Spirit of War Review (PC)

Spirit of War is a tiny little turn-based strategy game taking place during World War I, which is great for one thing if nothing else: it's an accessible hex-based wargame.

War-themed strategy games have a tendency of being hard to get into, especially if you haven't played other similar games beforehand, and they can be truly intimidating for newcomers.

There are usually a ton of different stats, modifiers, units that seem very similar at first glance, and a ton of details that are not readily apparent.

When hexes are also involved, and you have to figure out how to actually move all your troops like an army and take care of several different objectives at once, the complexity spikes so much that the gameplay can seem frustrating and tedious to the uninitiated.

Spirit of War somehow succeeds in offering the complexity of a traditional wargame while at the same time keeping things manageable, but it is not without its shortcomings.

Those tanks sure looked kooky

Setting

The action takes place during the events of World War I, also known as The Great War, because the poor souls who took part in it couldn't imagine that there would be another, greater one, only 20 years after the first's culmination.

While there is a distinct abundance of video games focusing on World War II, the dearth of titles exploring the reality and setting of WWI means that the area is a little bit murkier in our minds.

Granted, WWII is a lot easier to portray, because it was the most recent one, and it also had a much more easily identifiable bad guy, while WWI was a lot more complex when it comes to who should get the blame.

Everyone pretty much agrees that Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan were "the enemy," with Hitler being a figure well suited to represent a force that has to be stopped at all costs.

World War I has more to do with pressure on local borders, mounting tension due to troop mobilization by Russia, a web of entangled alliances, colonial issues, The Balkan Wars, and a terrorist attack resulting in the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo.

In any case, a historical game is always an opportunity to learn something new, and Spirit of War delivers a ton of information during mission briefings, so there's definitely something there to chew on if you're interested to find out more about what went down in Europe between 1914 and 1918.

A fierce naval battle

Gameplay

Broken down to its core elements, Spirit of War is more similar to a tabletop wargaming experience than to a traditional hex-based turn-based strategy game.

Of course, there is enough complexity to make the game strategic and challenging, but not as much as to make it require an additional planning phase where you have to fire up Excel and divvy up supplies and make calculations of what units have to be sent to what frontline.

Maps are pretty small, and things ramp up comfortably over the course of the first few missions, gradually introducing new units and more complex game mechanics.

There are 24 missions for the Triple Alliance, consisting of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and 24 for the Triple Entente, namely France, Britain and Russia. The maps represent real-world battles that actually took place during World War I, and come with a neat description.

The solo missions can be won by either destroying all enemy units on the map or conquering the enemy's headquarters. Capturing your enemy's buildings in order to diminish their economy and prevent them from sending reinforcements your way is the main way to win wars.

“As your units gain experience, they will level up, gaining increased damage, additional action points, and in the end, an extra attack, making veteran troops all the more valuable, and providing you with an incentive to play strategically.”

There is no base management and the economy is very basic. Each turn, you get a quantity of currency depending on how many buildings you control, and there usually are some factories around the map, which, when controlled, can be used to create new units.

Maps are usually quite small and are designed with various choke points and other such strategic points of interest, including roads, impassable rivers, and other such features.

The whole point is to carefully maneuver your troops around the map, get into favorable skirmishes, and then send your wounded units back to heal, because seasoned veterans tend to be much better than green troops.

You can create quite a variety of units, from various types of infantry and artillery to mechanized assault vehicles, and even airplanes and warships.

Although the initial missions are pretty easy, the game becomes more and more challenging as you progress, and there are many times where you find yourself severely outnumbered and have to be sneaky and move fast in order to secure a couple of factories and resource-producing facilities before pushing ahead.

Engines and roads greatly extend your reach

Balance

The game is not that difficult, nor is it overly complex. Due to the small scale of the maps, clashes don't involve a whole lot of units, and the artificial intelligence is not exactly a military mastermind.

That being said, there is a sufficient number of tactical elements to keep in mind while deploying troops and mounting attacks. You can load infantry and artillery units inside transporters that can greatly increase their movement range, letting them traverse the map more quickly.

Different units are more or less efficient during certain situations, and you have to find the right tool for the job at hand. The movement range of your troops is clearly shown, including how far they can travel while also being able to attack during the same turn.

As your units get experience, they will level up, gaining increased damage, additional action points, and in the end, an extra attack, making veteran troops all the more valuable, and providing you with an incentive to play strategically.

There are, however, some minor annoyances, the most important one being regarding the user interface. There's no way to cycle between units, so if you're not attentive, you can forget to move or attack with a certain unit.

There is also no way to see how much damage you are inflicting on a certain unit, or how much damage will be incurred during an attack, and having to click on a unit and then select a certain action from that huge circular menu feels unnecessary and tedious.

The responsiveness of your units could also be improved, and the hit targets when you select things on the map, because sometimes your clicks fail to register due to being slightly outside the graphics, especially when issuing orders.

Furthermore, the help system could be a little better, with unit descriptions outlining their roles when you open their respective boxes. There are also several errors in the text, but it's easy to understand what's going on.

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Audio and visuals

The game has a pretty good score, with a distinct military theme, keeping you on your feet and reminding you that your ultimate goal is conquest. The tracks aren't overly intrusive and tend to blend in after a while, which is great.

Every unit has sounds for moving and attacking, so there's plenty of feedback for your actions, although things tend to become repetitive after a while.

The visuals are also decent, with environments and units looking like miniatures on a detailed tabletop setting. There aren't that many snazzy effects, things are pretty basic and it works pretty well.

There are plenty of maps, and they come in different flavors, ranging from snow-laden winter maps to ones featuring lakes, rivers and forests. The design is overall pretty good, with enough eye candy to not make the environments seem barren, while at the same time maintaining the overall minimalist tone.

Everything lines up neatly with the hex grid, and it's relatively easy to discern similar troops, especially since you can also zoom in and out. The bad part is that there is no way to speed up animations

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion