Warhammer Age of Sigmar will now have its own real-time strategy game on PC, and it is not going to be a Total War game. Enter Warhammer Age of Sigmar Realms of Ruin, and this is our preview impressions for the game.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Realms of Ruin Preview Impressions

As a Warhammer Age of Sigmar enjoyer, I'm happy that this game will finally have a real-time strategy game on PC. It's no Total War, so don't expect large battlefields with hundreds of units clashing against each other. Instead, imagine the tabletop version of Age of Sigmar, and try to convert its mechanics in your head into real-time strategy. That's how I would describe Realms of Ruin based on the demo of the first three missions of the Stormcast Eternals campaign that we got to play. Of course, it's not a one-is-to-one recreation of the game mechanics, but you'd recognize mechanics like being engaged in battle, units comprising multiple units as part of a whole health bar, and unique units having special powers and abilities that help turn the tide of battle. Scenarios also allow reinforcements of units instead of having point limits through control points that train and upgrade units.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Realms of Ruin features four different factions, although the demo only lets players control the Stormcast Eternals. In the campaign, players will fight against two other factions, the Orruk Kruleboyz and the Nighthaunt. A fourth faction is advertised, although not shown in the preview.

I'm in love with the game's models, perfectly recreating the miniatures that we Warhammer fans know and love. Furthermore, the game appears to allow customization of the color of your units in this game, although we didn't get to try that out in our Realms of Ruin preview. The game looks great and the battlefields look just like the battlefields we see in reference books. It's fantastic. The cutscenes are also gorgeous, with character movements mo-capped by actors and a full cinematic treatment to its scenes.

The gameplay was slow and dragging at first, especially during the first two missions of the Stormcast Eternals campaign, which serves as the game's tutorial. However, the slow and methodical pace of the game turned out to be intentional, which I'd learn after getting into battles and having to juggle multiple fronts all at once, which you'll have to do a lot in the larger set pieces in this game. There isn't a lot of unit variety in the preview we played, but we could imagine controlling a wide array of heroes and troops in this game once the full version comes out. Overall, the game offers a solid real-time strategy game foundations-wise, although we want to experience more of the game before giving a conclusive review.

There's a lot more that the game has to offer apart from what was provided in the demo copy, so we're looking forward to the full release. It's interesting to see how the game's roguelike Conquest mode will be implemented, and I'm excited to try out the map creator itself and sample the maps made by other players. I can even see myself spending hours just taking pictures of my armies in different set pieces with the game's intricate photo mode, which is a perfect feature for a game depicting a miniature hobby that involves painting the models yourself.

The implications of this game, though, make me feel a bit disappointed as this might mean we'll never get a Total War treatment for Warhammer Age of Sigmar, especially since Creative Assembly has just finished Warhammer Total War III and moved back to their historical settings once again, with the possibility of an Age of Sigmar or 40K games left hanging in the air.

Catch Warhammer Age of Sigmar Realms of Ruin Demo at Steam Next Fest

Catch Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin next week during Steam Next Fest, as a demo will be made available during the week-long event from October 9 to 16. If you're a fan of the tabletop war game, be sure to give this a try. It's the first Age of Sigmar real-time strategy game, and it offers a completely different experience from the Warhammer Fantasy Total War games, so it's something you should try out for free.

The game is also already available for pre-order for PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store, PS5, and the Xbox Series X. The game is available to pre-order now on all platforms, with up to three days’ early unlock available for those who pre-order the Deluxe and Ultimate Editions of the game, which will launch in full on November 17, 2023.

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