessing and you want something slightly different, then this could be worth your time as the price point is accessible and fair. Nevertheless, I feel it is inferior to both of those titles. [b]World Map and Run Progression[/b] The world map and run progression is almost identical to Into the Breach. This is not a bad model to borrow from, but at least at first glance, there is not really anything innovative happening here. You do a few missions until a region boss is revealed, do the boss, unlock a new hero slot, move to the next biome. Do a few biomes and then face a final boss to finish the run. You basically get a pool of shared lives for your heroes that if they run out, the run is over. Damage your heroes take persists in between levels and can be healed by giving them a break or using abilities/items to heal them up. [b]Tactical Combat[/b] This is where the game kind of lost me. The enemy acts by setting up fields of Overwatch patterns and then you take your turn using active abilities to maneuver around them. Each of your heroes has a linear set of traits that are unique to their class and a set movement pattern that you have to account for. Some of your heroes may move only on diagonals or horizontals while others may have a movement pattern similar to a knight in chess. Attack patterns are similarly rigidly structured requiring you to move and place your hero in a unique spot so they can use their abilities. All of these mechanics are similar to into the breach, but I would say that the movement system is just more complicated, and in my opinion, unnecessarily so. Similar to Into the Breach, you can block enemy spawns by standing on them in exchange for a little bit of damage. With the whole picture together, the tactical combat just feels clunky and unrewarding. It takes a lot of inspiration from Into the Breach (or so I think) and does not really capture the combination of fluid gameplay and tension that Into the Breach evoked. Into the Breach has you solving a series of problems in really creative ways by moving not only yourself but enemies around to mitigate damage and solve objectives. This game is trying to do the same, but by using an overwatch system and extremely clunky movement patterns the player's options to engage with the systems are a lot more one-dimensional by comparison. Early time with the combats didn't really show a system that was giving me a complicated array of options or a puzzle to solve so much as a linear field with a few basic paths forward. The system is so limiting that the only option in many cases is to decide whether or not to trade damage with an enemy. It was just as often the case that I would have one of my units paralyzed and unable to do nothing because it just wasn't worth trading damage to have him contribute to the encounter. Perhaps the system gets more interesting with more time and more heroes on the board, but the new player experience just wasn't interesting enough for me to continue. [b]Progression and Items[/b] There are items that drop and can be equipped on heroes, but so far, these item options are pretty generic upgrades on raw stats. I only saw a pair of legendary items, and they were pretty straight forward stat increases. You get currency to spend on upgrading your heroes (Once again - VERY similar to Into the Breach). This currency moves your capabilities to different levels that increase damage, push range, or status effects. So, unlike into the breach, your characters have a generic plate of skills, and you are just going to slightly improve on that plate and use it to the best of your ability. The system isn't terrible, just not doing anything great. It does no harm, but does nothing to identify the game from what others have not already done before it. [b]Conclusion[/b] Low hour reviews are kind of sketchy, so would definitely defer to others with more hours who want to point out how this title identifies itself . . . but I could never in good conscience recommend a game that I refunded. Similarly, if I am refunding a game, I feel it is helpful to explain why.