Wow, it has been quite some time since I posted my slightly breathless First Impressions for Wildermyth. So, this is my proper review of the game after a few months on and off with the game in between a few other games.. after all, a proper review can't be done on a game with only a few hours under the belt... you have to play and immerse yourself as fully as possible!

Wildermyth is a Turn-based Tactics game in the manner of XCOM and tactics with an overarching strategy layer that was released in June 2021 by WorldWalker Games. In a genre were you are often in command of barely fleshed out and expendable soldiers and toons, Wildermyth really focussed upon the story and development of the characters over a campaign, a different take, but one that ends up melting hearts... the question is, is the game also a good one to play?

The Setup

The whole game is presented in a story-book comic style, all the storytelling and character development scenes are done in this fashion and all the loading screens read as if they were a narrator trying to recall a story from old. So, it is quite fitting that you choose your current game campaign from a story book, like choosing a chapter to begin at.

Now, it appears that the campaign you select will affect the number of "chapters" in the game and also the overarching "big bad" narrative that binds the chapters together, however, the little character developments and sub-stories that litter each campaign will be quite unique to your little band of adventurers!

Each "chapter" in a campaign is a moment of action with years of peace in between... during which your characters grow older, have kids and die. Those who stand up in the next chapter might not be the same band of old, but their children... or the older versions of the original venturing band!

... but you start as always... with a little band of three unknowns, who do not realise that they are destined for greatness and adventure, building their bonds as they grow together.

The Game

The strategic map of the game is pretty straightforward, with interconnected regions that need to be liberated to begin contributing to the effort to combat the slowly awakening menace. Changes in the map carry through from chapter to chapter, so flooded regions will be lost in following chapters, and any fortifications and town developments will still be there in the following decades. This introduces a sense of balance to the larger game, do you spend more time fortifying and exploring, knowing that you might need those regions to be stronger in the future... but that elapsed time means that the current menace gets stronger with each passing day?

Whilst you are busy exploring and building, your characters interact with each other and the world through beautifully drawn flipbooks. Each interaction tells a lovely story, which fleshes out how your characters behave towards each other... becoming rivals, frenemies, lover and perhaps even soulmates. It is a great hook, and it gets you incredibly invested in your characters... you start to really love them and know their stories... which makes it incredibly painful when they get injured or when they make a heroic self-sacrifice.

Many of the sub-quests end in a choice between 2-4 options depending on the situation and abilities of your characters. The outcome of these choices has ramifications for the world, your characters, their relationships... and the temporary combat modifiers for tactical battle that follows immediately!

So, the tactical map is rendered in a pretty papercraft style. My only gripe with this section was the inability to easily rotate the map completely and the small sizes of the map. Not huge gripes, as the small sizes make for snappy and quick engagements that make the game a pleasure to play... after all, the meat of the game is more in the story telling and characters instead of the tactics!

.. but that said, the tactical mechanics are solid. A familiar 2-move system that was popularised by XCOM, the characters can employ abilities that are defined by their class or the equipment that they carry. Or the various character developments that they have undergone and experienced throughout their journey.

One of the most interesting mechanics is the relationships between characters will give different types of buffs depending on the type and strength of the relationship. One particularly interesting mechanic is when a character is reduced down to 0HP. You are given a choice, the character is saved but survives the battle with terrible and permanent injuries, or they go out in a blaze of glory, sacrificing themselves to deal massive damage to their opponent. Either way, your heart bleeds... you are so attached your toons with their lovely stories!

Magic has an interesting implementation here as well. Instead of the familiar, "magic as a sort of funny gun", it is all environment based. You need to infuse the various objects in the environment and then use them to cast the effects. So, enemies can destroy objects to restrict your ability to infuse them... leaving your mage a little helpless!

So, the effects of the magic depending quite heavily on the types of objects that you are able to infuse, which means that you are constantly adapting to the environment rather than charging in with your favourite spells locked and loaded!

What would a RPG be without loot? After each battle (or sub-plot), you are presented with some new shinies which can be equipped by any character in your little roster... regardless of whether or not they took part in the battle or even if they are anywhere close. It is a nice abstraction, no-one likes having to cart equipment from one side of the world to another.

However, where Wildermyth does take a bit of a controversial stance is the fact that the equipment is then BOUND to that particular character. Mostly, it doesn't matter too much... but when you find a real artifact, you would like to have that handed down through the generations, as a sort of heirloom or legacy. I hope that they will change this in the future, or just include the passing down of a heirloom as a sort of option in a story dialogue.

In Wildermyth, you deal with real resources (leather, metal...) instead of money and gold pieces. All equipment can be upgraded a couple of levels at the end of chapter boss-fight or at any town, the crafting system is simple but functional.

So, looking through the highly detailed character sheets (yes... there are entries for everything, from equipment through to every choice that the character has made that could possibly affect their relationships/personality!), the standout is the character relationships with the others in your little band of heroes. Every type of relationship will have affects on the sub-stories, and will have tactical benefits as well. You can even lock together characters to be soulmates across multiple campaigns! In this case, a tragic love story between a pragmatic human who turned into a wolf and the star-crossed dreamy human mage, a love story that will survive across multiple playthroughs and lives....

So, after being so invested in each character's development arc, it would be a pity if they just all disappeared into obscurity after the campaign. This is where the Legacy system kicks in... Your Legacy Heroes can reappear in following campaigns, with a certain amount of equipment and abilities (depending on their Legacy level) intact in addition to their backstory, relationships and personality. It is a beautiful way to reconnect with past heroes, with a fabled old guard leading the new rookies in a new story...

Visuals, Sound and Performance

The art style is papercraft, a style that many love and just as many detest... for me, I love papercraft and so this was not an issue for me. The game just oozes charm... and the visual style just enhances that. The soundscape (effects) is okay, nothing to write home about... but the music, oh wow, the music just oozes that naïve charm that permeates the entire game. Often you don't notice the music in a game, but here... the atmosphere is just a million times better because of it!

Performance-wise, it had no problems on my gaming laptop (XMG Fusion 15), but I suspect that this is a game that isn't very demanding on the hardware. Static (or low motion) artwork and a turn based mechanic make for limited CPU/GPU demands in real time.

My Thoughts

It is hard to describe how beautiful this game is... the art style is lovingly crafted, the stories are touching. There are very few special games where I'm just playing slow... just savouring every moment and every word. Much of the time, you are just running and skipping through everything... not Wildermyth, you want to experience every word and every choice... even the tough and heart-wrenching ones. It isn't often that a Turn-based tactics game can make you feel emotion... but this is definitely one!

I highly recommend this game to everyone who has even the slightest interest in storytelling, character development or just wants to support a indie developer with visionary ideas! I am quite tempted to give this game to my oldest daughter... she would love the story aspect and presentation of the game, but I do wonder if the monsters will turn her off... she is a bit of a chicken like that!

Review Specs

Played at 1080p (144Hz) on:

XMG Fusion 15

CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: SSD (SATA/Nvme)
GPU: Nvidia GTX 2070 Max-Q

I can also be found cross-posting at:
Hive
Steem
Publish0x

Splinterlands (aka the best blockchain game out there!)

Humble Bundle

Have you heard of Humble Bundle? It's a place to get some really great deals on Games, e-books and comic bundles. However, if you sign up for a Humble Bundle Subscription (12 USD per month) you get some really nice bonuses!

1. A 100+ USD bundle of games delivered direct to you each month, redeemable on Steam, Uplay or direct download (depending on the game). This includes recent Triple A games!
2. Access to the Humble Bundle "Trove", a list of 60 games (and growing...) which are free to play as long as you remain a subscriber!
3. Additional Discounts on the Humble Bundle store, with the choice of supporting charities, Humble Bundle or developers in whatever percentage that you wish!

Humble Bundle Subscriptions, it's a no brainer for the dedicated gamer!