Before I dwell too deep into this demo, I will come right out the gate stating facts: Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge is simple and addictive from the first game played. I am a huge fan of collector card games from Hearthstone to Gwent and everything in between. I jumped headfirst into this demo and it was a very pleasant swim into this new game. Now even if you have no clue what Warhammer 40K is and don’t give a damn about the fate of the Empire, the Orks, and the Chaos Demons, you’re going to have a blast improvising games and slaughtering warlords of the 41st millennium.
The creators of this card-playing game: Everguild, know what they are getting into, what fans of the franchise expect, and how to do things right. Back in 2019, Everguild dipped its toes into the Games Workshop universe with Horus Heresy: Legions. A collectible card game that Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge uses as a very simple base for the new game. Everguild is fully confident in the game that despite the fact that its launch is scheduled for 2023, it has offered a generous appetizer of the game through a demo with multiplayer options for Steam.
The playable premise is very similar to that of Hearthstone, all be said. Our Warlord fights in the front row and everything ends up revolving around his unique characteristics. The only notable difference compared to the Blizzard game is that on the cards, beyond their description and their life points, there are two amounts on the left that establish the attack points, making a distinction between melee hits and weapon hits our shots fired. However, the pace and speed of the game are a godsend if you are looking for quick games. The predefined decks offered by the pre-alpha version that we have had access to mean that in approximately five minutes the match is resolved. Its attractive design pushes us to start the next case by inertia.
The objective is also no mystery: we can wipe out all the cards on the opponent’s table that we want, or if we are allowed to, but only by eliminating the opponent’s Warlord, which works like any other unit, although with many more health points, we will have defeated the adversary and claimed our victory.
Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge brimming with fanaticism from the art of its cards. The sound of the game draws you into this world of war and the characters and voices gave me ideas to check into more of this universe. I was not let down by the plethora of rich history of Warhammer 40,000.
Now as stated earlier there are only two modes made available at this time in the demo; the practice mode and the multiplayer mode. The practice mode is self-explanatory. Initially, we only have a couple of decks so we start from the most basic and after one or two games we will be able to choose any of them. the 12 Warlords are included in this version. The general idea is that we experiment with their abilities and get the most out of them by combining them with established cards that establish a type of strategy. The bad: we were not able to modify the decks.
The objective of the multiplayer mode is for us to put what we have learned into practice and measure ourselves against players from the rest of the planet. The good thing about that experience Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge is so simple to understand is that we meet rivals of all levels and that gives us room to learn tricks from them, but also make curious experiments when we know that we have a certain margin of advantage.
Now, please do not mistake me when I said the game is easy to play or promote games doesn’t mean it’s dumb or doesn’t offer a deep experience for players. The unique abilities of each Warlord make a huge difference, but even if we have the most modest cards in our hand we can execute lethal combos by paying attention to the intentions of our rival and designing a minimally organized strategy.
All in all, it is inevitable not to take into account that Everguild has only shown the basics and essentials in the pre-alpha of Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge for more defined impressions. In addition to many of the factions not being represented, its creators have promised that there will be single-player campaigns dedicated to each faction individually, as well as competitive multiplayer modes that will include seasonal elements. The essentials, the game mechanics, and the setting are already a total success.
If you are a collector card game player or a fan of Warhammer 40K and looking for an up-and-coming game coming out, this is something you should keep on your wishlist. Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge is coming to iOS, Android, and PC through Steam in 2023.
This preview was written based on a PC demo for Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge.
